Chapter 5
Annabelle gritted her teeth as her fingers fumbled to fasten the ball gown’s buttons. “This is taking much too long,” she grumbled. “How can one dress require so much effort?”
Liza snorted. “Listen to you complaining,” she said in a voice that was far too loud. “When I’ve tied and threaded and fastened and buttoned you every day for—”
Annabelle put her hands over Liza’s mouth, quieting her. They listened for a moment in silence, but the only sound outside the ladies’ withdrawing room was the orchestra’s music and muted voices in conversation. Once she was certain they’d not been overheard, Annabelle returned to her task.
Liza was bouncing on her toes, though whether from excitement or nerves, Annabelle couldn’t tell, but her movement made fastening the gown all the more difficult.
“Now you must remember,” Annabelle said, “avoid my mother at all costs. You will have to ride home in the carriage with her, but you can simply pretend to fall asleep wearing the mask. Above all, maintain the charade as long as possible. And do not spend the entire evening at the refreshment table.” She spoke this last sentence in a teasing voice.
At last, the buttoning was completed, and Liza turned, her full skirts nearly knocking over a table.
Annabelle caught the table and righted it.
Liza giggled. “I’ll have to get used to bein’ so wide.” She lifted her arms, fluttering the lace sleeves, then twisted her hips back and forth, watching the skirts swirl. “I feel so beautiful. Like a princess in a fairy tale.” She giggled again.
Annabelle pulled on Liza’s dark cloak, tying it beneath her chin. “You look very beautiful indeed.” In spite of the need for haste, she smiled at her lady’s maid’s excitement.
“What if the Duke of Anglesey asks me to dance?” Liza asked, turning again as Annabelle secured her necklace. “And what shall I do if I meet the queen?”
“You shall thank His Grace for the invitation then politely decline, explaining that you have danced too much tonight and are quite worn out.” She tied the mask’s ribbons, glad that her lady’s maid had arranged her own hair in the same fashion as Annabelle’s, attaching hairpieces to fill it out.
If she’d had to do Liza’s hair herself, the charade would be exposed the moment the maid entered the ballroom.
“And bow your head when you curtsy to the queen. Do not turn your back to her.”
Annabelle stepped back, spinning Liza around and looking her over to make certain she’d not left any bows untied or buttons unfastened. Seeing the lady’s maid’s smile quaver beneath the mask, she took her gloved hands. “You will have a wonderful time,” she said. “Do not be nervous.”
Liza gave her fingers a squeeze. “Rescue Captain Courtney,” she said in a serious voice, all her earlier giggles gone.
Annabelle was grateful for such a loyal friend and her willingness to sacrifice on her behalf.
She kissed her lady’s maid’s cheek, something she’d never done before, but in truth, she’d never asked so much of the woman.
She was certain her mother would dismiss Liza as soon as their deception was revealed.
But the countess would know that Annabelle was to blame, and Liza was only following her instructions.
Liza would be off to tend to her parents for the summer as usual, and Annabelle hoped that once Liza returned, the countess’s temper would have cooled, and the maid would be reinstated.
If not, Annabelle would write a glowing letter of reference that would secure Liza a position in even the most discri-mi-nating household, and when Annabelle was mistress of her own house, she would bring Liza with her.
With a swish of skirts, Liza left to join the ball, and Annabelle took the bundle her lady’s maid had brought, concealing it beneath her cloak as well as she was able, and slipped out through the servant’s hallway, following Liza’s directions to the kitchens.
The noise, smells, and heat were overwhelming in the crowded space.
Annabelle’s heart raced as she navigated with her awkward bundle.
She feared she’d be caught, exposed at any moment, and her plans to rescue Court would be squashed.
But it took only a moment to see everyone was far too occupied with their own work to notice her.
The commotion of the ball was different down here. Instead of the elegant dancing and gentle conversation of the ballroom, everything moved quickly in a controlled chaos, servants rushing in every direction and a housekeeper calling out orders.
Feeling bolder, Annabelle squeezed between servers carrying trays and cooks chopping and stirring. She moved at a quick pace, attempting to look as if she knew where she was going. Her instinct told her to run, but she knew that would only call attention on herself.
She found the kitchen exit easily enough, standing aside as baskets of food were carried inside and tubs of refuse were carried out.
Not one person spared her a glance as she pulled the hood over her head and took the path around the side of the manor.
Instead of following the drive to the main gates, she continued along the servants’ path, through a border of trees, and emerged into a small alleyway where a hackney coach pulled by a lone horse waited.
Annabelle hesitated, but as soon as the driver stepped from the shadows, her tensed shoulders relaxed. Even in the dim moonlight she recognized Grieg’s silhouette.
He waved when he saw her and opened the cab’s door.
Instead of stepping inside, Annabelle just stashed her bundle, then closed the door and climbed up to sit on the driver’s bench beside her friend.
Grieg flicked the reins, and the horse started off.
“It will be a dangerous voyage, I fear, Belle. I’m hoping your joining us wasn’t a mistake—for your sake.
” The carriage passed Lord Hamilton’s brightly lit manor, music and laughter filling the air.
Grieg motioned toward it with his chin. “It’s not too late to turn back. ”
His words and his worry surprised Annabelle. She understood the voyage would be dangerous, but Grieg’s tone was somber and foreboding.
Annabelle slipped her arm through his, hoping to lessen the chill that crawled over her skin. “I will not allow you to leave without me. Not with Court in danger. Of course I must join in the rescue.”
Grieg gave her a sidelong look. “I knew you’d say that. It’s why we came for you in the first place. You are as much a part of the crew as any of us. Just making sure you understand. None of us know where we’re bound, nor what we’ll find once we’re there.”
Annabelle squeezed his arm in answer. His words did little to ease her misgivings, not only about Court’s plight or the dangers awaiting them at Isla de Plata, but especially about deceiving her mother.
Annabelle had tried to think of something that would convince the countess to allow her to go, but she knew nothing would change her mind, especially not in the few hours Annabelle had.
This deception was the only way. She just wished it didn’t make her insides squirm.
Grieg surprised her by chuckling.
“What is amusing you?” she asked.
“Did ye really put Liza in a ball gown and thrust her out among the aristocracy?”
“It’s a masquerade.” Annabelle felt indignant that he would question her brilliantly executed plan.
“She won’t be discovered. At least not for a while.
” She prayed Liza could maintain the deception until the ship had set sail, because as soon as she was discovered, Annabelle’s mother would know exactly where her daughter had gone and send the night watch after her.
The thought of being returned home by a crew of thieftakers to meet a furious Lady Montagu was more frightening than anything Annabelle and her friends might meet on the sea.
The trip to Wapping took more than an hour, and a few times, Annabelle found herself startled awake when the carriage bumped over an uneven part of the road. Now that the excitement of escaping the ball was past, she was tired, and she thought longingly of her berth aboard Calypso’s Quest.
They left the carriage at the entrance to the London dockyard.
“Tarry close to me, Belle,” Grieg said. He walked with quick steps, hand in his vest, no doubt gripping a weapon of some kind.
Annabelle did as she was bid. The dockyard was not a safe place for a young woman. Especially at night. She held her bundle beneath one arm, and with the other, felt inside until her hand gripped the hilt of her sword.
As they passed between warehouses, Annabelle looked closely into dark corners, keeping alert for any sign of movement or sound from the shadows. She walked as near to Grieg as she could without making either of them trip.
Behind overhanging wooden cranes, the eastern sky was lightening to purple as dawn approached.
They continued, passing men who were already at work, heaving crates and rolling barrels to and from the docked ships.
At last, they reached the quayside, and Annabelle saw the outline of an elegant frigate.
The cargo ships and galleons loomed over Calypso’s Quest, making the small ship look even smaller.
But Court had explained to Annabelle that speed and ease of maneuverability made up for what she lacked in size.
He often bragged that she was the swiftest ship on the sea.
And in Annabelle’s opinion, she was the most beautiful.
The earliest rays of sunlight shone over the horizon, making the golden wood of Calypso’s Quest appear to glow. They had arrived just in time.
Grieg offered a quiet sigh. “I don’t know how any man can keep his feet on land with a sight like her before him.”
Footsteps pounded and voices called as crewmen moved around the deck and up the ratlines, readying the ship. They would cast off soon.
“Tim Kelly’s safely aboard?” she asked as they continued along to the boarding plank.
“Aye,” Grieg said.