Whatever blocked the opening did not budge. Not an inch. Not a fingernail’s clipping. She dropped to the ground, imagining the soot that would mar the bottom half of her borrowed gown when she rose, and pressed her booted feet against the mound. She pushed for all she was worth. Nothing happened.
She was truly trapped.
Good Lord.What if no one came?
“Help,” she shouted. “Help, I’m in here. Please.”
She yelled and pleaded and screamed for help ’til her throat felt raw and her mouth had gone dry. She pushed and kicked and strained against the obstacle to her freedom. But the sack seemed fused in place.
Trapped. No one knew she was here, and no one was coming.
Except for the water, it was that day on the boat, all over again.
Chapter 20
Annabelle was happy. It was a brisk summer day. She was above deck on the sparkling Brighton sea, on a big boat, the wind ruffling her skirts and the sun warming her body.
Her parents, indeed, most of the adults, had opted to stay below in the saloon and leave the children to roam under the watchful eyes of their governesses.
Yonder, Miss Jenkins and her colleagues sat on a slatted bench under a canopy, chatting and generally paying them little heed.Poor Miss Jenkins, Gaston called her, because of her unfortunate looks. She was not a handsome woman.
But that mattered next to nothing to Annabelle. She loved Miss Jenkins, maybe more than anyone else in the entire world—even her parents, as shameful as that was. But then, Miss Jenkins was the only one who didn’t mind howshelooked, didn’t mind her patch, or her too-fine hair. Didn’t mind when she chattered or cried.
Thanks to her propensity to burn in the sun, Miss Jenkins wanted Annabelle to sit in the shade. But Annabelle wanted toplay with Gaston. He hadn’t argued about her tagging along for once. Maybe because there were other girls present?
In any case, she was doing her best not to make a nuisance of herself. She gazed on him, her heart swelling with pride.
He was holding court, as Mama termed it. Of course, the children present all hung on his every word. He was handsome and charming. The epitome of a Montrose.
Mother assured her that one day she would be pretty and resemble the rest of the family, as well.
“If her hair ever grows, and she loses that awful patch,” Gaston often muttered. When Miss Jenkins rebuked him for his hurtful words, he assured both of them he never intended for Annabelle to hear him.
He never apologized for saying hurtful words. But that didn’t matter. Not really. As Mother had assured her, Gaston would never be deliberately cruel.
Today, Annabelle had left the patch off. Though her eyes would be tired by the end of the day from the effort it took to focus without seeing double, she could manage it more and more these days. And it wasn’t as if she had very much choice. It was either to leave the patch off, remain back at the rented villa with Miss Jenkins, or worse yet, come on the cruise, and stay in the stateroom, out of sight.
Her ears pricked up when one of the boys suggested a game of marbles.
She loved playing marbles and was quite dexterous, if she did say so herself.
Maybe it had something to do with wearing her patch. It meant her one “good” eye fixed perfectly on the marbles, helping her aim.
Whatever the reason, she’d beat Gaston out for some of his precious marbles the last time the two of them played. He’d bemuch more apt to let her join in the fun, knowing she wouldn’t embarrass the family.
“I say, you didn’t happen to bring any, did you?” the boy pressed Gaston, who seemed not to hear him.
“I did, Gaston,” she volunteered, eagerly.
Gaston, smiling his easy smile, slid her a glance.
And the first trickle of unease whispered through her. Because he had that hard gleam in his eye. The one he got when she’d vexed him.
“Good,” Gaston said. And she breathed a sigh of relief for having gotten that wrong. “Let us go below and retrieve them.”
Gaston held up a finger, silently urging her to wait as he cast a cautious eye toward their governess. Only when her attention was occupied did he gesture for her to follow him.
He led her below deck to the staterooms and waited patiently for her to collect her pouch.
