Adrift: A Little Mermaid Retelling

30: Daniel

My first task was finding Captain Dremmer's house. I had to be cautious about it; the captain would know my face, and even if he did not know the nature of my previous relationship with his wife, I did not think him likely to welcome me.

I would find my way there and find a way to speak to Agnes—just once more. I would tell her what I had learned of her mother. Perhaps it would give her some peace. Then, I would leave her to her husband and her life. I might rove over the land for a while, but most likely I'd go straight back to the sea. I did not think I could bear to be in the colonies, knowing she had taken a husband, knowing that she had a life apart from me forever now.

It was not difficult to find the barracks. I was in no especial hurry, so I did not have to make myself obvious by asking around; I simply wandered the streets of Annisport for a while until I came across the small military compound there. The barracks themselves stood along the street. There must have been practice yards within, for I could hear the sound of soldiers marching and a man's voice called in sharp command.

I meandered along the connecting streets, surveying the houses and trying to guess which might belong to the captain. I was not sure what sort of house it would be. Large or small? Rich or modest? He had not seemed to be a man given to luxury when I had seen him years ago.

It was late afternoon. I bought a hot pie from a public house a few blocks away from the barracks, then started back toward them again while I ate, passing through streets I had already seen. I was beginning to think I should go back to the King's Harbor for the day. I was going to make myself suspicious, crossing back through roads I'd walked.

Then, as I skirted a rut in the road with my mouth half-full of pie, I saw her.

When the shock passed and I realized that I thought I had seen Agnes, I second guessed myself. The pale woman crossing the street in front of me had black hair, yes; she wore it modestly pinned up beneath a bonnet, the likes of which Ness had never worn. She was in a navy dress that did not become her. It looked far too severe.

That woman was not Ness at all; she walked with her shoulders down, her eyes downcast, her hands clasped at her waist. She walked half a step behind her companion, a woman I recognized as a servant by her plain clothes.

For an instant, though, the woman turned her face, and I knew it was her.

Agnes followed the servant into a two-storied house up the street from me. She paused for a moment on the threshold, and I had the uncanny feeling that she might turn and look directly at me, so conspicuous did I feel standing there like an idiot with my mouth hanging open. But she didn't; she lowered her head and went in, and the door swung closed behind her.

I went back into the pub where I had bought my pie and ordered a pint of ale. I nursed it, trying to draw out the one so I wouldn't be tempted to order another.

Had she seen me?

I didn't think she had. Would she know me, I wondered? I looked different than I had when we'd parted—but so did she.

How could I find a way to speak with her?

As I gave up and ordered the second pint, I turned over plan after plan in my mind. Inspiration finally came to me at the bottom of the second mug, when I realized I wouldn't need to find someone I could trust to write me a secret note, nor devise an elaborate story, nor even find a costume. I would simply wait and watch until Captain Dremmer was away, and somehow get Agnes's attention then.

It might take time. I was certain it wasn't a good idea to make the servant aware of me; she might be trusted, but then again, she might not be. No; it would be better to wait until I was confident Agnes was alone, no matter how long it would take.