Chapter 24
Merry Fields
Humble Cottage
April 25, 1878
Hello Merry.
It has been a month since I departed and I don't even know where to begin!
How about with a wish that you are well? I know that you were so ill you were wishing that you could just die. I still roll my eyes however my grandmother would despise it. So melodramatic! But my darling Merry, that is part of why I love you so dearly. You have always been like a spot of bright sunshine in my dreary life.
I really do wish that you are well. I wish that you were here! I always told you about America but it's even bigger than I remember. I know that is hard to believe, considering I saw it last through the eyes of a child. But perhaps that's why, because I was a child I couldn't see beyond the little part of it that affected me.
Oh, but it is beautiful. New York City is so big. It reminds me of parts of London, but much newer. But these Americans are something else altogether!
I am quite safe and well, although I don't know when I shall be able to write again. I will be traveling. I do not know what direction to give for your letters, but I shall write to you when I can. We shall leave in the morning but let me go back and tell you from the beginning.
I arrived here in America quite safely on April 20. Why did it take me a month to make it across the Atlantic? Ah, that was quite the adventure indeed! But let me summarize.
On March 21 I was on the SS Germanic and we left Liverpool for America. After only a day the ship ran into fog so thick we practically stopped for two days. Ah, but those two days were wonderful. I met someone you see. He's a sea captain, or rather he was. Now he owns his own shipping line and he's traveling to America to open his fourth office.
I tell you truly, I am glad that he was there, and I'm glad for that bloody fog that nearly broke my neck or I might never have met him that morning. On the third day, the sun was shining and it was a beautiful sunrise that I had the pleasure of watching with Mr. Windes. (he's the one I told you about). No, I am mistaken. That was the fourth day and it marked a day I shall never forget!
Mr. Windes and I walked the deck and we were there when the rain started. It was a storm like I've never seen and it came upon us so suddenly! I can't say it was entirely unexpected. Mr. Windes informed me that very morning as we were watching the sunrise that there would be a storm. I didn't believe him at first, because it was such a lovely morning. But then, I did.
And I'm glad of it. It began to rain in earnest and the deck was rolling and I nearly fell. I cannot move so well at sea, and please be sure to tell Castle that my canes are a godsend! I am ever so grateful! Well, that's when Mr. Windes scooped me up and carried me to safety. I am so glad for his experience at sea for we almost fell twice from the rolling decks.
Just before we made it to safety, I heard them ringing a bell and yelling Man Overboard! It was all quite exciting and if it were not for the freezing rain and the peril we were in, I might have enjoyed the adventure. Mr. Windes knew that I would not be able to safely make my way back below decks to my berth in steerage, so he gave me his cabin.
He had a rather large suite of rooms in saloon class. He moved in with one of his men, but I get ahead of myself. Ah-let me make the story short and save all the details for our fireside chats!
YOU ARE READING
The Charlotte Series: Book 3: The Pretender's Gold
Historical FictionStuart Windes was an Englishman and a seasoned sailor; an old salt with 30 years at sea. When his mother passed on leaving his younger sister alone, duty called him home. But his sister, Emmaline, was *gone*! Ran away with a bloody Yankee! Summer M...
