The Shipmaster's Daughter by Jessica Wolf Read Free Book Online Page B

croak. “My aunts, they’ve—they’ve passed away.”
    “My dear woman, I am so sorry.” Jack touched his hand to his chest.
    “That is…unfortunate,” Reed added.
    She pulled her lips into a tight line. Tears perched on the edge of her eyelids, but she didn’t let them fall. Blotches of red covered her upper chest and neck as her breathing turned heavy. With shaking fingers, she folded her letter carefully. “I—You’ll have to excuse me.” Without waiting for a response, she swished past them.
    Jack waited until she was out of earshot to voice thoughts that mirrored Reed’s own. “What are you going to do now?”
    He rubbed a hand down his face. “I have no idea.”

    Dinner that evening was unpleasant. At least, Reed felt it was. The only sound came from utensils clanging against plates and the air was clogged with unspoken words. Reed kept his eyes glued to the table. He tore through his food, barely pausing to taste it. To his right, Jack ate in much the same fashion. He only paused once in a while to level an inquisitive glance Miss Renaldi’s way. As for Luciana, she sat to Reed’s left and hardly touched anything laid before her. Try as she might to conceal her sadness, everyone in the room was clearly able to see the way she dabbed at her tears with her napkin and sniffed too often. Reed might be an unfeeling man, but he understood her emotion. He only hoped it didn’t drive her to stay any longer than necessary.
    As if she knew his own thoughts, her next words worked to lay rest to his fears. “I want to assure you, Signore Hargrave, that this…setback won’t cause me to intrude upon your generosity any longer than it needs to.” She set aside her napkin, spreading her hands across her lap. “I will be gone as soon as I can find a job in town.”
    Reed cleared his throat and put down his spoon. “Take whatever time you need.” He cursed the way his voice sounded, stilted and disingenuous. Why did he have to be so callous? She was without family, without a home, and all he could think of was the day she would be leaving. He hadn’t been like this when Katherine was alive.
    “What do you plan on doing?”
    Luciana turned her eyes to Jack at his question. “Whatever they’ll have me do. My English isn’t as good as it could be, so I’ll take something that requires as little talking as possible.”
    “I think your English is wonderful,” Esther said. She offered Luciana a bright smile, and to Reed’s surprise, Luciana returned it with a smile of her own. It wasn’t as shining as his daughter’s; it was soft and quiet, but a smile nonetheless.
    “ Grazie, Esther.”
    “Well, I’m sure that wherever you end up, you will make do just fine.”
    At least Jack sounded sincere. Maybe Reed should take a page or two out of his book.
    Luciana pushed her fork around the rim of her plate, the ghost of a smile drawing at the corners of her eyes. “Your confidence is encouraging, Signore Lipold. Grazie .”
    Peters rung the bell behind them, signaling dinner completed. Reed drew in a low breath, relief easing the knots in his muscles. “Jack, would you like to play a game of cards?”
    Jack crumbled his napkin into a wad. “As long as you let me win.”

Chapter 7
    L uciana felt the weight of all that had happened pressing upon her chest. She tried to slow her breathing, gain control, but nothing worked. Her heart felt like it was going to burst from her body. Her throat felt tight. Tears blurred her vision. Her hands fisted into her blankets as she screwed her eyes shut. She would not let her emotions win.
    The news of her aunts’ passing had hit her harder than expected. She barely knew the two women, so why did it feel like she’d lost her family all over again? Maybe because now she truly was alone. With her parents and brothers dead, her aunts had been the only two people she had left in the world. And now they were gone, too.
    Luciana thought she had cried every tear in her body