The Stowaway

IV

"There's only one place I want to go and it's to all the places I've never been." Nikki Rowe

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IV.

Eliza packed every small thing that she could fit into her pockets. All the money she had, jewellery to barter or trade if needed, a comb, a small sewing kit, and a book, one of her favourites.

It was hard to know what to grab to take on an ocean adventure when one was planning on stowing away on a ship. A pirate ship, potentially!

Eliza threw open her windows and grabbed the robes from her drapes, praying that they were strong enough to take her weight. She tied them together, and then fixed them to the leg of the chair that sat by the window.

And then she did the most reckless thing she had ever done.

Yet.

Eliza nearly fell off the rope when the chair immediately gave way and slammed against the window, but it lowered her enough to be able to drop down to the ground without seriously injuring herself. She fell into shrubbery, which thankfully cushioned her fall.

Her heart was racing as she looked around her garden and planned her escape. The carriage! She spied the carriage still waiting outside the house, with the horses all still thankfully tacked up. Perhaps they had been brought back around to take that odious Mr Pole home. He did not have a carriage of his own.

She knew luck was on her side when the driver was nowhere to be seen. How hard could it be to drive a carriage?

***

It turned out, driving a carriage could be very difficult indeed, and Eliza had nearly run the horses off the road a dozen times. But she managed to find a rhythm, and she directed them back down to Plymouth Dock.

Eliza could not wipe the smile off her face. No matter how stupid she was being, no matter how reckless, she was excited. She was finally taking the adventure that she had always wanted to. There would be no more wishing, no more waiting and wanting. It was time to seize control of her own life, no matter the consequences.

Eliza had never cared much for consequences anyway.

She stopped the carriage where the driver had earlier, pulling on the reins. The horses obeyed. When her family discovered her letter, they would find the carriage and take it home. She only hoped the ship would get away before they did. That was the risk.

Of course, she did feel keenly for her family. She knew her actions would hurt them. But Katy would understand. She would explain. She knew that if Eliza had spent one more minute in that house planning a marriage without first having a life then she would surely die of terminal disappointment.

She would return. She would not be away forever. Adventures were temporary, but the memories were for life. If her adventure was what she hoped it would be, she would most definitely be content being the wife of Mr Pole.

Well, perhaps not Mr Pole. But someone equally as dull and slimy.

The sun was setting, and the Navy men were all coming in to frequent the taverns and inns that lines the harbour. She slipped through them easily, as the lure of drink and company were on their minds.

She thanked God when she saw that the ship from earlier today was still moored to the dock. But now was the challenge. How on earth was she going to slip on board?

Eliza looked around and prayed for a miracle. She could not simply walk up the ramp onto the ship. She would be spotted and sent promptly back to her parents.