Chapter 29
29
G ibb attempted to drown himself in a flagon of whisky, but even that didn’t take the pain away. Isabella thought he didn’t understand?
He understood all too well.
It tore his heart out when the woman had admitted to fearing the one thing that he never wanted to do—abandon her. Taking a wife was something a man must consider with great forethought. However, once he recited his vows, it was his duty to protect her before all else.
Damnation, I wasn’t supposed to fall in love.
Before the sun rose, he lowered the skiff and rowed himself to the shore, took up his spade, and began digging like a madman.
Why the devil did he hurt so badly? He would endure a thousand snakebites to relieve the miserable aching of his heart. He’d gladly face a pit of snakes only to hear Isabella say she loved him. To feel her in his arms to hold her now and forever more.
But she thinks I would abandon her.
Would I?
He’d lost so many good men in battle and couldn’t save them. Dear God, what if he lost Isabella? He wouldn’t be able to live with himself.
Gibb shoved his spade into the dirt and hit a rock. With violent hacks, he pounded the earth from side to side, gnashing his teeth. His life had always been the sea, and he’d sworn he had no room in his heart for anyone.
Except Duncan. He would die to protect that lad.
When the spade ricocheted against the stone, making his arms rattle clear to his bones, he stopped, panting, leaning his forehead against the wall of the hole. I would die for Isabella in a heartbeat.
Gibb had spent his days insulating himself from the happiness of family because he was terrified of losing another person he loved.
And he loved Isabella with every fiber of his being.
With his next blink, an enormous weight lifted from his shoulders, as if he’d suddenly unearthed the reason for his everlasting torment. The reason he rarely slept. His reason to continue living.
It took all his strength to heft the boulder out of the pit, his breath arresting in his chest at something else he had unearthed, a sand-encrusted, cherubic face. With his fingers, he brushed away a bit more dirt, revealing the cherub’s pudgy form. It appeared to be cast in lead.
“Why did ye not wait for us, Cap’n?” Archie’s voice boomed from above while his face appeared, his hair dripping wet.
Still dazed, Gibb regarded the faces of his men peering into the hole, all dripping with water.
“Did you swim ashore?”
“Aye, on account ye took the skiff.”
“Forgive me.” Gibb climbed up the ramp the men had built for easy entry into the excavation. “I had a great deal on my mind.”
Duncan dashed past him and clawed at the dirt. “Look what the cap’n unearthed!”
“What did you find?” asked Archie.
Gibb watched as the lad brushed the relief with his fingertips. “I’m not certain, but the design is of ancient Rome for certain.”
An hour or so later, the captain and his men had unearthed a lead box about the size of a medieval money chest.
“Put it in the boat, lads.”
“Are ye no’ going to open it?” asked Archie.
“I think we ought to give that honor to Mrs. Schuyler.”
The book in Isabella’s fingers slipped when an urgent pounding rattled her cabin door. “Bella!” Gibb boomed, throwing open the door. “We’ve unearthed a box!”
“A box? Is it Roman?”
“Aye, hewn from lead. It is covered with Roman cherubs wielding whips and bows, whilst riding in chariots pulled by oxen, lions, and wild boars.”
Setting aside the book, Isabella quickly stood and brushed out her skirts.
Gibb took her hand and tugged. “The men are hoisting it onto the deck.”
“Carefully, I pray.”
“Aye, and they have orders not to pry it open until you give your approval.”
Isabella snatched her journal and a pencil from the table, then hastened to follow the captain out the door. “Let us not delay!”
As they stepped out into the sunlight, the first thing that caught her eye was an ornate dark grey box not more than four hands wide and three hands tall. It was secured by ropes on all sides and suspended over the deck by the ship’s winch. “Is it heavy?” she asked.
“Aye. That beauty took six men to pull out of the hole at Mars’ feet.”
“You’ve already reached the pedestal of his statue?”
He tugged her into the circle of men while Mr. Lyall took charge of the lowering of the chest. “We have.”
Duncan was the first to smooth his fingers over the ornate pattern. “Can we open it now, Mrs. Schuyler?”
“I’d like to survey it first.”
Gibb pulled the lad away. “Everyone stand back. Give the lady ample room for her inspection.”
Isabella opened her journal to an empty page and made rough sketches as she walked around all four sides, stopping to take note of every aspect, from the molded lead to the joins to the places where the frieze had broken away. “It is in surprisingly good condition.”
“I canna wait to see what’s inside,” said Duncan, earning a stern glare from the captain.
Though she wanted to draw the entire box in detail, she took one look at the expectant expressions on every face and closed her journal. “There must be a man at each corner working to remove the lid. Also, when you set it down, do so as if it were the most fragile item you had ever handled in all your days.”
Though Duncan was the first to step forward, Gibb ushered the lad aside and appointed four sturdy seamen to the task.
Isabella held her breath as they lifted the lid off the box, which very well might be a tiny coffin.
“Cor,” Duncan said, his voice filled with awe as the lot of them stared down at a complete tablet embedded in what appeared to be a cache of silver Roman coins.
When the boy took a coin and rubbed it between his fingers, the captain pulled him away. “Mrs. Schuyler, please advise how you would like to proceed. This is your find. We will follow your wishes.”
Isabella had been around the crew long enough to know their expectations, and she wasn’t about to disappoint them, especially since they were the ones who had carried out the work of unearthing this priceless relic. She looked across the anxious faces and smiled. “Of course, I would like the opportunity to inventory the contents of this chest. As you are aware, these tablets are priceless to me—and this one is in pristine condition. Afterward, as the hardworking crew of the Prosperity , I will leave it up to your captain to equitably divide the silver among you all.” To their sighs of relief, she raised her voice and continued, “Thank you ever so much for your tenacious labor. Each and every one of you deserves to be rewarded!”
When she met Gibb’s gaze, he wasn’t just smiling; there was something in his expression that she hadn’t seen before—something she couldn’t put a finger on, but it brought such a surge of longing from the depths of her soul that she could scarcely breathe.
The howls of glee from the crew faded from her consciousness as, completely motionless, they stood across the chest from each other. It was as if Marcus and Flavia were there weaving their destinies together in a tangled plait. And though Isabella tried to tell herself she was being foolish, she could not block her feelings for this man.
Archie touched her arm, and she startled. “Beg your pardon, madam, but I thought you’d want this afore we tote the wee box into your cabin.”
She took the tablet, immediately recognizing the handwriting. “Thank you.”
“Would you entertain a little help on the translation?” asked Gibb, moving beside her.
Smiling, she inclined her head toward the cabins. “Perhaps one last time.”
Gibb and Isabella sat side by side at the tiny writing table, deciphering the contents of the pristine wooden tablet. When they were finished, Isabella placed her pointer finger atop her journal and read aloud:
Flavia, my wife,
My heart is overflowing with my love for you. After nine years of wallowing in the fires of hell, you never lost hope in my return. You welcomed me home with open arms, and my heart overflowed with abundant love as I fell into them. Together we have aged, but the years have made us stronger and more resolute. Because of you, Titus has grown into a fine man—a man of whom I am proud. I will love you until I draw my last breath. You are the stars and the sun. You are my reason for living.
Your devoted husband,
Marcus
Gibb marveled at how well preserved this tablet was. “I canna believe he made it home alive, and after all those years as a gladiator.”
“It is a miracle.” Isabella pushed the journal toward him. “Read the translation from the other side.”
Gibb cleared his throat. “Verra well.”
My sweet Marcus,
I never once gave up hope for your return because I knew you had more strength and honor than that of all the men in the empire combined. You were always my love. You claimed my heart when I had seen but twelve summers, and now I weep the tears of a bereft widow. By the gods, I miss you so very much. I leave this gift to Mars with a prayer for your safe journey through the underworld. Wait for me, darling. I will be with you soon.
My love and adoration,
Flavia
Isabella wiped a tear from her eye, her darling nose a wee bit red. “’Tis a happy but bittersweet ending.”
“I reckon it is a verra happy ending, lass. Marcus returned home to his lover’s arms—a woman whose memory helped him survive and overcome unbearable odds.”
As she nodded, he dropped to his knee once again, praying for the words to come. “Isabella, my love, I dunna ever again want to be separated from you. I ken I’ve said I’m married to the sea, but you must know that when the Prosperity sailed away from Savannah, I felt like a part of me died. I pined for you, and I want to you to know that I love you more than the sea, my ship, or anything of this earth. Wherever you are is my home, and I’ll say it again, I never want to be parted from you.” Gibb’s throat started to close, and he kissed the back of her hand, swallowing. “I love you. I have always loved you, and if you want me to give up the sea, then I shall do so gladly. Please, please, please, reconsider my offer and agree to be my wife.”
“You love me?” she asked, her voice trembling.
Gibb stood, pulling her with him and wrapping her in his arms. “I love you, and if you want me to climb up to the crow’s nest and shout it to all of Spain, I shall do so at once.”
She placed her cool fingers on his cheek, her eyes full of wonderment. “That will not be necessary. But are you sure?”
“That I want to marry you?”
Slowly, she nodded.
“Aye, more than anything.”
A radiant smile spread across her lovely lips. “Then my answer is yes.”