Tùsaire

Across the Pond

Late April, 1769

The Phillip Alonzo

MAEVIS POV

It was hard to tell exactly what day it was, but Maevis stopped caring after about a week of trying to keep up. It had been a few weeks since the ship left Inverness, so they were on the open ocean. Everything looked the same, but somehow... it was calming. Listening to the water lap against the side of the wooden ship, hearing the sailors rig the ship, drop and raise sails, talk to one another... It was like these were sounds that Maevis was meant to hear, like she truly belonged here.

Sure, there were plenty of things she missed about her time. There was the obvious better healthcare and equality for women, and then there were other things, like music. She hadn't listened to any music that wasn't played by sailors since December, but occasionally, she would hear the last song she listened to play in her head:

"Sad, deserted shore,

Your fickle friends are leaving.

Ah, but then you know

It's time for them to go.

But I will still be here,

I have no thought of leaving...

I do not count the time.

For who knows where the time goes?

Who knows where the time goes..."

Sandy Denny's 'Who Knows Where the Time Goes'. Sandy Denny had a special place in Maevis's heart, as her music brought Maevis peace and comfort during times when she was unwell. She missed that record she found at the Princeton Record Exchange - she had given it to Gaia before she left for Scotland.

"Beggin' yer pardon, ma'am," said someone behind her, and Maevis turned to look at him.

"Oh, hello. Can I help you with something?" she asked the man, one of the sailors on the ship.

"'Tis yer maidservant, ma'am. She isnae well," said the sailor, and Maevis sighed softly. Not with irritability, only with upset, because if Lizzie wasn't feeling well again, then that meant that the marshmallow leaf tea she had been given wasn't helping her. Maevis was very lucky that the Captain kept marshmallow leaf tea in stock, as his reasoning was passengers who have never been on a ship before experience seasickness often. Mama used to give her some when her stomach was upset, so it was about the only herb she knew about besides ginger that helped with stomach ailments.

"All right, I'll go to her. Thank you, sir," Maevis said, leaving the side of the ship to go down below. There was Lizzie in their cabin, vomiting viciously into a bucket, and Maevis knelt down beside her and rubbed her back. "Shh, you're all right, Lizzie," she said quietly.

"Oh, Mistress... Yer tea didnae work..." Lizzie moaned sorely.

"I know... I wish there was something more I could do," Maevis told her, suddenly getting an idea. "Well... I might have one idea..." Maevis went into the coin purse and pulled out a couple of the smallest coins, called farthings, then removed the ribbon from her hair. She took Lizzie's wrist and fashioned it into one of those motion sickness bracelets that, using the coins, put pressure on a pressure point in the wrist, then she rubbed Lizzie's back gently. "Let's see if that doesn't help, yeah?"