Till Dawn Tames the Night Read Online Free PDF Page A

them a glimpse of their future husbands. Caught up in the excitement, Aurora blithely wondered if she had brought a pincushion on board. She laughed at herself for being so superstitious.
    On the docks she heard the snapping of more firecrackers. Boys cheered and horses shied. The commotion distracted Aurora, and she didn't see the wagons pull up to the ship's gangway until they were unloading.
    At first she thought the owner had finally arrived, but it seemed unlikely that his omnipotent presence would appear in a common wagon. Captain Corbeil came to the main deck and supervised. She watched as costly silk prayer rugs from Persia were heaved aboard. Mahogany tables with elaborate caryatid legs were hoisted up also. At one point four men carried aboard a black upholstered sofa sporting legs carved to look like gilded dolphins. It was clear even to Aurora that all the furnishings were the finest specimens of current taste. And it was clear that they were being brought aboard to appoint one cabin. One very large cabin. Most obviously the owner's cabin.
    Aurora looked past a man bearing a bronze urn and found the captain standing idly by the railing. From below, she could hear the pounding of hammers and the murmurs of male voices as workers nailed the furniture into the cabin to make it immobile for the voyage. Added to the celebrating on the docks, the cacophony was deafening. There was certainly no retiring to her cabin in this din, so she remained in the shadows of the masts. Yet still the captain's gaze found her.
    The barrel-chested, grizzled captain had been the epitome of a gentleman all through the day. He had cheerily seen to her and Mrs. Lindstrom's every comfort; he'd been quick with a kind word or a polite joke. Yet now, caught off guard by her appearance, he looked different. It was as if she troubled him somehow, as if those worries that he'd been able to hide in the activity and brightness of daytime were now not so easily disguised in the shadows of night.
    As quiet as a frightened doe, she stood by while he studied her shabby pelisse. Every patch, every threadbare edge of her garment seemed to shame him and she wondered if he pitied her. Perhaps he had somehow found out she was from the Home and felt sorry for her. But instinctively she knew that wasn't the reason. His look was too involved and too dark to be that easily explained.
    It may have been the explosive celebrating down on the docks, or even the harsh banging of the workmen belowdecks , but all at once her nerves were strung taut. She forced her worried stare away from the captain's troubled one and turned to the rail. She knew that whatever she imagined she saw in the captain's eyes had to be a mistake. Mrs. Lindstrom's romantic imaginings were surely rubbing off on her.
    She looked out to the Thames and marveled at how her perspective had changed. In the daylight she had thought the river a sparkling gateway to adventure. Now it looked more like the river Styx winding black and fathomless into the murky fog. Feeling suddenly cold, she wrapped her pelisse around herself more tightly and bore up against the wind.
    "Miss Dayne, I'm surprised to find you up at this late hour."
    Quickly she spun around and found Captain Corbeil at her side. Gone was the troubled look, and in its stead his brown eyes held a cheerful twinkle.
    "I-I-I was not sleepy," she stuttered like a child. Thoroughly disgusted with her lack of composure, she took a deep breath and said, "Do forgive me, Captain. I've been nervous about the voyage, and the delay has made me only more so. In fact, I believe I'm even seeing things in my distress." She wavered a smile. Already she felt foolish. The captain was no keeper of great, dark secrets. He was a paternal and chivalrous man, concerned with her welfare and comfort. She should be gladdened to be in such good hands, not suspicious.
    The chuckle booming from his chest only reassured her further. He laughed and said, "I'm sure you're