by Kacey Ezell
“Mother packed a generous parcel of books and treats for the small ones in the Eventide care, and the driver will bring it to the main House for Mother Ingrid.”
* * *
Lucia delved into her work alongside the Eventide Sisters and Brothers, and the usual volunteers who dropped by to do their service. The repetitive labor was an exercise in meditative distraction, as Amelia promised. The two cousins indulged in some light gossip as they worked. Amelia queried Lucia about news and gossip from her social circle. Lucia detected a definite, yet subtle anti-Immortal bent to her cousin’s talk, and she gave Amelia a sharp look.
“I only worry about you, dear cousin,” Amelia said with a smile for Lucia’s perception. “There’s always talk around town of banning the Immortals from our shores for fear of what they bring, pestilence, immorality, chaos,” Amelia whispered as they hunkered over pots of herbs in the greenhouse, snipping and sorting fragrant greenery to put up for sale in the Eventide’s small shop in the city.
“I promise I’ll be careful. I will. I just want to meet him. I constantly get dragged off to see suitors who find joy in the most mundane lives. I want to talk to someone who’s had adventures. Just for once. Maybe his tales of adventure will startle me into staying here. All that treachery and danger might keep my feet on dry land.”
“And then you’ll tell me all about it. I need a diversion from Mother Claude’s stories of her youth. I’ve heard them a hundred times.” Amelia and Lucia walked to the kitchens and lined up with the other workers and volunteers, Sisters, and Brothers for their evening meal.
“Sister Amelia and Lucia, you can take dinner to the clinic patients. The children were hungry, so Sister Beatrix took them their dinner.” The Sister in charge at the kitchen handed Amelia and Lucia the baskets of food. Steam rose from the iron pots within the woven baskets, and the smell of fresh-baked bread and sweet, ripe fruit wafted up. “Hurry along now, it’s getting late; come back, eat your dinner, and then it’s time for you to go, Miss Delsarte. We didn’t mean to keep you so long.”
Lucia accompanied Amelia to the small brickwork clinic and set the meal basket down on the table for the Sisters to bring to the patients. She discreetly averted her eyes from the people in their beds, while wondering which ones were there by Immortal action. Lucia wasn’t about to dare pry, either. She portioned out bowls of food, a broth for some, a heartier stew for others. She set them before the patients who could feed themselves, then moved on to refilling water jugs and helping other patients eat their meals. As Lucia worked, she wondered about the stories Amelia had told.
“Thank you, Miss. Could I trouble someone for an extra blanket and a book?” Lucia’s final charge asked as Lucia packed up the meal dishes and linens.
“Of course.” Lucia returned with several books and a heavy woolen blanket, which she draped over the young woman, about Lucia’s age, maybe a few years older.
“They say I may be well enough to move to the Sisters’ residence in a fortnight. I guess returning to my former occupation would be foolish and spiteful, after all the Sisters have done for me. Can you sit and talk a moment? I don’t get visitors, and everyone’s so busy they don’t stop to talk much, unless it’s to read the Eventide Book to me.” The woman shifted in her bed and lay back on the pillows.
“For a moment. I’m only a volunteer, not a Sister in training myself. If there’s other books you’d like, I’ll see that someone brings them to you. You were a Source, right?” Lucia replied.
“Aye. I miss him terribly, I do. He was a kind man; it wasn’t by his hand that I wound up here. By his bite, but I came down with a terrible weakness, they left me dockside, and when I woke, I was here. He’s not come to see me, nor sent word or inquiry. I’d only been on the Sources’ dock for a few months. My heart cries for them, but I cannot go back; the medic says I wouldn’t survive.”
Lucia shook her head. “Perhaps a new path is for the best. And the Immortals aren’t allowed on the grounds, so he couldn’t visit even if he wished it. I imagine the Mothers aren’t inclined to let them send letters, either.”
“Captain Moynihan of the Sund. If you could pass a message on, I’d be quite grateful. Just let him know—”
Lucia hesitated. “Miss, I don’t know that’s wise. I’ll tell him you’re well, but I fear you’re forbidden from seeing him or receiving correspondence without the Mother’s say-so. Go rest, and I’ll see you when I’m back in a week. I wish you a calm recovery.”
“Thank you, Miss. And it’s Elinor, in case he asks. Thank you.”
* * *
Lucia left Elinor to her rest and sat quietly in the corner at a table, writing in her journal while waiting for Amelia to finish her nursing duties.
Amelia came up shortly and gestured for Lucia to follow her away from the patients. “Bed six, in the corner. She weeps every night for her Immortal lover, who left her on our doorstep, broken hearted and addicted to something we can’t identify. Bed eight, he was thrown off one of the Ships, almost bloodless. He nearly died. He has a long recovery ahead, and he’ll likely live amongst the Eventide Brothers when he’s well. His mind isn’t all there, either. They left him a broken man and a broken soul,” Amelia leaned over and spoke to Lucia with a quick motion to Elinor in bed four.
Lucia glanced over sidelong at the patients in their beds. “But surely you see only the people who fell to harm from the love of an Immortal. You don’t see when they thrive, Immortal lovers or not.”
“We do, but I’m just warning you. The people who become intimate with the Immortals can suffer harm we cannot repair. It’s not all roses and kisses, cousin. I wish it were.”
“I’m sorry, Amelia.” Lucia hugged her cousin. “I didn’t mean to dredge up old feelings best forgotten.”
“No harm done. I miss them now and then, the lavish dinners and dresses, the fun indulgences. Then again, I have the scars, I remember how it ended, and I’m happy the Eventides have taken me in. I just worry for you. They speak promises that are cloaked in darkness.” Amelia shook her head, brushed a tear from her cheek, and drew a deep breath as she composed herself. “I’m quite all right.”
Back at the main Sisters’ House after the meal, Amelia handed Lucia a woven rattan box with flowers, pastries, and a few small packets of the herbs they’d picked. “Your mother will appreciate this. There’s a carriage waiting to escort you home. I, of course, am obligated to accompany you to assure your parents of your safety.”
“And because you’ll stop on the way back to the Compound to pick up a box of sweets for the other Sisters. You had a long day; you must be exhausted. I can pay a deliveryman to bring your shipment by in the morning.”
“Mother Ingrid insisted I see you back to the manor. Truthfully, she wants that shipment for its books and little luxuries as much as I do. We aren’t that strict on austerity. We allow for small indulgences. The parcel is at the depot near the shipyard postal station. You can leave your note for the captain there. I can’t believe I’m allowing you to do this.” She sighed and looked around before shrugging her shoulders. “It goes against everything my heart says I should do. But there’s no stopping you, so I’ll be there to chaperone. Then I can rest well, knowing you’re safe.”
“Thank you, Ammie.” Lucia hugged her cousin, using the old nickname of affection they’d used as children. Ammie and Luce. “I promise I’ll be on my utterly best conduct. I don’t wish to spite all the Eventides have done for you.”
* * *
The two women sat in tired silence, holding hands as the carriage trundled on its short journey back to the Delsarte Mansion. “The Eventides gave me my soul back. I don’t think I belong anywhere else,” Amelia said after a few moments of silence. “They don’t look at me differently because I used to be a Source. They let me put that in the past. They understand. Not that I don’t appreciate you and your parents, but the Order has become my home.”
The carriage slowed in the darkening streets and came to a shuddering
stop at the parcel depot near the docks. The dockside district always struck Lucia as something like another world. All around were the sights and sounds of ships at port: creaking wood and chains clattering against the docks, and the splash of the waves lapping at the posts. The smell of the salt air wafted in stark sensory contrast to the pastoral, earthy setting of the Eventide Compound. There, rich smells of baking and the sweet perfume of flowers filled the Order’s expansive, peaceful estate. Here, a drunk dozed, snoring heavily in his stupor against a low wall, and voices echoed over the water as the business day wound down.
Lucia and Amelia stepped out into the early night. A few citizens were about as Amelia glanced around to survey their surroundings. The Eventide garb extended some measure of respect, even from common pickpockets, a small perk for which Lucia was grateful tonight.
“We’ll only be a moment,” Amelia instructed the driver in a stern tone.
“Take your time. I’m going to go get supper.” The driver gestured at a nearby tavern.
“Actual food, sir, not an ale dinner. I’ll have words with your dispatch if you come back reeking of liquor,” Amelia warned.
“Yes, Sister.”
* * *
Lucia waited in the parcel office’s front lobby as Amelia signed for the Sisters’ order at the desk and hefted the box. With cautious glances around the shadowed streets, the two women walked over to the message office. Lucia’s fingers toyed with the note in her pocket as she began to rethink her zeal to meet this captain. Daring won out as she stepped to the counter.
“I’d like to leave this for someone who has a box here.” Lucia slid her gloved hand across the desk, offering the parchment envelope and several coins to the clerk.
“Save your coins, miss. He just walked in. Good evening, Captain de Graaf.” The clerk gestured to the door with a bored wave of his hand. Lucia’s stomach fluttered with the sensation of butterflies as she was caught off guard.
“Miss Delsarte, what a pleasant surprise. And you, Sister Amelia. A delight to see you both once more.” Johannes glanced down at Lucia’s trembling hand, clutching the note with his name clearly visible on the front. “May I?”
Lucia held out the note to Johannes and left the coins on the counter with a nod to the clerk. Gold for silence. The clerk swept them away and shuffled to the back office, muttering about some task he had to accomplish. Amelia watched from a few paces, a disapproving look on her face.
“Step over here.” Johannes gestured. He opened the letter with a flick of his fingers, breaking the wax seal Lucia had applied. “An invitation from you to tea tomorrow evening. I would be honored. I can meet you there, since I’m sure sending a carriage around unannounced wouldn’t sit well with your mother.”
Lucia’s cheeks went red. “Smart man. Yes, Amelia will be there as a chaperone.”
“I would’ve asked the Sister to join us.” Johannes reached for the heavy box Amelia carried, and she offered it over without hesitation. “Allow me, before you drop this. Your carriage driver is getting drunk in the tavern. I’ll flag down a sober one.”
Amelia sighed. “I told him not to go drinking. Thank you, Captain.”
“At your service, Sister. What are you two doing in this part of the city at night?”
“Heading home from a day of work at the Eventides with my cousin.” Lucia gestured to her work clothes, an Eventide apron and cap smudged with dirt and flour.
“Ah, our friendship is doomed before it starts. You’re joining the Sisters,” Johannes said with a melodramatic sigh.
“Not at all!” Lucia laughed as she yanked the headwear off. “I like to work there a few weekends a month. I’m afraid we must be going. Sister Amelia has to return to her compound, and I can’t be seen chatting up an Immortal man by the dockyards. If this conversation goes on much longer, I’ll have to give the clerk more coins for discretion.”
Captain de Graaf turned to the clerk, offered a few more coins, and held a finger to his own lips in a gesture of silence. The clerk shrugged indifferently, scooped up the coins, and returned to the back room.
“Then tea tomorrow it is. The Oliphant and Rose on Etoilestraat, a good choice. I know it well; I look forward to it. Here’s your carriage.” Johannes set the parcel in the carriage and helped Amelia in, then Lucia. She watched as Johannes gave orders to the carriage driver, and then stood on the curb, waving as the carriage rolled away.
“I’ll tell your mother you’re needed for extra hands at the Sisters tomorrow night, just this once. After that, what you do is on your head alone. There’s no stopping you, so maybe if you indulge this, you’ll get it out of your mind,” Amelia said.
“It’s just tea. They drink tea, right?”
“They do. And blood, and liquor. And he’ll whisper pretty words that’ll assure you you’ll be treated like a queen, and sail away with adventures, romance, and promises.”
“I’ve been offered much less. You’re not selling me on the life of the ordinary, cousin. I think one of the suitors owns a small yacht, but he said he’s fearful of water, so it never sails. Ordinary is not what I seek.”
“The ordinary life is a long one. It’s not as bad as you make it out to be. It’s not captivity,” Amelia replied as the carriage drew up to the Delsarte mansion.
* * *
Lucia carried the box of groceries in for her mother and put things away before she tiptoed up the stairs in the darkness of the house. Despite her care, Lucia’s boots tapped on the marble floors, echoing in the empty hall of the Delsartes’ spacious home. Drawn by the footsteps, Edith came out to see Lucia in the kitchen.
“Luce? The Sisters kept you late. Goodness, I was beginning to think you’d decided to join.”
“Amelia asked the same of me. There’s plenty of work, and I offered to help. A few of the Sisters are away, and they were shorthanded. I’ll be going back tomorrow to do a day and overnight. Amelia sent some herbs and bread for you. She sends her regards.”
“You should have sent a messenger and stayed the night. Get some rest; you look beat. I’ll have the staff pack some extra things for the Sisters; I’ve items I’ve been meaning to send over. My ladies’ association just seems to find ever more books, linens, and kitchenware to donate. Shoo, off to bed, my lovely daughter.” Lucia’s mother kissed her cheek, then hurried off to her own room and left Lucia alone in the kitchen. She reached for a pastry from the box Amelia had sent and headed up the stairs to her own suite of rooms on the third floor.
Despite the exhaustion from a day of labor, Lucia sat at her modest desk and wrote briefly in her journal in an attempt to quiet her thoughts and allow her the rest she needed. A meeting with de Graaf, the small orphans at the House, and a deep loyalty to her cousin left her mind clouded with conflict. The page of her thoughts written down, Lucia slept a deep dreamless sleep.
* * * * *
Chapter 4
Lucia hefted her overnight case into the waiting carriage the next afternoon. She held the freshly washed and pressed loaner cap and apron from the Sisters in her hand.
“Stay as long as they need you. Send Amelia my regards.” Lucia’s mother waved her off. Lucia tried to stifle the unsettling feeling of sneaking around behind watchful chaperones and propriety. She was going to help at the Compound. There was just going to be a small diversion later in the evening. No harm could possibly come of it.
* * *
Amelia clutched a small basket and waited by the main door of the Eventide Sister’s House at sundown as Lucia arrived.
“I told Mother Ingrid we were off for tonight’s evening shift, offering counsel to the dock Source workers, and taking some personal time. Stow your case in my room. Sister Beatrix is away, so you can stay there tonight. She normally does Tuesday night counsel at the docks; I saw an opportunity.” Amelia held up the basket.
“You don’t have to do this. You don’t need to be complicit in this. I can go from here, and you can be completely innocent of all of this.” Lucia fussed wit
h her dress, smoothing her skirts, adjusting her jacket, and hefting her case.
Amelia shrugged. “I plan to offer Eventide Sanctuary and counsel at the docks. I just happen to have a dire need for a good cup of tea and a generous slice of cake in a teahouse over a book as well. If you’re there, that’s beside the point.” Amelia flashed a mischievous smile.
Lucia hugged her cousin. “You’re a saint.”
“Not yet, I’m not. I know a thing forbidden is much more interesting than a thing indulged. If this is how I can keep an eye on you while you sate this curiosity, so be it. I’ll swoop in and thump de Graaf if I suspect him of crossing the lines of good decorum,” Amelia replied as she fussed with her head cover.
“I would expect nothing less!” Lucia laughed. “Don’t start a brawl in the teahouse with the Immortal sir; save that for the alley.”
* * *
Lucia arrived at the teahouse earlier than the appointed time and took a seat in one of the secluded booths near the back, along the gray flat-stone wall. She sidled into the worn wooden seat and waited. Her mind raced with anticipation. Would someone spot them and send for her mother? Would he lure her away to the ships? Or be so obnoxious she saw the wisdom of Amelia’s words?
The tea-room bubbled with activity, quiet conversation punctuated by soft laughter, warmed by a roaring fire and glowing lamps on tables. Lucia watched as Amelia took a seat and placed an order with the server, then pulled out a book and started to read. She bowed her veiled head in content concentration.
Lucia tapped a finger on the table and stared at the menu, waiting for Johannes to arrive. The longer she sat there, the faster her heart raced. What if he didn’t show? What if he did?