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He rubbed a hand down his face, ridding his mind of all thoughts of jealousy, of Mr. Foss, and of…of marriage. “Are ye certain?”
“Yes.”
“Ye ain’t hidin’ the fact that ye really be a sea-maid?”
“Oh…’bout that…”
Their gazes caught, and the sparkling in her green eyes warmed him to his core. Finally, he smiled, shaking his head with a little laugh. “That would be the one thing that wouldn’t surprise me if it be true.”
They shared another smile before a heavy silence filled the air between them.
“I s’pose your despisal o’ the trade be warranted, then,” he said. “E’en more so than I thought.”
She frowned, her voice soft as she replied. “Ye be a good man, Trevik. So be Gryffyn Bosanko and the other men I’ve met. I’ve no doubt your father was, too. But then, my own father was a good man ’fore he changed. I keep seein’ my mother’s face every time I imagine…” Her voice broke, and she shook her head, clearing away her emotion. “We were happy before. Mother begged Father to not go into business with Uncle, but he did so anyway. She ne’er wanted that life. She didn’t ask for it.”
Her eyes took on a faraway look, as if miles out to sea instead of seated right beside him. How he wished to bring her back, to soothe her worried brow and ease her concerns.
But then, was this not what he wanted? To have Miss Hollow leave so he could keep his promise to his men?
“I just…I can’t be a part of it all any longer,” she said. “There be too much greed. Too much heartache. Too much of men smellin’ of fish. And I—”
She stopped abruptly, glancing at Trevik sidelong with regret. “I’ve done it again.”
He waited for her to explain.
“My words gettin’ me into trouble.”
He sniffed, amused. “Worry not. I be used to ye tellin’ me ’ow poorly I smell.”
“That be the most frustratin’ part of it all, though,” she said. “Ye don’t smell of fish.”
Thoughts flooded his mind. Why was that frustrating for him not to smell? And if he didn’t smell of fish, what exactly did he smell of?
He waited, but she didn’t expound. “Do I smell o’ sweat, then?”
She shook her head.
“Brine?”
“No.”
“Hemp from the nets?”
“Not a great deal.”
“Well, what, then?”
A smile played on her lips. “Wouldn’t ye like to know.”
Trevik would very much like to know, but clearly, the woman was simply stringing him along.
They sat in silence for a moment, Poppy’s laughter with Mother drifting toward them from somewhere on the other side of the sea stack, his family no longer visible.
When had they wandered away so far? He really ought to join them, but he just couldn’t get himself to leave.
“So…” Miss Hollow began. “Are ye goin’ to run me out, now ye know the wicked truth ’bout me?”
“No.” Then he leaned closer to her and bumped his shoulder against hers, warmth sparking in his chest. “But I’d run ye out for not tellin’ I what I smell of.”
