Free Pearls by Colin Falconer

grandson!'
    Flynn stumbled back on his feet. Holy Mary, Mother of God, surely not. He was seized with panic. Christ, the whole town was there outside the Regret watching.
    'Have you nae heard the happy news?'
    'Not here,' Flynn said, desperately. 'For God's sake!'
    'She's going to have a baby! My baby!'
    Flynn reeled back as if someone had swung a sledgehammer into his chest. 'For God's sake, McKenzie, shut your damned mouth!'
    'My baby,' Cameron went on. 'Ye have my pearl, and now ye have my blood as well. It seems too much bounty for any one man, doesn't it? Do you nae feel lucky, Mister Flynn?'
    'You ... scum.' '
    'Aye maybe.,' Cameron said, his breath sawing in his chest. 'But damn you, Flynn. Damn you for stealing my future!' He turned and walked away down the street.
     
     

Chapter 13
     
    The blue and red flag with its huge white stars fluttered in the breeze at the Residency masthead as the first fleets raced each other for the honour of being first past Entrance Point. The gulls followed the luggers, screeching and swooping for any scraps for the taking.
    Cameron was still on the beach, about to climb into his rowboat and head out to the China Cloud , still riding at anchor in the sparkling blue calm of Roebuck Bay.
    A sulky pulled up on the road above the foreshore and a woman climbed out and waited by the running board. He recognised the familiar red hair under the bonnet.
    He trudged back up the beach to the road.
    'Kate,' he said.
    'I heard what happened last night,' she said. 'I imagine by now the whole town has heard.'
    'Let me explain ...'
    Her face was perfectly composed. She came towards him with the dignity of a queen and slapped him once, very hard, across the face.
    'Well, you've had your revenge on my father. Is that what this whole thing was about?'
    'I did not mean what I said.'
    'But you said it. In front of everyone. You disgraced me in front of everyone.'
    'I'd had too much to drink. I didn't know any others were watching.'
    'And what difference does that make?' She took a step towards him. 'I feel sorry for you, Cameron. I do not believe that you truly understand what you have done.'
    'Did he tell you? About the pearl?'
    'The pearl? No, he did not. Perhaps you were right, perhaps he did steal it.'
    'He stole it all right. He admitted it to my face.'
    There was a look in her eyes, sadness and pity rather than anger. 'Oh Cam, I would have loved you until my last breath and followed you to the very ends of the earth just to be with you. I would have given you my very last drop of blood. Was any pearl worth as much?'
    She turned and allowed her Chinese servant to help her up into the sulky. She did not look back. a few moments later she was gone.
     
     
     

Chapter 14
     
    The China Cloud beat back for another drift under jib and mainsail. They were on good shell, in less than ten fathoms of water. The afternoon passed to the monotonous click-clack of the air pump. Wes fed out the lifeline, while Assan, the Malay, tended the air hose. Curry-Curry was bent over the firepot next to the air pump, where two other Malays toiled under the canvas awning.
    The new diver sent up another bag of shell from below, big grey oysters covered with green and brown seaweeds and ferns. The Koepangers set to work with their tomahawks, chipping away the coral and plants and tossing the shells into a pile in the middle of the deck.
    Cameron took out his knife and began to cut open the shells. But after a while he threw his knife, point down, into the decking. He got up and went to the scuttle.
    'You hokkay, skip?'
    'I've nae mind to do the shell right now.'
    'Mebbe only an hour to sunset, skip.'
    'Aye, well, maybe tomorrow then. I'm away to my bed. I dinnae feel well.'
    Wes frowned as Cameron disappeared down the scuttle to his cabin. The skip never left unopened shell on board overnight, too much of a temptation for the crew. But Cameron had not been himself since they left Broome.
    It was that woman. Wes knew all