Page 9 of The Salamander

He thanked her and took one from the plate. Heading upstairs, he said over his shoulder, “I’ll be down in a bit. I’ve some papers to read and my chest to pack. We sail tomorrow!”

Martha set the plate of biscuits on the table and shared a look with Silas. “You will take the master to his ship?”

“Aye, we’ll need a cart for the chest.”

Hannah began to look teary-eyed. Eunice took a seat in a chair facing the child. “Just think, Hannah, by the time your papa returns from his first cruise, Polly may be walking.”

Hannah gazed at her younger sister sleeping in her cradle. “I’ll help her learn like big sisters do.”

“Won’t your papa be proud!” exclaimed Eunice.

Martha arched a brow at Silas. “Meantime, Silas Turner, the child would do better to take up sewin’ or cookin’ than ropework.”

Silas shook his head, a half-smile tugging at his mouth. “You don’t mean that, Martha, my sweet.”

“None of your nonsense, now,” said Martha, turning toward the kitchen. “You talk more than you work.”

“Only when the company’s worth it,” he said with a look that made Martha’s cheeks redden.

Eunice winked at Hannah, thinking her charge enjoyed the banter between the old seaman and the cook as much as she did. It had become clear to Eunice that Silas had a fondness for Martha, and the cook tolerated his teasing with only mild protests.