The Emerald Tartan

by Patricia McGrew

  “No!” she screamed. She raced forward, arms outstretched to save her precious purchases. But Lydia too, slipped on the scum that covered the cobbled stones, and she spread her arms out to brace herself for the fall. At the very same moment, a hack raced around the corner at full speed, and tilted over on the two right wheels.

  There was another scream, this one in anguish. Lydia lay sprawled on the roadway with a dirty wheel track over her wrist. She did not move, afraid to find out what just happened to her.

  She heard shouting male voices coming from within the hack. She glanced in the direction of the voices and saw the hack had rolled over from not making the turn. A tall lanky man, dressed in black wellingtons, fawn-colored trousers and a navy blue frock coat, jumped out and ran back to where Lydia lay still.

  The man, well over six feet tall, reached Lydia before anyone else could recover from the shock of the entire accident. He cradled her head in his hands and yelled for a doctor.

  Then he looked down at Lydia’s green, dazed eyes that fluttered open to peer at him in confusion. “I am so sorry miss, it’s my fault. I told the hack driver to hurry because I’m late getting back to my ship. Are you all right?”

  Lydia struggled to look around and realized she was now lying in the middle of the road, blocking traffic. A small crowd of passersby began to gather around. She tried to get away from the stranger by rolling away from him to get up. The minute she put weight on her left wrist, searing pain shot through her arm like a hot knife. She moaned, fell back, and let her head fall back into the large, comforting hands which held her so gently only seconds before.

  Lydia heard her mother scream for a doctor. Mr. Quigley and the carriage driver stood around like two confused old men, completely ignorant of what to do to help either Lydia or Caroline. Everyone was shouting. But, over the voices of everyone, the tall man, who had now pulled Lydia a little more upright into his lap, shouted, “Dr. Miller, pull yourself together and get out here immediately. That’s an order!”

  Within a matter of a few seconds, a second man eased himself out of the hack, straightened his wrinkled jacket, and pulled himself up to his entire height of 5’4”. “Yesshir. Whatever you shay shir.” The portly man weaved as he ambled toward the direction where Lydia still lay in the road.

  “Dammit, Miller. Get over here immediately! This young lady needs medical assistance. And bring your black bag!”

  The befuddled man mumbled and turned around to retrieve his medical bag from the overturned hack. At last he realized the seriousness of the accident, and he succeeded in pulling himself together, as much as possible after eight glasses of ale.

  “Oh dear. What have we here? How did this happen?”

  “You stupid oafs!” shouted Caroline. “Your hack ran over my daughter’s hand just as she slipped and fell. Whatever made your driver go so fast on such a narrow and slippery road?”

  Lydia looked at the short man, but did not have the strength to say anything.

  The tall man winced. Very carefully, he made certain Lydia could now sit up on her own while the doctor looked at her hand and wrist. Then, he stood up to introduce himself to Caroline. “Please forgive us, my lady. If I may be so bold as to the introduce myself, I am Captain Ian MacLeod. Captain of the Emerald Tartan. And you are absolutely correct. We should not have been driving so fast, but the good Doctor and I drank one too many ales before we discovered how late in the day it was. I have several hours of paperwork before we can set sail late tonight. I was careless with my time. However, I can assure you Dr. Miller is one of the finest doctors I have ever known. He will take excellent care of your daughter… uh…Miss …” Captain MacLeod looked at Lydia.

  “Miss Lydia Holcomb is her name,” snapped Caroline.

  “Ah, yes. Lydia. ‘Tis a beautiful name. At any rate, Dr. Miller is a man I would trust with my own life.”

  “Which you clearly don’t value very much, driving at such a ridiculous speed,” moaned Lydia. “I don’t know if I want that man to touch me.”

  For the first time, Lydia looked straight at the Captain. His shoulders were broad, and his arms and legs were very long and muscular. The wind blew his curly, longish auburn hair around his chiseled face. His ruddy cheeks were still quite flushed from one tipple of ale too many.

  “Ah, Lassie. It does my heart good to see the color coming back into your face and your spirit back into your character.” He smiled.

  Lydia continued to look at the him. It wasn’t just his lips that formed themselves into a smile, his whole face smiled, including his hazel eyes. She felt faint all over again. Her lack of exposure to men had not prepared her for such a handsome gentleman to not only come to her rescue, but to speak to her so boldly.

  “Really, sir. This is enough. Please be on your way and we will find a reputable doctor for Lydia,” said Caroline.

  He turned slowly away from Lydia to face Caroline. “I will not hear of it ma’am. Dr. Miller will have her back in shape in no time.”

  Ian knelt down to Dr. Miller and whispered, “What’s wrong with her blasted wrist? Can you fix it?”

  By now, Dr. Miller appeared to have regained most of his senses, so Lydia allowed him to work on her wrist.

  “She’ll be right as ever, as soon as I set the fracture in her wrist.” Dr. Miller immediately began to retrieve bandages and splints from his black bag. She’ll be in pain for a few days.”

  The doctor leaned in the Captain’s direction and whispered, “She’s lucky, you know. By all accounts, her wrist should have been crushed.” Then the doctor said generally to anyone who would listen, “ten to twelve weeks with her wrist in the splint, and her arm in a sling should make her right as rain.”

  “Ten to twelve weeks! No! I am leaving England today. I don’t have time to sit around and wait for my wrist to heal.”

  “Now, now, Missy. Of course you can leave England today. That won’t be a problem. You aren’t left-handed, are you?”

  “No.”

  “Well, then. Everything is just fine. Just a couple of more minutes and I’ll be finished. Then you can be on your way again.”

  All the while, Mr. Quigley and the carriage driver picked up the wrapped parcels, wiped them off, and repackaged them in the small wooden trunk that was only a little worse for the wear and tear.

  Too soon in Lydia’s mind, Dr. Miller and Ian apologized for the inconvenience to the ladies. Captain MacLeod discretely handed a wad of notes to Mr. Quigley, “I hope this will make up for the inconvenience to the ladies. Please see to it that they know this money is for their trouble.”

  Ian turned to Lydia, reached out and took her small right hand into his and pulled her hand to his lips and lingered over his kiss on the back of her hand. Lydia felt warm tremors snake their way through her body.

  “I regret the manner in which we met, Miss Holcomb. Nevertheless, I don’t regret meeting you. My only regret is I am so bloody late that I don’t have the time to truly make your acquaintance. Do forgive me. Duty calls.”

  With that, Ian turned purposefully back to Caroline, kissed the back of her hand and bade her farewell, with an earnest apology for the accident and a quick reference to the money he had handed to Mr. Quigley for any expenses. Seconds later the two men were gone, having merged into the diminished crowd with other carriages, cargo, and people.

  Lydia stood there, dazed, her left arm completely bandaged in a sling, her wrist in a splint. She felt empty as though she had just lost something very dear, but she had no idea what it was.

  CHAPTER 5

  “Well, ladies, let’s be off to our own ship,” said Mr. Quigley.

  “Yes … yes,” mumbled Lydia, still in shock. She looked down to straighten her skirt. “Oh no! Mama, look at me. I am a mess! That awful filth is all over my skirt!”

  “Now dear,” said Caroline. “Don’t worry. We’ll get you cleaned up in no time at all. Once we get to the ship, we’ll order some hot water so you can bathe. There will be enough time so I can
wash your skirt and blouse before the ship departs.” Caroline smiled. “This calls for one of your new dresses!”

  Reality struck Lydia. She remembered the ramifications of the decision she had made only a couple of hours earlier – she was about to begin the adventure of her lifetime, away from her family, her friends, and all that was familiar to her. A nervous shudder crept through her body and ended in a throbbing ache in her left wrist.

  Only three minutes later, near the end of the pier, the Wyndom Wydoh sat proudly in the water. Mr. Quigley and the carriage driver prepared to carry the small trunk filled with Lydia’s packages to the ship. Caroline carried her own, unwilling to leave them in the carriage while she accompanied Lydia to the ship and her cabin.

  The sun had finally come out. And although the walkway was still wet and slippery, the small group stepped briskly toward the ship.

  The Wyndom Wydoh was a sight to behold. It was a large, sharp bowed clipper ship, with three regal masks pointing skyward.

  Lydia stood transfixed in front of the walkway. She had never seen anything so large or impressive. Her confidence in the ship and the trip soared. “This is incredible! What a way to begin my new life. This must be the most modern and safest ship in the world.”

  The crew members scurried like ants over the ship. At the center of all the work, stood a large man, whose only distinguishable features were his bushy beard and his large body covered in a dark blue, heavy jacket, and what appeared to be a captain’s hat. The man’s deep voice rumbled out orders, and all the crew ran to comply.

  “Miss Holcomb, we really must be going on board right away.” Mr. Quigley’s voice broke Lydia’s trance.

  “Yes, yes. Of course.” Lydia gathered her skirts as best she could with her good hand and began to move toward the ramp.

  Caroline came up behind her, “Are you all right, Lydia?”

  “Yes, Mama. It’s just there is so much to see. Look at the big man in the center of everything. He’s like a king, only he doesn’t have a scepter. Everyone scrambles to obey his every command.” Lydia giggled. “He’s sort of like Papa, but his voice doesn’t sound mean.”

  “No, it doesn’t, does it?” remarked Caroline, looking at the burly man with new interest.

  Mr. Quigley led the way up the ramp and yelled to the man barking out orders. The man stopped for a moment and looked in Mr. Quigley’s direction.

  “Oh ho! There you are Quigley. I was beginning to think perhaps you had not found a governess for Lord and Lady Saxonby.”

  The man smiled and looked at Caroline approvingly. “I can see that not only have you succeeded, but you have chosen very well, indeed.”

  Caroline blushed and Lydia snickered to herself at the mistake.

  “Dear me,” spluttered Mr. Quigley. “I’m afraid you are in error as to who the governess is. Allow me to introduce Mrs. Matthew Holcomb. She is the mother of Miss Lydia Holcomb, who is to be the new governess. Mrs. Holcomb, may I present Captain David Adams, the Captain of the Wyndom Wydoh.”

  Lydia hung back. She enjoyed seeing her mother befuddled by an awkward situation. Her mother stepped closer to the captain and graciously rose to the occasion, as Lydia knew she would.

  “My pleasure, Captain. As you can now see, I am not of an age where I could be planning a trip around the world. I leave that to my daughter, Miss Lydia Holcomb.” Caroline nudged her forward to meet the captain.

  Lydia felt nervous. Within a matter of hours, she had become used to Mr. Quigley, a tottering old man, but she was not accustomed to meeting men in general. This man was big, he had a loud voice, and he was clearly in command of everything and everyone around him.

  Her voice faltered. “Plea… Pleased to meet you, sir.” Lydia looked down at the deck after making a short curtsy and then stepped back.

  ***

  “So, you are to be my passenger. Well, welcome aboard. I’ll have one of the crew bring aboard your luggage, and then we can get you and your maid settled into your cabin. By the way, where is your maid?”

  “I don’t have one, sir. Although Mr. Quigley informed me I could have one for the trip, I’m afraid I just learned late this morning I would have to sail this afternoon, so there was no time for us to hire a maid.”

  The captain glanced at Mrs. Holcomb from under the brim of his. The captain paused only momentarily. He thoughtfully pulled on his salt-and-pepper colored beard. Then he took in a deep breath, pulled himself up ramrod straight, and scowled, “What! No maid? I won’t have it. I’m sorry. You simply cannot come aboard my ship without a maid. It would be improper. You are the only female scheduled to take this trip. All of my other passengers are men. No, this just won’t do.” Cautiously, the captain paused again to check Lydia’s and Caroline’s reaction.

  Lydia looked helplessly to Caroline. “Oh, Mama. What am I going to do? I won’t go back home, even if I have to live on the streets. I just cannot go home!”

  “Tut, tut,” said the captain. “Now that is no way to speak to your mother, young lady. But I may have an idea.”

  He looked directly at Lydia and avoided Caroline’s eyes completely. “Is it possible your mother could join you on this journey? That way, all proprieties could be maintained. Lord Saxonby and his wife would never forgive me for bringing a young woman such as yourself halfway around the world without a proper chaperone.”

  Lydia stared at the captain’s interesting suggestion. She appeared to mull the idea over, but before she could say anything, Caroline interjected, “Captain, I am a married woman. I cannot leave my husband with no word as to my whereabouts. The trip will take months. I haven’t his permission. We do not live here in London.”

  Mr. Quigley piped up, “I could take care of it for you Mrs. Holcomb. I’ll send a runner to Chatham with a handwritten note from you. That way, you can explain to your husband you found you had no choice but to go with Lydia. After all, he approves of her new position, doesn’t he?”

  Caroline tried to answer, but discovered she choked on her words.

  Then the captain added, “Besides, it looks to me as though Miss Holcomb is going to need assistance, her left arm is in a sling and her wrist is splinted. She must have had a recent accident. How will she ever deal with … with?” The captain cleared his throat, “her clothing?”

  Lydia jumped into the discussion. “He’s absolutely right, you know. Mama, without assistance, I will not be able to even think about changing clothing. Please, Mama. I know this is a lot to ask of you. I do not know how Papa will feel about it, but he won’t have any choice if you simply come with me. By the time you get back to England, surely his temper will have subsided.” Lydia whispered in desperation, “Mama, I will not go home, and I cannot sail without you.”

  By now, even the carriage driver, who had put down Lydia’s trunk, was looking at Caroline and waiting for her answer.

  “How much time before the ship sails?” queried Caroline, as she stared directly into the blue eyes of Captain Adams.

  “I’m waiting for one last load of cargo from Smith Brothers Warehouse. They are late. I am guessing it should be about another two or three hours before we can heave off.”

  “Well, I’ll need a hot bath for Lydia, and I will have to have time to purchase a few personal items.” Lydia noticed a slight grin on her mother’s face, in spite of her efforts at seriousness.

  The Captain did not hesitate at all. “Done,” he said. He winked at Lydia.

  The Captain issued orders one more time and sent the two ladies to their cabin. He ordered the women to clean up, make any necessary purchases and return to the ship for departure within the next two hours.

  ***

  Although bathing was difficult for Lydia now that her wrist was in a splint, sinking into the warm water felt heavenly. She wanted to take her time to reflect on the accident and Captain Ian, as she had begun to call him in her mind, but she had no time. She knew tonight once dinner was over, she could retire early. Then she’d have a chance to think about
him.

  The two hours flew by quickly for both Lydia and Caroline. Before they realized how much time had transpired, Caroline wrote a long confession to Matthew and shared the letter with Lydia before giving it to the courier. She explained Lydia’s new employment and promised to return to him as soon as possible to resume her role as a dutiful wife. She cleaned Lydia’s clothing and hung out it to dry. Then, the two of them visited a couple of shops nearby so Caroline, too, could purchase a couple of dresses and a few personal items for the journey. They had been back on the ship for barely thirty minutes arranging their clothing and toiletries in the cramped quarters of their cabin, when they felt movement underneath them. Lydia looked out the porthole and saw the dock was no longer beside the ship, but several hundred yards away, becoming smaller and smaller.

  “Mama. We are moving! Look!”

  Caroline peered out of the small circle of glass and realized they were drifting away from the shoreline. Flickering lights began to appear, one by one in the buildings along the wharf. Caroline was silent.

  Lydia could sense her mother’s concern. “It’ll be all right, Mama. You’ll see. Who knows? Perhaps this break from Papa will be good for you for the two of you. Maybe he will learn to appreciate how much you do for him. You deserve relief from laundry, cleaning, and cooking. Hmm. And tonight, you can wear your new silk dress!”

  Caroline turned around from the porthole and patted Lydia’s good hand, “I’ll be fine Lydia. I doubt your father will change in any way. Nevertheless, while I was known for my willfulness and disobedience is a young woman, I have never disobeyed your father, and I have not made a habit of intentionally lying to him. I feel more than a little guilty.” Caroline sighed and was silent for a few moments. Then she smiled. “On the other hand, I feel like a bird that has just been let out of its confining cage… a little bewildered and not sure I can fly long distances… but more than willing to try!”