She straightened. “Nae.” She took his and Duncan’s hands and got in the boat. She got to a seat as soon as she could and sat, crouched, both hands clasping the side of the boat.
“Where are we going, Mr. Pike?” Mags asked as Jack took off his coat and rolled up his sleeves.
“If we go upriver, we could see some fancy houses. But I’d like to take you downriver, toward the sea.” Jack cast off the boat and sat down to the oars.
“Will we see the sea?” Mags asked.
“That’s too far for today.”
Duncan was behind him with Mags in the bow. Jack faced Helen sitting alone in the stern. “Helen, you’ll have to be my look-out. Tell me about the boats I can’t see behind me.”
Jack got them a little way out into the river. Helen still gripped the side of the boat, peering everywhere, warning Jack of boats which were far off and that he would never bump into. “Just the boats that are close, Helen.”
He tried to point out buildings of interest. “That’s Somerset House. Where the Navy Board is.”
“Oh, ’tis so grand. It looks like it would be a king’s house. Dinnae ye think so, my lady?” Mags called out.
“Aye.”
With Helen’s warning, Jack got the boat out of the path of a crossing wherry. He was pleased to see Helen’s grip was a little less white-knuckled than it had been before.
He rowed easily but he knew he wasn’t as accustomed to rowing as he had once been.
“I hope you’re watching me, Duncan. I’ll handle the oars while we’re in this crowded bit of the river, but once we get away, past the bridge, I’ll have you take over for a while.”
“Aye.”
Jack pointed out St. Paul’s Cathedral, the high dome visible despite the building not being all that close to the river.
“All right. We’re coming near the bridge now.” He pulled the boat to the Three Cranes stairs. “All three of you will get out here and go up to Thames Street and walk to your right and then come back down to the river at the Billingsgate stairs and dock, right? You should be able to smell the fish market there.”
Helen’s mouth moved, forming the wordBillingsgate. Then she spoke out loud. “Why will we nae be going under the bridge with ye?”
“The piers make the water go very fast underneath them. The watermen call itshooting the bridge.” Jack chuckled and handed his coat up to Duncan. “Take that and the hamper, too. After all, I can swim and our luncheon and the coat can’t.”
“Dinnae do anything dangerous, Jack. We dinnae need to go farther. We can turn around and go back.” Helen’s face was white as she looked down on him from the wharf.
“Don’t worry. I’ve done this hundreds of times. It’s not high or low tide. I’m a navy man so I’ll be fine as long as there are no French frigates waiting with cannons to blast me. Just meet me on the other side.”
Jack made it under the bridge and through the piers easily, his oars up at the crucial moment, a little swoosh and a rush, and he was on the other side. He rowed to the Billingsgate dock and waited. A long time. Damn, had they gotten lost? He remembered his counsel to Helen yesterday and told himself the same thing. Just wait.
Finally, he saw Duncan’s bright hair. Then, the two women, Helen helping Mags down the stairs as Duncan hovered a step below, holding the hamper.
“Took you long enough,” he grumbled when they reached the boat.
“’Tis only been a few minutes, Jack,” Helen said menacingly as Duncan handed down the hamper and coat and joined Jack in the boat.
“I’m sorry, ’tis my fault, Mr. Pike. My leg,” Mags said as he and Duncan lifted her down.
“Nonsense, Mags.” Helen deliberately ignored Jack’s hand and took only Duncan’s as she scrambled into the boat. “Mr. Pike is just an impatient wretch who is so used to travel by water that he cannae remember how long it takes to walk anywhere. Especially in London.”
Yes, Jack had not remembered about Mags’ limp. And now he had made her feel badly about it when he had wanted to give her a day of fun. He made a mess of everything.
“No apologies necessary, Miss Mags. It’s just as Lady Kinmarloch says. I am an impatient wretch. No, Duncan, I’ll still do a bit more rowing. I’ve got a taste for it now. Brings back my youth.”
Let me pay for my lack of care somehow.
He pointed out the Tower of London. “Where Mary, Queen of Scots, was imprisoned.”
