Mr. Belvedere crowed when he was able to play the card that summed their total to thirty-one—a large bonus for him and Anne—but Sophia hummed happily when she turned over the dealer’s crib which turned out to be quite good forherteam.
The play circled, with each of them dealing in turn, until Sophia, with a happy squeal, managed to end the first game bypassing a hundred-twenty-one. “Lurched! Caroline and I have it.”
Richard kissed Caroline’s cheek. “Well done! Despite my interference.”
“I suppose you cannot help your face,” Caroline said fondly.
Mr. Belvedere shook his head sadly. “ A loss! And more than half of my points were pegged by Mrs. Wentworth! A poor showing I have made so far. But we agreed: best of three. I don’t give up hope.”
Anne congratulated them, and Sir Mark laughed and flicked Sohpia’s cheek. “I think we need something to drink with this next game. I’ll fetch the steward.”
The following game was shorter, with port for Sir Mark and the gentlemen, and it went to Anne and Mr. Belvedere. While that gentleman was perfectly polite to all the ladies—and gallant towards Anne, as his partner—Caroline noted a particular look that was reserved for Sophia. It was partly competitive but also admiring. While he complimented all the ladies, he verged on flirting with Sophia. But as shewasthe only unattached woman on the ship, besides being quite pretty, Caroline supposed it would be amazing if he didn’t.
At any rate, Caroline was disappointed at their loss because she wascompetitive also. For the last game, she shuffled with aplomb, years of drawing room card games under her belt. However, before she could deal the first hand, there was a disturbance above.
“Ship on starboard,” the call was heard. “Colors dark.”
They looked at one another, and Captain Wentworth explained, “Colors dark means they cannot see what flag the ship is flying, if any. But it is just as likely to be one of ours—or an American or Portuguese ally—as anyone else.”
“But what if itisFrench?” Mr. Belvedere asked.
“Then the captain will either outrun it or—worst case—fight.” He rose. “It would do no harm if we went up to look now. The ship cannot be close if it was just spotted.”
They went up as a group, and the sky was covered in high puffy clouds with bits of blue here and there. “What you might call a perfect summer’s day,” Mr. Belvedere said.
They went to the western side of the ship, the starboard, and stood a little distance from the captain and first mate. In the mid-afternoon, with the light on the water, it was hard to look steadily in that direction. Caroline’s eyes watered until the sun went temporarily behind a cloud and the glare lessened. Even so, the ship was so far distant that Caroline did not see it at first. It was little more than a speck, a small blob on the horizon.
The first mate had a glass, and he closed his right eye as he looked. “It is too narrow for a frigate or galleon, sir. Square sails, three masts—none of your American sloops or schooners.” He twisted the glass slightly. “Yes, square sails—two decks. I think it is a seventy-four.”
“French?” Captain Wentworth put in.
“It could—no, I see green and red! The Portuguese flag,” the first mate confirmed. “Plain as sailing.”
The tension eased and Caroline’s shoulders relaxed. The Portuguese were also at war with Napoleon, who had invaded both Spain and Portugal as well as making himself onerous to the English and the Russians.
The first mate passed the glass to the captain, who nodded sharply. “Yes, indeed! Portuguese, not to worry.” He chuckled complacently. “They must be running southwest on the same wind, but they can’t sail as close to it as we can.”
The afternoon air was pleasant, and no one was eager to go below, even with the enticement of the last game. “What if we put off that last game until tomorrow?” Richard said. “It seems apity to squander this fine sunshine, and it will give us something to look forward to.”
They were even more glad they had stayed when Mr. Belvedere, who had gone to the port side of the ship, suddenly called. “Come! Dolphins or some such thing. Come look!”
They hurried to the other side, avoiding tie-downs and ropes, and leaned over the bulwark. Caroline and the others gasped and exclaimed. It was a swarm of ten or twelve black fish like small whales.
“Black porpoises,” Captain Wentworth said with pleasure. “Quite a large pod.”
The ship ran under a light wind, the water a gray-blue broken with cloudy foam. The porpoises could be seen just under the surface of the water when the sunlight illuminated it.
“Oh, look,” Sophia cried as one of them leaped out of the water, displaying large white patches on its side. “How beautiful.”
“Aren’t they just?” Mr. Belvedere agreed. “This is something like.”
“Do you see those holes?” Captain Wentworth said. “That is how they breathe. They breathe air just as we do.”
Even Lady Marston came up, since the porpoises stayed with them for some time. Sir Mark, perhaps overfull of port, declared the sun scorching and went below soon after, but the rest of them stayed for some time watching the display.
“I shouldn’t like to fall in there,” Mr. Belvedere said. “Porpoises have teeth, do they not?”
“Yes, but I have never seen them savage someone,” Wentworth said. “Although I did once see a pod attack a right whale. Those have no teeth, you know, and are slow.”
