“Butonce in a great while, usually this time o’ year, when the Irish folk arecarving turnip lanterns and before the witch of November casts her spell on thesea, someone finds him on the rocks and brings him in. Either to their ship orto shore. By the time they get him to safety, he vanishes, like he was never intheir boat. Haven’t seen him myself, met some that did and took him in. Toomany for it t’ be just a story.”
Theycleaned the last of their catch, Teague wondering out loud if their encounteron the rocks was a sign of good fortune, “Like Abraham offering dinner to theangels who brought him and Sarah the good news.” Then they put sails east andnorth, heading home to Winter Harbor.
Theypulled into the quay with the half moon rising over the hills, and unloadedtheir catch before Malone settled the account and gave out the last pay of theseason. Word must have got out that the ship had docked. As Lavinny walked fromthe fish warehouse and up the quay, Malone trailing her on the way to his ownhome, she saw her mother Elnora walking toward the dock, her cloak wrappedabout her shoulders and a shawl over her head. Lavinny’s sister Letitia was ather side, a lantern in hand. Ma hugged Lavinny close, releasing her to shakeMalone’s hand. “Thank you, Seamus, for bringing her back to us.”
Malonepressed Ma’s hand before releasing it. “She’d bring herself back, if it came tothat y’ gal has more gumption than some o’ the lads workin’ the ship.”
Lavinnytried to cover this by reaching into her coveralls and taking out thepocketbook containing her pay, and an advance on her last catch, to hand to Ma.
“Shouldkeep you an’ the gals in ribbons till the spring running,” Malone said.
“UnlessMaria wants more new books from the post out of Portland,” Ma said.
“Aslong as she hasn’t been lurking around where I hid my nest-egg,” Lavinnygrumbled.
Malonemade his farewells and went to see about setting his boat in winter storage. Malead Lavinny up the quay and onto the main road of the village. Letitia carriedthe lantern ahead of them to relieve the darkness picked out by lights in a fewwindows and a few early turnip lanterns on Maisie Gilhooly’s porch steps.
“Lavinia,your face looks as cold as a December sea. What’s wrong?” Ma asked.
“Nothing,I had a long day for the last day of the season, and my haul was middling,”Lavinny said.
Ma’sshawl rustled as she turned to look to Lavinny. “You’ve never looked thatworried after a middling haul before. Tell me, you’ve always confided in me.”
Lavinnylooked to Letitia, then slowed down her steps, but kept the light in view. “Wefound a fisherman stranded on the rocks off the point. Teague and I hauled himon board and we brought him back to the ship, but before we could get him ontothe Sunny Green, he vanished out the boat.”
NowMa slowed her pace, pausing to look full into Lavinny’s face. Then looking toLetitia’s light bobbing further up the road, she murmured, “Let’s get homebefore your brother Caleb and the little ones get restless, and Katie wants tocall out the bloodhounds to look for us.”
Theydidn’t say more about the man on the rocks till they got back to their roomsabove Father’s dispensary. Once home, while Caleb collected fresh logs for thekitchen range that Katie the kitchen maid clattered about, and when Ma hadsettled a squabble between Maria and Cora, the younger ones, Ma took Lavinny toher and Father’s room, on the pretext of settling the family accounts.
OnceMa had lit the lamp in the room and closed the door, she set her ear to it, asif to make certain no one lurked outside. Then she stepped close to Lavinny,taking both of the girl’s rough hands in hers.
“Lavinny,the man you found on the rocks, did he have curly black hair and dark eyes? Washe swarthy and young, perhaps in his early twenties?” Ma asked.
“Yes,he didn’t speak much, because the cold had hit him. But he had an accent like someof the Portuguese fishermen we’ve met in Bar Harbor and Portland,” Lavinnysaid. “Why do you ask?”
Mahesitated, said nothing for a long moment, looked away to the far corner of theroom, then looked back to Lavinny. “Lavinia, that was your father.” Ma nevercalled Lavinny by her given name unless she spoke in all seriousness.
“Myfather? My father is John Sterne, the man you married, who went to war whenLincoln called for doctors to treat the Union boys.”
“JohnSterne gave you his name and raised you, but he wasn’t the one who gave you tome.”
Lavinnyfelt the world turn slower under her boot heels. “The lads on the crew saidTeague and I found a ghost.”
Manodded. “I’ve heard the stories that people tell, of what they’ve found on therocks. It’s why I worried at your going to sea. But you’re more likeConstantino than like me. He was stubborn but so brave. He’d started in themerchant marine, till he’d been injured while unloading his ship. Yourgrandfather took him aboard after his captain cast him off, gave him a homeaway from home. Once he’d mended, he’d climb to the very top of the mastheadlike a monkey and hang on like a bird. Drove me dizzy to watch him, but healways came down when he saw it drove me to distraction. He promised one dayhe’d buy me a pearl ring with his earnings, but I’d tell him to keep dreaming.Until Christmas, when he gave me a ring with a pearl he’d found in an oysterand had a jeweler in Portland set for me. I told him he would have to get aship of his own, even something as small as a catboat to pay that off. Hepromised
