Chapter Eleven #2
In the afternoon, the curricle swept down from the green hills to the sea.
Buildings hugged the shore as far as the lighthouse, and sailboats rocked gently on the ocean swell.
Erina gasped at the limitless, deep-blue-gray water gleaming like glass beneath the sun.
“We have ponds and rivers at home, but this is the first time I’ve seen the sea. It’s…sublime.”
“You are about to see quite a bit of it. It may not seem so sublime then.”
“Nonsense,” she said forcefully, forgetting her promise to be obliging. “It will be an adventure.”
“If the seas grow rough, you might feel unwell.”
“The water is as calm as a millpond now. And anyway, I shan’t. I have an excellent constitution.”
Amusement lit his eyes. “Well, I’m happy to assist if the need arises.”
She raised her eyebrows. “And I’m happy to do the same for you.”
Harry pointed. “Ah, there is Joe waiting for us.”
His groom raised his hand in welcome.
Pulling up the horses, Harry helped her down, then turned to address his groom. “I gather you enjoyed the stagecoach, Joe?”
Joe grinned. “Not so bad, Mr. Feather. I was squeezed in between two ladies, all cozy-like.”
Harry laughed. “Take the luggage to the Lord Nelson in Stanley Street.” He handed the groom money. “Arrange to stable the horses overnight. And don’t push them too hard on the way home. There’s a bed for you at the Blackbird coaching inn near Shrewsbury. Rest yourself and the horses there.”
As Joe drove the curricle away, Harry offered her his arm. “Fancy a stroll?”
“The salty sea air is quite bracing.” Erina linked her arm with Harry’s, and they walked along beside the sea wall. Gulls mewled, hovering weightlessly above a fisherman’s boat. The breeze carried a strong smell of fish.
Harry pointed to the wharf farther out on the point. “That is Admiralty Pier, where we’ll board the ship. I’ll purchase our tickets from the City of Dublin Steam Packet Company.”
Erina widened her eyes. “It’s a steamboat?”
“You’re about to experience something entirely modern.”
She smiled at him. “How thrilling!”
“Depending on the weather, if it remains calm, the voyage should be pleasant.”
The next morning after breakfasting at a small inn, they walked along the seafront. The horizon was clear of clouds with no sign of rain, but a brisk wind blowing off the sea grabbed at Erina’s skirts and caused her to clutch onto her bonnet.
After climbing the gangplank, Erina stood with Harry on deck at the rail, breathing in the smell of smoke and heavy, salty air.
The big boat, belching an unbroken stream of smoke into the sky from its twin funnels, drew away from the wharf.
It felt odd. As if the land shifted beneath her feet.
How strange too, to watch the shoreline fade into the distance.
“I’m glad you’re with me, Harry,” she admitted with a grateful smile.
His gaze roamed over her, from the sorry state of her hat to the small cameo on the breast of her pelisse, then settled on her mouth. “Are you?”
The doubtful tone of his voice surprised her. “But of course.”
He nodded and said no more.
An hour into the journey, big, roiling waves rolled the ship from side to side. Erina’s stomach lurched with it, and she began to regret eating breakfast. She swallowed and hunched her shoulders.
“All right there?” Harry asked.
The deck pitched beneath her feet, and she clung to the rail. “Perfectly, thank you.”
“That’s good. It takes a while to get one’s sea legs.”
“Have you ever visited Ireland, Harry?”
“Yes, once. Years ago.”
She turned to him. “Before you joined the army? You can’t have been very old.”
“I was eight. My father took me there after my mother died.”
“Do you have Irish relatives too?”
“No. I think he just wanted to get away. It wasn’t a pleasant trip. We were both very sad.”
Erina understood. She’d been little more than a child when she’d lost her mother. Her heart throbbed with distress for him. No wonder he didn’t want to go to Ireland again. “I wish you’d told me. I feel dreadful taking you back there.”
“It may lay some ghosts to rest.” His gaze met hers. “In more ways than one.”
“I do hope so.”
He turned away and pointed. “Look, Erina, on the horizon, another ship. A big one, probably on its way to America.”
“Yes! I see it.” He had changed the subject. For once, she didn’t pursue it. Perhaps she was learning patience.
The swell increased. The boat rose and fell as it plowed through the waves.
A cold, clammy sweat made her shiver. She glanced around, searching for the way to the water closet, but then her stomach clenched and churned, and she was afraid to move far from the side.
Another lurch of the ship and the contents of Erina’s stomach rushed into her throat. “Ooh.” Hanging on to the rail, she vomited over the side. She clung on and gasped as embarrassment heated her cheeks.
Harry’s arm came around her waist to steady her. “Oh, go away, Harry. I’m sick,” she murmured. Her bonnet fell forward over her forehead, almost blinding her. She dared not risk letting go of her grip on the rail to push the hat back.
With a steady hand, he removed her hat and smoothed her hair away from her face. “You’ll feel better when we reach calmer waters.”
“Nooo.” She moaned. “I’m going to die!”
“Nonsense,” came the stern reply. He offered her a large, spotless handkerchief.
With the suspicion there was nothing of her breakfast remaining, she carefully pushed back away from the rail and dabbed at her lips, a sour taste in her mouth. She tucked the handkerchief into her reticule. “Can you help me to the place set aside for ladies to…?”
“I believe it’s communal.”
She gasped and stared at him in horror.
“I’ll take you as far as the door, and then you are on your own.”
A little while later, Erina emerged, feeling slightly better. She’d rinsed her mouth, washed her face, and tidied her hair. Either the sea had calmed, or she was growing used to it; she wasn’t sure.
Harry waited, leaning his elbows on the rail, her hat in his hand. “All right now?”
“I am, thank you.” She eyed him suspiciously. “You aren’t going to say you told me so, are you?”
He settled her hat on her head. “You’re a better color.”
She knew she looked horribly bedraggled. “I’m sorry; that wasn’t very generous of me.”
“Never mind. Not a pleasant thing to cast up one’s accounts, and I’m sure you’re tired. Look.” He gestured to the misty, gray shape that lay ahead. “Land! We should dock in an hour or so.”
“Oh, that is good,” she said, with a surge of relief. “When we get to Dublin, I’ll hire a carriage. We can travel to Cathleen’s home in the morning.”
“Allow me to arrange it. I remember my father and I putting up at the Gresham Hotel in Sackville Street. We’ll stay there tonight.”
Erina’s empty stomach rumbled. She’d not been able to think of food or drink anything except water since breakfast. “You are very good, Harry.” She’d begun to rely on him more and more.
She should mind, but somehow, she didn’t.
Anyway, it would seem ungrateful to protest. But as they grew closer to their destination, her concern about what they might find grew.
Cathleen had not answered her last letter.
But with the mail so slow, surely that wasn’t surprising.