“Let’s not spoil her yet!” someone called. “We’ve got a bit of a sail ahead of us, gents.”
The men laughed and a few lewd responses followed. Evelyn’s face flushed in anger and she sought an escape by kicking Lucius’ bag towards the railing, where she could gaze out at the docks and the many hands waving farewell as the ship cast off. There were plenty of women down there, and she wished she were among them. At least here at the rail, these men had to behave, for they were in view of their wives.
As the ship emitted a throaty farewell, passengers flocked to the deck to witness the nascent of their journey. Evelyn received a few clumsy jabs from shoulders and elbows as men clustered around her, and she was on the verge of screaming in frustration when she discovered one of those elbows belonged to Lucius.
“What are you doing over here, Miss Brennan?” he wondered. “Now you’ve moved and lost our spot! We shall have to sleep here, you know! Shoved up against this very rail! Everywhere else has been taken. I shall not take any blame if you decide to roll right off the ship.”
Evelyn sighed.
“Really, Mr. Flynn. As my guardian, it is your duty to sleep in between danger and myself. It’s high time you showed up, anyway. I cannot believe you left me alone with all of these hormonal dogs. They were after me not two seconds after you scurried off and their women were still waiting to bid them Godspeed from the docks! The nerve, I tell you!”
“Oh, give it a rest, Miss Brennan. Once they hear how you complain they’ll have no more to do with you. That mouth of yours, as delicious as it may appear, is really your greatest defense.”
Evelyn opened her lips to speak, but found she had nothing more to say.
To the ignorant onlooker, the two seemed almost companionable as they watched the Steam Rose drift away from the docks. They stood side-by-side in silent meditation for many moments before Lucius spoke again.
“I discovered something during my exploration of the ship that may be of great interest to you.”
He watched her for a reaction, but she was playing aloof.
“Oh?” was all she said.
He thought her pride must be wounded, so he smiled to himself. Tormenting Evelyn Brennan was great fun, indeed.
“Don’t you want to know what it was?” he asked.
“Could you refrain from telling me if I didn’t?”
“Certainly.”
Lucius sealed his lips and continued to gaze out at the sea.
Evelyn watched him, waiting, but he disclosed nothing.
“Well, what is it?” she inquired impatiently. “Or do you expect me to beg?”
“You’re begging now,” Lucius replied with a smirk.
Evelyn gasped.
“I would never!”
“Then ask me kindly. Like a normal human being asking a fellow normal human being.”
“You presume I believe you are normal?” Evelyn asked mockingly.
“Fine. I shall tell someone else of my discovery.”
“All right, Lucius! Have it out.”
“Tut tut, Evelyn. Is that the best you can do?”
Evelyn pursed her lips.
“Hm?” Lucius prodded, raising an eyebrow.
“All right! Please, Lucius Flynn, may I know your great secret?”
Lucius was thoroughly amused.
“Certainly! Of course you can. You, Evelyn Brennan, are not the only female aboard this ship.”
Evelyn turned immediately and began to peer about the deck.
“There is another? Where is she?” she asked.
“I shan’t tell you, lest you think lowly of me.”
“You mean to say that her husband secured a stateroom.”
“Precisely.”
“Then perhaps she would be a dear and invite me to share in her accommodations.”
“She has a child and a servant to accommodate.”
“She has a servant as well? Where is her husband? You should take lessons from him.”
Lucius chuckled while Evelyn narrowed her eyes at him.
“Tell me,” she said. “What is this woman’s name?”
“I don’t recall, I’m afraid. It’s French, though I believe she is English. Her husband is English, at any rate, and his name is Stephen Whitfield. Quite the gentleman. A man of the cloth, no less. A bit Puritanical for my taste, but I’m sure his wife will be capital company for you. Perhaps she will even be of positive influence.”
“You’re so dreadfully witty, Mr. Flynn.”
“Indeed, you’re not the first to tell me so.”
“Dreadfully conceited, too.”
“Aye, I’m afraid I’ve heard that, as well. Back to it, I’ll admit I’ve played a bit of a cruel joke. The truth is the ship is overbooked, but we are not to sleep outside. We are to share accommodations with the Whitfields.”
“Mr. Flynn! Whatever are you trying to do to me? It was a dastardly trick to make me believe we were to sleep among these wretches!”
“And one I am proud of! Come along then, Miss Brennan. Let me show you to our room.”
Lucius shouldered his bag and started off, leaving Evelyn to trail after him. Passengers closed in on her from all sides, forcing her to budge her way through the crowd while attempting to touch as few male extremities as possible. She tried to ignore the men’s many suggestive stares as they watched her pass by, silently brooding about the fact that every displeasing thing that happened in her life did so by the hands and will of Lucius Flynn.
Chapter Seven
A girl of fourteen opened the door. She was dressed in common maid’s attire, with skin so white it glowed, and she possessed startlingly large, green eyes. She did not speak, but smiled warmly and gestured for Lucius and Evelyn to enter. With a courteous dip of his head, Lucius swept past her into the room, but Evelyn found she could only stare. She had never seen such a lovely girl in her life. There was nothing conventional about the maid’s appearance, nor particularly extraordinary about her nose, her lips, or her hair, which was honey blonde and pulled into a bun. Yet those eyes were bottomless and full as the sea, exuding such a strong, absolute presence of mind that Evelyn was completely awestruck.
The spell was suddenly broken when another female voice erupted from within the cabin.
“Welcome! Oh, welcome! We are ever so delighted to meet you!”
A woman appeared from behind the maid, her dark curls bursting untamed from beneath the cap upon her head. Her cheeks were flushed and her red lips were turned up in a smile that spanned the breadth of her face. Her eyes sparkled with hospitality.
“Come in!” she beckoned Evelyn. “Come in! Make yourselves at home!”
Lucius stood in the center of the room, his hat removed and clasped in both hands. He was impatient for the women to become acquainted, for he wished to wander off and leave the females to each other’s company while he explored the ship and made friends of his own.
Evelyn recovered herself and joined him. They introduced themselves to the woman with the French name, as Lucius had not yet met Mrs. Whitfield and her husband was not in the room. Lucius wondered where the preacher had gone.
“My name is Adele,” the woman told them. She indicated towards the young maid, who had closed the door and stood by attentively. “And this lovely girl is Josephine, my maid and nanny to my son, who’s fast asleep at the moment, I’m afraid. His Christian name is Bartholomew, though we call him Bartie. Dreadful title, I know! But my husband insisted upon naming him after his great uncle, who has been dead many years now. In fact, I don’t rightly know if my husband ever actually met Uncle Bartie, but Mr. Whitfield is a man of great respect, which you shall discover soon, I’m sure. Oh, but indeed! Mr. Flynn has already made his acquaintance.”
“Speaking of Mr. Whitfield,” Lucius said, glancing about, “where is your husband?”
Adele waved a gloved hand through the air.
“Off exploring the ship, no doubt,” she replied. “He has a fancy for ships, and I told him to be
sure to get acquainted, as this one shall be our home for the coming weeks.”
Lucius nodded and was already making his way out the door.
“Then if you will excuse me, ladies,” he said, “I think I shall join my male counterpart.”
Before anyone could protest, Lucius slipped passed Josephine and out the door. Evelyn released a sigh of relief and grabbed Adele’s hand.
“It is such a pleasure to meet you,” she told her. “A few moments ago, I was frightened to think I was the only female aboard this ship.”
“Quite extraordinary, isn’t it!” Adele agreed. “I have never seen so many men in my life. We are quite a rare breed upon this vessel, I dare say.”
Evelyn looked about the room. It was rather large, and might have been elegant if not for the Whitfield’s many belongings which were stacked and scattered about. The cabin was furnished with a small desk and chair, a bureau, and accommodations enough for four people, with one large bed and a pair of bunks.
“Have you devised a plan for our sleeping arrangements?” Evelyn asked, though a plan was already forming in her own mind.
Adele looked at the berths as if she had only just noticed them.
“Dear me, I haven’t,” she replied. “This entire adventure is quite peculiar, is it not? I never dreamed I would be forced to share a room with anyone but my relations. But these are strange and exciting times, of course, and I would rather share a room with you than a deck with fifty indecent men, by Jove! What do you think, my dear Miss Brennan? How might we make the most of our situation?”
Evelyn smiled to herself.
“Well, if Mr. Flynn was present,” she began, “I am certain he would volunteer to sleep on the floor.”
“Oh, that is very nice, isn’t it? Your guardian must be quite the gentleman.”
“On the contrary, he is insufferable. I only bear with him because I must.”
“You don’t say?”
Adele looked as though she could not imagine a single soul in the world as anything less than perfectly amiable.
“I do,” Evelyn said.
“Well then,” Adele waved a hand through the air, “to the floor with him!”
The ladies laughed, and it was soon agreed that Mr. and Mrs. Whitfield would sleep in the master bed, with Josephine and Bartie in one bunk, and Evelyn in the other. Lucius, as discussed, would sleep on the floor.
Evelyn was thoroughly pleased with this arrangement, and while the women proceeded to establish their quarters, they chatted comfortably.
“Is this your first time sailing?” Evelyn asked.
“Indeed, it is! But it shall be easier with a friend alongside, as you have now become. We shall have fun together, shall we not?”
“Certainly,” Evelyn agreed. She could not help smiling, for she had begun this journey with no hope of making friends.
“But where, you might ask, do Stephen and I find the capital for such fun?” Adele proceeded. “Not through my blood, I assure you. My father is a parson and my mother is a French winemaker’s daughter. Both of my grandparents, on my mother’s side, are still alive, and it is because of them that I have been cultured in the French arts. Indeed, I do love a good French poem. Why, we should read together! At the conclusion of my tale I shall fetch a volume of Philippe Desportes.”
Evelyn offered an encouraging smile. She and Adele were off to a great start, for Evelyn adored Desportes.
“With both vision and finances,” Adele continued, “my husband is the reason we are able to travel. I sometimes wonder how in the world I obtained such a man. His father was a great military general, and one quite glorified, if I may boast on his account. He was also a landowner. When he died, all of his wealth was bequeathed to Stephen. My husband endeavors to see the world, and I am obliged to him for sharing it with me. Our son will reap much of the benefits, I believe, as he is not to be left at home. You may think us careless for bringing him along, you may think we are rebels of society, and perhaps we are. I for one do not want my boy to become a rich, sniveling brat. I desire that he should be reared a worldly, cultured, humble young man of principle, with knowledge and experience no textbook can teach. And I daresay, with dear Josephine as my helper, Bartie shall be raised up to be the finest of children.”
Both women looked at the maid, who had seated herself beside the sleeping boy and was calmly stroking his hair.
“Where did you find her?” Evelyn asked. “She has the most intriguing eyes I have ever seen.”
“Indeed!” Adele agreed, her voice dropping to a whisper. “It is not often you see a child with irises of such vibrancy. Stephen and I worked at a home for orphans in London when Josephine came to us. She is a mute, as you might have guessed by her silence. The poor girl has not spoken a single word since she found us. That sometimes happens, you know, when a child loses her parents. But the other children seemed to believe Josephine was, in fact, born a mute.
“We knew she was different from the moment we saw her, for though she was alone and wore naught but rags, she was a very peaceful child. As we prepared to leave England, I just knew I had to have her for my own. She’s my maid, yes, but she is so much more than that. Having her near is like rest for my soul.”
“I’m curious how you learned her name if she does not speak?”
“Oh,” Adele smiled, “she did not write, either; at least, not when she came to us. The children named her. One of the girls thought of Josephine, and the others took to it immediately, for they thought it very pretty in comparison to the many Annes, Marys, and Elizabeths we had running about.”
“How fortunate it was for her to be taken in by a loving family such as yours,” Evelyn said musingly. “It is a dreadful course of fate that one should lose her family, as well as her home.”
Adele tilted her head to one side.
“You speak as if from experience, my dear Miss Brennan.”
There was a question in the statement that Evelyn felt no desire to answer. She smiled through the little lump in her throat and dropped her eyes to the floor. From where she sat with Bartholomew, Josephine gazed at her with an expression full of empathy.
Silence replaced their conversation, and sensing her new friend’s distress, Adele changed the subject.
“If I may be so bold as to inquire,” she began, “are you an abolitionist, Miss Brennan?”
Evelyn started.
“I don’t believe I have given the idea much thought,” she replied. “Slavery was abolished from the British Empire when I was an infant and New York has been a free state for fifty years. I have had little exposure to the system. It is foreign to me, as our servants have always been paid and treated with respect. I wonder at the origin of your curiosity?”
“It originated from a selfish desire to become your intimate friend, in whom you feel free to confide,” Adele smiled. “I am not blind to the way my people have disdainfully treated yours, and when I mentioned that my husband’s father was a landowner, I was rather afraid of what you might think. The elder Mr. Whitfield, you see, owned properties on English soil only. He had none in Ireland.”
“You need not worry, Mrs. Whitfield. My father was lord of his own land. The Brennans have no quarrel with England.”
“I am glad to hear it. The nobility of my country have treated the common people of Ireland as far less than respectable, hard-working tenants. As slaves, if I may speak candidly. I believe it is important for those of my people who recognize the injustice done to yours to apologize on behalf of our country, just as it will one day be incumbent upon the American people to apologize for the injustices done to those whom they have enslaved.”
“Then on behalf of Ireland, I forgive you.”
Adele placed her hand over her heart.
“And on behalf of England, Miss Brennan, I thank you.”
“Please, call me Evelyn.”
Just then the door opened, and Stephen Whitfield entered the room. He was a tall, fine-looking man, with spectacles and a kind
face. The women stood to greet him, and Adele rushed to introduce her new friend.
“Is Mr. Flynn not with you?” she inquired as her husband bowed to Evelyn. “We thought he had gone to find you.”
Stephen looked puzzled.
“No, indeed. I have not seen him.”
Adele turned to her friend.
“Shall we compose ourselves into a search party, Evelyn?” she asked.
Evelyn recalled Lucius’ initial opinion of Mr. Whitfield as Puritanical. She should have known he would have no real interest in keeping company with a minister. There were plenty other ‘male counterparts’ to befriend on this ship, the most amusing of which were most likely located in the drawing room.
“No,” Evelyn replied. “I have no need of his guardianship when I am here with you.”
* * *
Lucius had never troubled himself with finding friends. He merely sought the cards and the ale. Friends - as well as enemies - were quick to follow.
It had been a successful first day. All their papers were in order, their luggage meticulously packed, their passage smooth and under way. The Steam Rose had set sail, and this very moment, they were inching towards California. If all went as promised, they would arrive at the next station of their journey, Panama, in two weeks’ time.
Soon Lucius would be digging, Lucius would be finding gold, and Lucius would be rich. But most importantly, Lucius would be free. And this was something to celebrate.
He had been quick to find where the drinking, smoking, and gambling took place, and discovered a great many others who wanted to celebrate the beginning of their journey in a similar fashion. Names, origins, and stories were shared, and the night was drawn late with a number of songs. Lucius’ voice was hoarse by the time men began to stumble off to their cabins, and he was seeing double when he decided to do some stumbling of his own.
He did not have a grasp on time when he left the drawing room, but it seemed late. Earlier, the ship had been teeming with strangers; but somehow, they had all disappeared. He wondered where they had gone.
Liberty Hill (Western Tide Series) Page 5