Secrets of the Realm (24 page)

 Annie rolled a pear in her hand. "Touch those curtains, Molly, and I might have to throw this at you after all."

Standing in the doorway, Abigail broke up Annie's pity party. "Molly you can go now."

The chambermaid gathered up Annie's tray of dishes and hurried off.

"Today, you are going to the garden. The fresh air will do you good," Abigail said.

Annie slouched under the covers. "I didn't want to go to the garden yesterday or the day before that. So why do you think today will be any different?"

"I really don't care what you want anymore. I understand you miss your friends on the Realm, but I can't do anything about that."

"They are called shipmates, not friends."

"Friends, shipmates, what difference does it make? Apparently, you have forgotten that I was once your friend. All I am asking is for you to come to the garden with me."

"No offense, Abigail, but I can't walk. Remember? I broke my ankle."

"Erik will carry you."

"I do not want him carrying me anywhere."

"It has already been arranged. By the way, Matthew will be visiting today and you will be on your best behavior. Is that understood?"

Annie had not seen Mr. Montgomery since the Realm set sail. As angry as she was with Captain Hawke, she was even angrier with Mr. Montgomery for his transgression, abandoning the captain for Abigail. Annie would have gladly taken his place on the Realm if given the chance. Is there no honor, she wondered.

When her cousin came into the room, Annie glowered at Abigail. "I see you are serious about me not having any choice in the matter." She pulled out a pillow from behind her back and heaved it at Erik.

He caught it with one hand. "Missed," he said and heaved it back at her, nailing her in the face. She fired more pillows at him until she ran out of ammunition.

"It is indeed a lovely day. The birds are chirping, flowers blooming." He grinned broadly at the pillows scattered across the room.

His forced cheerfulness grated on Annie's nerves. "I do not want to ever see the light of day again." She dug her fingers into the comforter.

He continued to smile. "If I have to, I will throw you over my shoulder like a sack of potatoes. Or maybe you can act like a lady…"

"I am not a lady!" Annie screamed at him.

"As I was saying, maybe you can
act
like a lady and let me carry you to the garden. Which is it, Annie, sack of potatoes or lady? Your choice."

"Well, I'll be, I'm actually being given a choice about something?"

Coming along the side of the bed, Erik lost his cheerfulness. "Raise your arms—now."

Too weary to argue, Annie made a request. "I cannot go outside in my bedclothes. I would like to change first."

"Here, take this." Abigail grabbed a shawl hanging over a chair and handed it to Annie. "I do not want you changing your mind."

Annie wrapped the shawl around her shoulders and allowed Erik to carry her. She buried her nose in his shoulder. She smelled the scent of the horses from the stable.

Once in the garden, Erik placed Annie on one of two oak benches. She closed her eyes and welcomed the breeze brushing against her cheeks. It reminded her of climbing the ratlines with Christopher. A lifetime ago, she thought.

"I brought you a book, Annie, one of your favorites," Abigail said. "Shakespeare sonnets."

Annie opened her eyes. She took the book, skimmed its pages, and placed it next to her.

She looked off into the distance and saw Mr. Montgomery strolling toward them. He wore a narrow-sleeved pastel blue waistcoat, tan breeches and black riding boots. As hard as she tried, Annie could not help but be amused that Mr. Montgomery's coat was a perfect match to the color of Abigail's dress. She wondered if they were now consulting each other on what to wear. Annie wrapped the shawl tighter around her body.

Behind Mr. Montgomery followed Robert and another footman. Annie saw that they were carrying a large wooden box. She guessed it was about forty inches long by twenty inches wide. The closer they got, the straighter Annie sat up.

They placed the chest, with its brass handles and dovetailed corners, at Annie's feet. She bent down; tracing the letters of the name carved on the front, Christopher. She breathed in the familiar aroma of the Realm. Her lips twitched up at the corners of her mouth. The smile disappeared as quickly as it had appeared.

"Why did you bring this here, to torment me?" Annie protested.

"We thought it was time you…" Abigail struggled to find the right words.

Mr. Montgomery came to her rescue. "We thought it was time you moved on."

"What does this have to do with my moving on?" Annie said while she pointed to the chest. 

 "I believe what is inside the chest will bring you some comfort," he said.

Annie lowered her voice. "All that is inside are my clothes and a few trinkets, like the knife that Captain Hawke gave me. And since I hold only contempt for that man, I cannot imagine how this can bring me comfort."

"Annie, there is much more in there than you think," Abigail said. She opened the lid halfway before Annie slapped her hand on top of Abigail's.

"I will open it. After all, it is
my
sea chest," Annie said.

She slowly opened the lid and gazed at the monkey knife lying on top of her clothes.

"A mighty fine lookin' knife, that is," Erik said, staring at the monkey's eyes. "What kind of gems are those?"

"Rubies. You can have the knife, Erik."

He couldn't stop staring at the ruby eyes. "Are you certain you want me to have it?"

The more she thought about it, no, she didn't want him to have it. Like the sea chest, it was another connection to the Realm. And while she wouldn't admit it to anyone, they were all still an important part of her life.

Annie wouldn't go back on her word, though, and handed him the belt with the sheathed weapon. "Promise me you will take good care of it."

"I promise."

She watched him strain to put on the belt. It barely went halfway around his waist.

Annie shrugged. "I'm sorry, Erik, but you cannot have the knife without the belt."

Erik smacked his thigh and chuckled. "You had no intention of givin' it to me. Did you?"

"Forgive me, but the more I thought about it, I just couldn't."

"I understand. Now let's see what else is in this here chest that I can't have."

Annie watched Erik rummage through her things. She felt a knot growing in her throat as each item came into view: her fearnought jacket, shirt, canvas trousers, and the gray socks. Then she glimpsed something shiny. "What is that?"

She pushed herself off the bench to get a closer look. Careful not to put weight on her broken ankle, Annie knelt down. She uncovered a mirror and brush. 

Annie looked at Mr. Montgomery. "This belonged to Emily, Doc's wife. And what is this? I never put these things in here," she exclaimed.

"Doc wanted you to have the brush and mirror, Annie," Mr. Montgomery said. "The other items are from the rest of the crew."

"I don't understand. Why would they do that?"

"Because they care about you, Annie," Abigail said. "We all care about you."

"Except for Barrette and Symington, no one would even look me in the eye. They treated me like a stranger."

"They were trying to get used to the fact that Andrés never existed," Mr. Montgomery said. "But Baggott told me he wanted to put one of his favorite possessions, a deck of cards, in your sea chest. He hoped you would remember him and the Realm. The idea caught on. Even if they couldn't put it into words, the crew wanted you to know how much you meant to them."

Annie found one keepsake after another in the sea chest, a star knot from Mr. Allan, Smitty's whalebone carving. She held up a nail and laughed. "This must be from Symington."

"Aye," Mr. Montgomery said.

She blushed when she pulled out Barrette's white linen shirt. 

Annie resumed searching through the chest. "Oh my."

"What is it?" Abigail said as she knelt beside Annie. "Another shirt?"

Annie rolled her eyes at Abigail. "No, it is a book of poetry by Thomas Dekker. There is a poem in here that the captain and I both love,
Old Fortunatus
."

 "Captain Hawke wanted you to have this," Mr. Montgomery said as he handed her an object wrapped in plain paper.

Annie had noticed it earlier, but when her attention focused on the sea chest, she forgot about what Mr. Montgomery was holding. She hesitated, but her curiosity won out. She took it in both hands and shook it. She then felt its corners. She knew what it had to be.

 "Open it." Abigail insisted.

Annie ripped off the paper. Her eyes widened. "I can't believe it."

Erik couldn't hide his disappointment. "Not another book." 

Annie scanned the pages. "Not just any book, Erik. It is a book of poetry by Garcilaso de la Vega. Me mum used to read it to me when I was a child. I told the captain about it on my first day on the Realm." Annie turned to Mr. Montgomery. "Where did he get it?"

"In Charles Town," Mr. Montgomery said. "Jonathan searched for a copy of the book. He was about to give up when he discovered that Captain Delgado had a copy. He offered to purchase it from him. Eduardo would accept no amount of money since it was a gift for his wife. But Jonathan thought he might be able to tempt Eduardo with one of his prized weapons. I won't bore you with the details."

"But it wasn't one of his knives, was it?"

Mr. Montgomery cocked his head. "You know?"

"It was the sword he displayed among his knives. It was beautiful with its chiseled acanthus design. When I saw it was missing, I asked him about it. He said he lost it in a card game. I don't understand. If he wanted me have it, then why didn't he just give it to me," Annie said.

"He had his reasons," Mr. Montgomery said.

"And now, I can't even thank him," Annie said.

"Oh, don't worry your pretty little head about that," Abigail said. "We have saved the best for last. Haven't we, Matthew."

Mr. Montgomery nodded his head.

Lord Spencer, who had been listening quietly under a large oak tree, walked across the lawn. He reached into his coat, and pulled out an envelope. "Do you remember this?"

Annie immediately recognized the broken waxed seal of a red hawk on the envelope. "It is Captain Hawke's letter, the one you gave me in the carriage."

"You told me I could burn it, but I always thought you should have it. I took the liberty of reading it. "

"You read
my
letter?"

"Yes, I did and now I know you must read it." He handed the letter to Annie.

She took a deep breath
.
"
My dearest Annie
…"

And like the first time Annie had begun reading the letter, Abigail gushed. "The captain sounds quite taken with you."

Annie ignored her and continued reading. "
I shall never hire another cabin boy again
.
Not because you were too much trouble, but
because
you can never be replaced
."

She looked at Abigail. "I thought he hated me."

"You are so silly, Annie. How could anyone hate you?" Abigail said. "Now, continue with the letter."

"
When I return from China
." Annie paused once more.

"Mr. Montgomery, the captain must have been quite angry with you when you told him you wouldn't be returning to the ship. The voyage to China was something you both had been planning ever since the Realm first sailed."

"I thought he would chastise me for leaving the Realm for a woman, but if anything, he seemed envious," Mr. Montgomery said.

"The captain is a wise man, Mathew. He knew you had better things to do than going to China," Abigail said as she tiptoed her fingers up Mr. Montgomery's arm.

Lord Spencer banged his cane on the bench. "Abigail!"

"Now, now, Father, you will get a case of apoplexy if you let yourself get all worked up." She turned to Annie. "Finish reading."

"
I wager my entire knife collection that your adventures will continue on dry land. You will surely keep the Spencer household jumping once your ankle has healed.
"

Annie thought a moment. "Do you suppose he would consider using a chambermaid for target practice as an adventure?"

Erik shook his head. "No, has to be something more exciting if you ask me."

"Don't give her any ideas," Abigail said.

Annie couldn't help but laugh. It felt good. She went back to reading the letter. "
When
you long for the Realm, open your sea chest and know that we have not forgotten you. We never will. 

"Upon my return, you and I must swap tales of our adventures. But remember this, you are a fine young lady now, and your adventures will be far different from when you were out at sea."
 

Annie placed the letter on her lap and sighed. "That is all he wrote."

"How did he sign it?" Abigail asked.

"Captain Jonathan Hawke."

"That's all?" Abigail said.

"How else should he have signed it?" Annie asked.

Abigail put her finger to her temple. "How about this: Now that you are gone, my heart beats slower?"

"Daughter, it is not a love letter," Lord Spencer said shaking his head.

"What can I say, Father? I am a romantic."

While everyone discussed the letter, Annie quietly read it to herself, again. She memorized every word, every detail, before tenderly slipping it back into its envelope. Now that he is gone, it is my heart that beats slower, she thought to herself
.

 She pushed that thought aside. "Lord Spencer, may I borrow your cane?" she asked

Conversation came to a halt. All eyes fell on Annie.

"My cane?" Lord Spencer said.

"I need it for only a moment, sir. I will give it right back."

Lord Spencer handed it to her.

Leaning on the cane, Annie steadied herself and stood up. Both Erik and Abigail reached out, but she waved them off. "I am fine," she said. "In fact, I am better than fine."