“It would be a great honor, Your Majesty. One that I would not take lightly.” He would give his new role all the care it required. Tomorrow. Today, he was busy. “But if you’ll excuse me, I really, truly need to go see my betrothed.”
The king nodded, and a small smile played across his face. “Am I to assume you mean my cousin?”
“Yes, Your Majesty.”
“Good. That pleases me. She has been unwed for far too long. Tell Lady Charlotte I expect to see her for dinner next Tuesday.”
***
Charlotte stood with her hands on the iron railing, feeling the sharp cold sting of the metal through her kid gloves. The ship rocked ever so slightly beneath her fingers, and she tightened her grip. Lord, she hoped the nausea was just her nerves about leaving and not seasickness. Six weeks of this as they crossed the Atlantic would be unbearable.
“Any regrets, Charlie?” Will asked as they watched the captain finish his final inspection of the ship and signal to the boys waiting at the end of the gangplank, who picked up the ropes that held the walkway secure.
“No regrets,” she said. There had been a moment of hesitation following her friends’ news about Walter and his ruination, but as the day went on she felt more and more secure in her decision. After all, if John hadn’t been on a ship to America that morning, he would have come to see her.
“Can I take this for you, miss?” A cabin boy gestured to the small satchel at her feet. All of her other possessions had been stowed.
“Thank you. I will be down shortly.” As much as she needed a moment to sit and collect her thoughts, she didn’t want to be belowdecks when the ship set sail. She wanted to witness the shore disappear into the distance. It was such a significant occasion, it would be anticlimactic to miss it.
With a rasp the wooden gangplank slid from the ship’s deck and hit the pier with a loud clang. There was a rattle as the heavy chain of the anchor was raised. Charlotte could feel a change in the way the ship rocked the moment it was no longer securely fastened.
“There’s no turning back now, sister.”
She gave a small smile. “This is the right choice.”
The captain blew a whistle and in unison the crew dipped their oars into the water. At the first stroke, the ship inched backward. At the second stroke, the ship drew away from the wharf. By the fifth, the ship had glided into a turn, positioned to sail down the Thames.
There was a sharpsnapas one of the sails dropped open. Charlotte almost lost her balance when the ship lurched, and she had to grab Will to stop him from falling as his cane slipped out from under him. Once they’d steadied, she dropped to her haunches and picked it up. It was one of the ebony canes Private James had purchased. She wondered how the boy was doing in his new position as assistant groundsman.
As she stood, she had a direct view of the pier they’d just pulled away from, and the horse that was riding up it, and the rider who was swinging off, then running a hand through his hair.
“Oh my God.”
“Is that Barnesworth?”
“Oh my God,” she repeated.
William whistled, a low sound that ended with a nervous chuckle.
On the pier, John was untying the rope that held a small tugboat fast. A young lad approached, waving his arms. John reached into his pocket and shoved something in the boy’s hands.
“Oh my God.”
As the ship continued its journey down the river, the scene onshore got harder to see. John was climbing into the boat, then he had an oar in each hand. The boy gave a hard push, sending the small tug toward the ship.
“He’s not going to make it.”
Will was right. There was no way John could match the speed of the ship, no matter how hard he rowed.
Charlotte whirled around, casting her eyes across the deck until they rested on the ship’s captain. She hiked her dress and ran toward him, only slipping a little.
“Captain,” she called. “Captain.”
He turned around, his displeasure rolling off of him. “I am somewhat busy, my lady.”
“We must go back,” she said.
If he’d been displeased initially, he was outraged now. “Absolutely not.”
