|
The Sea Captain's Wife, by Beth Powning
Knopf Canada, 2010, available in paperback by Vintage Canada 2011
EXCERPT
Nathaniel strode to meet them. He pointed at a line scrawled across the deck with chalk. “For now,” he said, “you may stand at the bow rail if you wish to watch our departure. But you’ll never again cross that line. Your lives will be lived in the aft section of the ship.”
He pointed beyond the chalk line to a small door in a raised deck in the ship’s bow. “That is the fo’c’sle. The sailors eat and sleep there. You and Carrie will not fraternize with them.”
Azuba was shocked by his tone. She could not believe he had chalked the line. She put a hand on his sleeve, felt a wave of rage. “We are not your prisoners.” Her voice trembled. She kept it low for Carrie’s sake. “May I remind you that I am your wife. This is your daughter.”
“What I tell you is for your own safety,” he muttered, his own voice lowered. “You ignore me at your peril. And Carrie’s. Learn this now. On board, I do not have time to explain. Nor to argue. Do you understand?”
He did warn me, she thought, staring at him as he turned away, barking orders. I will be your captain.
Sailors clustered on the deck, passing a thigh-thick rope, the hawser, down to a steam tug that lay at Traveller’s bow, waiting to tow the ship into the bay. A shudder went through Traveller as the hawser came taut.
The rain came hard now, wind-lashed. Whelan’s Cove was a vague sketch behind the grey veils. Azuba thought she could see their house, out on the promontory, but could not be certain.
From Chapter 5, “Chalk Line,” The Sea Captain’s Wife
|
The Sea Captain's Wife 
