Authors: Kelly Varesio

Insperatus (2 page)

BOOK: Insperatus

5.47Mb size Format: txt, pdf, ePub

ads

“
Tomorrow! I’ve talked to my father and he’ll take us. Well, to the ship, anyway. Edgar, one of our senior butlers, is going to come with us. But knowing him, he’ll leave us plenty be, and—”

“
Saria, that’s so wonderful!” Rein said, hopping off the bench and throwing her arms around Saria. “You already have tickets—my goodness!”

“
Apparently it’s one of the finest ships there are,” Saria said, pulling away. She looked down and brushed off her bodice. “Oh, Rein! Look what you’ve done, hugging me like that! My dress is nearly covered in dirt!”

“
I don’t have a bit of dirt on me,” Rein said with frustration. “I don’t understand why you pester me so much!”

Saria sighed and then giggled, throwing her arms around Rein despite the dirt. “Oh, I love you just as you are, Rein! You beautiful piece of God’s creation! You should just learn to work
with
your beauty instead of working against it. If only we were blood sisters, perhaps I’d have a slight chance of having as much beauty as you!”

“
Don’t say such a silly thing, ever. You’re perfectly handsome! And tomorrow will be fine—
great
!” she said with a laugh, turning and making her way toward the front of the house. “We’ll have so much fun together! It will be worth it, I promise.”

“
I am sure it will be.”

“
My! I have to pack!” Rein burst with excitement. “You will enjoy it, won’t you?” she called, turning around to face her friend.

“
Yes, of course I will. It just isn’t common for women to leave home. We have everything we need. I’m not yet nineteen and you’re barely twenty. We’ve still time to find nice gentlemen, marry, have children—” Saria stopped abruptly. “Oh, my! Nice gentlemen will be absolutely abundant on a steamship, won’t they?” She clapped her hands together. “And any on a steamship ought to be rich, too, you know.”

Rein shook her head with a grin. “Sometimes your intentions worry me.”

Saria laughed. “Well then I shall meet you at your gate a little after noontime with my father. Is that all right? Then we can have lunch before we go.”

“
That’s perfect,” she returned. With a wave of her hand, Rein turned and exited through the iron gate, full of excitement for the next morning.

Chapter 2

The sky was black with night, and the combination of the ocean mist and the downpour was freezing on Rein’s face. There was a beautiful full moon that lit the ocean’s surface enough to see the boat’s reflection in the water. But a thick fog made it hard to see any farther than a yard or two. Despite the chilling downpour, the waves were rather calm. She shivered; her skin was crawling with chills. She was on the small boat with only Saria, Mr. Kendrick, Edgar, a skipper, and a small rowing crew. Despite the terrible weather, Rein did not complain about having to ride on a dinghy for a few miles to the new steamship that would eventually take her to America.

They’d arrived at Easington port late, and it was mainly because of Mr. Kendrick’s slow going. The
Olde Mary
, their ship, had already taken off. Fortunately a skipper had approached them and, for an extra pound, said he would ride them to their ship on his dinghy—he said the
Olde Mary
had only been absent port twenty minutes or so. As absurd as the skipper’s notion sounded, they accepted the offer, and were told that the
Olde Mary
was a most beautiful and high-class ship.

Reviewing what happened, Rein hoped it was not an illegitimate deal. The skipper was talking to Mr. Kendrick as they rode, and Saria was holding an umbrella above her head, but both she and Rein could see that it wasn’t doing much good. Rein had brought only a small suitcase filled with a few dresses and belongings she thought would be needed for the voyage, but Saria had two large bags, full to the buckle. Edgar was holding them for her.

Rein pulled her cloak closer, and although it was wet, it stopped some of the chill. She continued gazing ahead. Any moment. They had been on the sea long enough…

Rein leaned forward, straining to see through the fog. There it was; her heart skipped a beat when she saw the ship suddenly appear through the fog. Her eyes widened at the sight of it, for it was massive in size; bigger than any she had ever seen or heard of. Two large sails were blowing high above the smoke stacks, and it was tall and dark.

No wake was left in its path. This relieved Rein since it affirmed that the ship wasn’t moving, and she was reassured that the deal she had made was, indeed, honest. The ship seemed to have seen them arriving behind.

The skipper moved aside and opened a drop on the side of his small boat. It was directly next to a step that led to a long stairway on the side of the massive ship.

“
Yeh must go,” he said loudly, over the rain and beating water. “We mustn’t be much of an hindrance to em. Tisn’t often ships stop and accept more passengers like this.”

Saria turned and held her father. “I’ll return soon. This is a wonderful chance for Rein, and I’ve always been so curious.” She moved her umbrella up and threw her arm around him, kissing him before her departure.

“
Have a wonderful trip, dears,” he said. “Please take care! Watch them well, now, Edgar!”

The butler smiled from beside them, his arms full with only Saria’s belongings. “Aye, Master Kendrick, of course!”

Saria’s bony, old father waved one more time and held up his cap until he and the dinghy disappeared into the murkiness.

Rein looked around at the deck after climbing the stairwell, and just when she had gotten truly drenched, the downpour slowed into a slight drizzle. Through the mist, lit by the moon, a figure came into her view.

He was a hunched ghost of a man who was hardly visible, even in the moonlight. He wore an old commander’s uniform, faded and frosted as if it hadn’t been touched or washed for years. Two epaulets hung on his shoulders, a begrimed color of gold. His faded cap was torn in three spots, and though the brim was black and metallic, it was dull. But it was his eyes that made it hard for Rein to swallow; they were entirely white.

She heard Edgar murmur, “Oh dear,” as she turned to Saria. He had caught sight of the eyes, too. Saria appeared a little shocked at the sight of them.

The old man’s grin was twisted and snarled, and he opened what seemed to be a black door made of some sort of metal. It shrieked as he opened it.

“
We saw the dinghy following us,” the man said as to charm. “We’re happy to have more passengers. I apologize for not being in port. Welcome to the
Olde Mary
.”

Saria returned a cautious smile and Rein thanked him timidly. They followed him into the ship, a dank smell of salt filtering from the deck.

Rein brushed the water off her cloak and followed quietly after the man. He walked unhurriedly and with a limp, holding a candle he had taken from a sconce. His features were sunken in his face, and white hair curled out in a frizzy mass under his captain’s hat.

When Rein reached the hallway, the salty, mildewed smell of the deck transformed into the more pleasant smell of cedar. She tried not to think about her upset stomach as she continued to follow the man. It felt like it was blistering with the unintentionally ingested rainwater she had partly consumed outside.

At that exact moment, Rein felt her breath escape her. She was treading on unexplored territory. There was only a butler whom she did not know with them. Saria’s father was much too old to attend such a trip, and her two brothers were already married and had families of their own. Rein had no family as far as she knew, except her father: the man who left her when she was little. She had no brothers, sisters, cousins…

She wiped a wet tangle of hair from her face as if to push away her thoughts. Their eerie greeter led them through another door into a large, dim atrium.

“
It is very odd that a dinghy would follow us for passage,” he murmured from pursed, wrinkled lips. “Were you that desperate for a ride?”

“
Not at all,” Saria answered. “But we had just missed you, and that skipper had given us an excellent review of your vessel.” She looked around at the intricate woodwork of the foyer. “I see he was not wrong.”

Saria looked at Rein and smiled, and Edgar trailed behind them quietly, his top hat crooked from the wind. He was a portly man, and rather short. His face had all the joy of the world portrayed within it, but he stayed as quiet as a church mouse unless spoken to.

Rein returned Saria’s smile, but her wary nature was still in full stride. Why did she feel the need to be so cautious? She laughed to shake off her apprehension. Saria did too, then.

She finally took in the beauty of the ship’s interior. There were old chess tables that stood around the lobby, their games only half finished, pawns sitting undisturbed. Antique chairs and sofas were around the lobby with tables between them, and a lit fireplace stretched to the right of them, tall and made of stone. Suitcases, top hats, and canes were propped up against it. Two rocking chairs sat in front of the fireplace, slightly creaking back and forth, yet no one was sitting in them. The lighting there was very soft.

There were passengers sitting on couches reading torn books, staring coldly at them, but conversation was going on nonetheless. The cedar smell faded off as Rein, Saria, and Edgar left the hallway behind them. A chill struck Rein. For a ‘spectacular ship,’ the interior seemed years old.

She then realized the man with white eyes was no longer leading them but was pointing in the direction of the front desk. As she looked toward his hand, she did spot the desk, but behind it she saw a small date engraved on a stone block in a wall. It read 1702.

She stared with curiosity. Brand new smoke stacks; just the sheer size alone… no ship more than one hundred years old would be fashioned like that. A ship that old wouldn’t even be around any longer. This was a steamboat, besides, and a bigger one than she had ever seen.

“
Part of the décor,” the man said from beside her. “We’ve built it around the date engraved, for show purposes.”

She smiled. “That is amazing,” she gasped. “It is so well fashioned.”

He grinned back at her, bowing slightly for her to pass. She quickly approached Saria and Edgar, who already stood at the counter. The woman behind it was tall and pale, wearing an old, light blue dress that fit snuggly on her tall yet waifish body. She stiffly bent her hand beneath the desk, looking at Saria, and handed her an iron key to her sleeping quarters. Her long, bony finger pointed toward the left-hand hallway. Rein saw Saria gleaming with brisk cheer. Saria was more excited than she was, it seemed.

After Edgar took a key, Rein nearly went to follow Saria when the stewardess said, “Wait, miss.” She approached the counter and the woman gave her a key, pointing to the right; the opposite direction of Saria’s room.

“
What?” Saria whispered.

As she looked down the dark hallway, Rein asked, “Sorry, but why is my room not
with
my friend?”

The woman’s expression grew vague. “Hmm? Oh, your friend. I do believe that you are going to belong down
that
hall.” The woman spoke in a deepened voice, her finger still pointing in the wrong direction.

“
But why wouldn’t I have the same sleeping quarters as she?” Rein questioned her again, a bit more assertively.

“
Don’t worry,” was all the stewardess said in response and looked down at her desk.

Rein sighed mannerly, walking toward Saria. The woman, though puzzling, seemed a good enough and respectable person. She didn’t want to cause any commotion; she hated causing disruption or conflict. She preferred to keep her thoughts and concerns to herself most of the time anyway. In spite of the fact that she had grown up without parents, which forced independence upon her at an early age, Rein tried to stay far away from being aggressive.

Rein looked down at her key. It had a room number engraved in it, and she glanced and saw Saria’s key did as well. Their room numbers were significantly different.

Rein looked up gravely, but Saria was smiling with contentment. “This is odd,” Saria said, giggling. “But, then again, so are
you
.”

Rein cocked her head in disagreement.

“
Remarkable detail,” Saria said. “Making this ship look like it is from the previous century is amazing, isn’t it?”

“
Yes, remarkable,” Rein replied, shaking her head. “Let’s just explore and settle into our staterooms, and we’ll meet out here afterward.”

Saria laughed and bit her finger, nodding, but then giggled when she looked down at the umbrella under her arm. “Oh!” she said. “Here, let us trade, dear Edgar. Take my umbrella, and I’ll take my other bag back.”

The quaint man nodded and did as she asked, smiling the entire time. After Saria had taken her large bag, now holding both, the man was able to hold his own small one comfortably.

“
Did you want me to see you to your room before we go? See, I’m down Saria’s hall as well.” Edgar began meekly.

“
Oh, no thank you,” Rein said, slightly dazed. “So odd…well, if I have a problem I will request another room.”

BOOK: Insperatus

5.47Mb size Format: txt, pdf, ePub

Read Book Download Book

ads