As for Deverill, sometimes he was driven, intense, as if he couldn’t get enough of her. At other times playful. He would pretend to be tamed—or allow her the illusion that he had let her tame him. He also acted as if he was set on learning all her secrets, yet shared few of his own.
Kate was thrilled to be wanted by him. His obvious ardor was highly gratifying to her own self-esteem. And yet she yearned for so much more.
That was doubtless why at week’s end, when Deverill returned to report that the searchers had discovered the wreck of the Zephyr, she was not as gladdened as she should have been. She had hoped the endeavor would take longer, to allow her more time with Deverill in the temporary paradise they had made together.
“How do you know it was the ship that belonged to my parents?” she asked.
“Because we found the name emblazoned in the wood. I swam down to verify it myself.”
The wreck, he told her, was located partway across the estuary, within sight of the shore, in water no more than twenty feet deep so that there was enough light to aid in excavation. Some large sections of the hull were still intact, with pieces of burnt timber and iron half buried in the sandy floor.
“If you would like to visit the site, you can sail out with us in a day or two,” he added.
“Yes,” Kate replied quietly. “I would like to see it eventually.”
She couldn’t bring herself to ask just then about the remains of the passengers and crew. But as the divers began bringing up various artifacts in the following days, they found several skeletons amid the debris.
Deverill spared her the gruesome details. In fact, it was impossible to tell if any of the victims might have been her father or aunt or uncle. But now they had enough proof to plan a symbolic burial.
On his orders, the divers gathered up the bones, to be placed in a casket that would be interred in the churchyard, a show of reverence for all who had perished.
In the days that followed, a sadness weighed heavily on Kate. Not merely the lingering grief of a daughter who’d lost cherished family members, but also regret that the magical interlude she had treasured with Deverill was almost over.
The time to make him love her was running out.
Those were the moments when she felt overly fatalistic. Perhaps she should accept that Deverill might not ever change, Kate reflected. If so, she should end their betrothal before she irrevocably lost her heart to him.
There were also moments, however, when she was certain that she ought to see her dream to completion. When she believed that Deverill was fated to be her husband, that she was meant to spend the rest of her life with him.
Something about him drew her so powerfully, and always had. She wanted to fill that same need in him. She wanted to bring happiness to his life, to be part of something special. To find the magic that her parents had known.
She wanted a husband who adored her as her father had adored her mother. She wanted Deverill to look at her with hunger, not just for her flesh but for her heart and soul.
She would have to decide very soon whether she was willing to give up on her quest, Kate knew. And with the discovery of the Zephyr, the question of ending their betrothal was becoming ever more urgent.
The excavation of the sunken ship continued for several more days, a task made difficult by layers of sediment covering the site, a lack of light, and restrictions on breathing. Since it was often too dim to see inside the wreckage of cabins and companionways, much of the exploration had to be done by feel. More crucially, the divers could stay underwater for only a few minutes at a time, even using an apparatus designed to trap air near the seafloor to periodically spell their lungs.
Several small casks and wooden boxes were unearthed, but no jewels were found, much to Louvel’s regret, and eventually, Deverill judged it time to conclude the search.
When Kate agreed with his recommendation, they discussed how to handle final payment for the pirates’ services, and additionally, how to help Gabrielle. The best option, Kate contended, was to deposit some three hundred guineas—the gold remaining once she made the final payment to Louvel—in a Royan bank in the Frenchwoman’s name.
When Deverill questioned the wisdom of interfering with Louvel’s romantic affairs, Kate replied emphatically, “I want to do this for her. Besides the kindness she has shown us during our stay, she has become my friend. I hope to repay her in some measure by helping her secure a proposal of marriage from Louvel. But if he is too blind or stubborn to marry her, then she will have the means to be free of him should she choose.”
“You just cannot stop matchmaking, can you?” Deverill asked with cynical amusement.
Kate ignored his teasing. “That is not my sole reason. It is more because Gabrielle has no fortune and no family to rely on. I have never had to face being penniless and all alone in the world, dependent on the charity of others, but I fully comprehend the indignities women suffer as the legal property of men, subservient to their slightest whims. I am wealthy enough that I won’t miss the funds, and it will enable her to determine her own fate.”
“Very well,” Deverill finally consented. “I will instruct Halsey to convey the sum to the bank and establish an account for her. But I’ll wager Louvel will n
ot be pleased when he finds out.”
“No doubt,” Kate muttered. “But this step may prod him to treat her with the respect she deserves.”
On the following day, they held a small service and symbolic burial for the late Marquess and Marchioness of Beaufort, the Earl and Countess of Traherne, and the other shipwreck victims.
Kate was glad to have the presence of both Cornelius and Rachel, and of course, Deverill. She had vowed she would not cry, but as she stood beside the newly dug grave and traced the new headstone for her mother and father, she felt the sharp loss all over again and couldn’t hold back her tears.
Yet this moment marked the end of her mission to honor her parents and relatives. The company was subdued afterward when they discussed the plan to return to England and decided to set sail late the following afternoon with the tide.