Just a little one-shot that I wrote a while ago. Please R&R.
Horatio pushed open the door of his wife's boarding house, her mother having passed on the previous winter, and stepped into the hall, closing the door behind him on the cold November air. He heard the sound of laughter coming from the kitchen, a small, childish giggle, and went to investigate. It was three years since he had been home, but he had been informed by Maria in her letters that his little daughter, two years old when he left, was still alive, and moreover, healthy and happy. He stood in the kitchen doorway, unnoticed, and smiled at the scene in front of him. His wife and daughter were sitting at the kitchen table drawing; there was a kettle on the fire, and a large brown dog, a new addition to the family it would seem, snoozing by the stove. Horatio took this opportunity to look at his daughter; she had been very little and frail when he left, but she had grown so much since he last saw her, now she was a healthy girl of five, with long curly black hair like his own, and a sweet round face like her mother's. She giggled again as her mother's pencil collided with her own and Maria gave her a little squeeze with the arm that was wrapped around her waist. Horatio smiled again, but decided it was time to make himself known.
"Maria." He said, his voice filled with the warmth and affection one would expect of a man so long detained from his family; although to tell the truth he rather preferred his life at sea to his sparse homecomings.
"Horatio!" She cried, removing her arm from her daughter's waist and rising to greet him. Horatio removed his hat and stepped into the room, tolerating the crushing hug his wife gave him with a good natured smile. "I've missed you Horry." Maria said, releasing him. Horatio inwardly winced at the name, but said nothing, just like he always did. Horatio remembered his daughter and looked across the room to her. She was sitting at the table, her pencil hovering over the paper, staring unwaveringly at him. She had deep brown eyes like her mother, but her face held none of Maria's cheerfulness. Horatio was unnerved by his daughter's gaze; it was somehow angry, disdainful, like she didn't want him to be there. He smiled at her, trying to evoke a similar reaction, but she just continued staring. Maria turned around and saw her daughter's face. "Oh Horatio, you remember your daughter don't you?" She said, motioning her daughter to come over. Slowly and deliberately, the girl put down her pencil and hopped down from the chair.
"Of course I remember her! How are you Molly?" Horatio asked, still wondering why this girl seemed so hostile.
"My name is Meg." She continued to glare at him. Horatio inwardly kicked himself, but tried again, albeit rather awkwardly this time.
"You enjoy drawing?" He asked, gesturing to the paper and pencils on the table.
"Yes." Said Meg. "Mama helps me sometimes."
"That's nice." Horatio was at a loss as to what to say now. Maria sensed his struggle and decided to step in.
"Meg, why don't you come over here and greet your father properly?" Meg looked at her mother for a second, her expression softening, turning into the childlike obedience it was supposed to be. She walked over to Horatio, her feet invisible beneath the hem of her pale blue dress, and stopped in front of him. She just reached Horatio's knee and so he crouched down, expecting her to hug him.
"Captain Hornblower." She said, dropping into a perfect little curtsey, just like the ladies in society. "It is an honour to meet you."
Horatio was rather surprised at this behaviour, and at the fact that she was so serious about it; he had fully expected her to burst into giggles like she had done only a few minutes ago with her mother, but seeing no trace of mirth in her face he replied in kind.
"The honour is all mine Milady." Meg straightened up, and Horatio did the same, the tense atmosphere returning.
"Well." Maria clapped her hands together, "Meg, why don't you go upstairs and finish your drawing while I prepare dinner?"
"But we were doing it together." Meg's voice was heart wrenchingly sad, and she looked up at Maria with wide eyes, her lower lip beginning to quiver.
"Oh dearest," Maria crouched down and took Meg's little hands in her own. "We can finish it tomorrow, but I need to start cooking the dinner now or we'll be hungry." Meg sighed and pulled her hands out of Maria's.
"I suppose it can wait until tomorrow." She said with exaggerated patience. Maria smiled kindly at her and she turned to collect her things from the table. Maria stood up and walked over to the stove, getting a pot out from the cupboard above her head and placing it on the grate. Meg stood by the table, which was over her head, and reached her arms up to slide the sheet of paper and pencils off the table. Horatio considered going to help her, but she soon managed to sweep them into her arms and then she left the kitchen, her dress trailing slightly behind her.
As soon as her footsteps disappeared upstairs Horatio put his hat down on the table and removed his coat.
"She doesn't seem to like me much." He remarked to Maria.
"Oh, she'll get used to you. I think she's just a little surprised, seeing you after all these years. She probably doesn't even remember the last time you were here."
"Oh." Horatio pulled back a chair and sat down at the table, crossing one leg over the other.
"I really have missed you, Horatio." Maria said, hoping he would come over to her.
"I have missed you too my dear." He replied, leaning contentedly back in his chair, missing the subtle hint. Maria was silent as she put some vegetables into the pot.
They didn't talk for the next half hour; Maria was determined not to speak until Horatio did, and Horatio was gazing at the wall opposite him, thinking of what needed to be done to the Hotspur before she could put out to sea again.
This half hour of silence was broken however by the reappearance of Meg. She wandered into the kitchen, a pack of cards and a book in her hands. She didn't look at Horatio, who immediately snapped out of his reverie when she entered, but instead placed the book and cards on the table, at the opposite end to Horatio, and went over to her mother. Maria must have been in a daydream of her own, because she did not notice Meg's presence by her side until her skirt had been yanked several times, finally though, she looked down.
"What is it Meg?"
"When will dinner be ready Mama?"
"Soon dear."
"But I'm hungry now!" Meg whined, "Why is it taking so long?"
"Because we are having pork dear, and meat takes longer to cook." Maria slipped her hand into the cupboard above her head again and drew out a small hunk of bread. "Why don't you nibble on this until dinner's ready?"
Meg accepted the bread and hugged her mother's leg, before walking over to the table. Maria smiled and returned to her cooking.
Horatio had been watching this endearing little display with some interest, and when Meg came to sit down at the table she further endeared herself to him by struggling to get on to her chair. When she was seated though, Meg pushed the book to one side and began to shuffle the pack of cards. When she was satisfied they were well mixed she put the pack face down on the table and looked over at Horatio.
"Do you play cards Captain Hornblower?"
"Yes." He said simply, surprised at her question, then he recovered. "I play whist."
"Oh." She looked down.
"What game did you have in mind?" He asked, expecting her to name some tedious childish game, not that he would object to playing it with her.
"Poker." Once again she surprised him, but he didn't yield to it this time and replied immediately
"I would be glad to play with you." He said, noting with satisfaction how her face lit up. Horatio moved his chair closer to her and sat properly at the table whilst she eagerly dealt the cards.
"Will we be betting?" He asked. Meg just nodded as she put the pack next to the book and produced a little embroidered purse from a pocket in her skirts. She untied the ribbons and tipped the coins out onto the table. Horatio produced some coins from the pocket in his trousers and put them on the table next to him; wondering where his daughter would possibly get that much money.
"I won all this money from the boys down the road." She said proudly, answering his unspoken question.
"Who taught you?" He asked.
"They did." She picked up her hand of cards and put a small bronze coin into the centre of the table.
The game progressed quickly, and Horatio, for once not counting cards, found himself very evenly matched; his daughter was uncannily talented. After a while he glanced over at her, looking to see how much money she had left. When he looked away however, he caught a tiny movement in the corner of his eye which caused him to focus on her hand. She was moving her palm and wrist ever so slightly, coaxing a card out of its hiding place in her sleeve. The corner of Horatio's mouth twisted up into a smile.
"I hope you aren't cheating." He said teasingly, pretending to frown at his miserable hand. Meg laughed, not a childish giggle this time, but a calculated ladylike laugh, and slipped the card back up her sleeve. Oddly enough, Horatio started winning quite decidedly after this, except for a few hands which she played quite well, without cheating. When dinner was served they put away the cards and Meg frowned as a couple less coins returned to her purse, but soon brightened again as she was served a steaming slice of pork and a tall glass of milk.
Over dinner they talked of trivial things, like the latest fashions in ladies' bonnets and the repainting of the hallway; although the conversation was thin and boring, Meg felt very special to be included in it.
When the plates were cleared, Meg announced that she was tired and would like to go to bed; Maria agreed and said she would be up in a minute to tuck her in. Meg slipped off her chair and picked up her book, money and cards, walking to the doorway. When she reached it however, she spun around like she had forgotten something.
"Goodnight Father." She said to Horatio with a neutral expression, like she had said it to him every night of her life.
"Goodnight Meg." He smiled at her and she turned around and walked away upstairs.
The next day, Lt Bush came to visit, looking for Horatio. When he knocked on the door Maria answered it and showed him into the sitting room, telling him her husband would be down shortly. Meg was in the sitting room when he arrived; perched on a chair and resting her feet on the dog, sewing a flower pattern onto a piece of cloth. She looked up when Bush came in, but didn't rise; she just regarded him curiously from under her dark curls. He didn't speak to her, but just sat down on a chair by the door and gazed out into the hallway. After a few minutes Meg realised why she recognised him, and spoke up.
"I've seen you before." He looked at her, unsure of how to reply.
"I don't believe we've met." He said awkwardly, and at length.
"No, but I've seen you, by the big ships. Do you work there?"
"I work on a ship." Said Bush, "I'm in the Navy."
"Are you a captain?" Meg asked.
"No, I'm a lieutenant."
"Do you know my father, Mr Hornblower? He's a Captain." She said proudly.
"Yes, I have come to see your father actually, I work on his ship."
She seemed to consider this for a minute, then said "you're very good at shouting."
"Really?" He wasn't entirely sure if that was good or bad.
"I saw you shouting at some men on the dock to be careful with the barrels they were carrying."
"Oh."
"When the boys up the road shout at each other their voices go all squeaky and they sound silly; yours doesn't though, you sound very scary."
She clearly intended it to be a compliment, still, Bush floundered.
"Thank you." He said finally. At that moment Horatio appeared on the stairs and Bush rose to greet him, grateful for his arrival. "Captain Hornblower." He said, touching his hat.
"Ah, William!" Horatio reached the bottom of the stairs, fully dressed with his hat under his arm. "Let's go and see about today's business then shall we?" Bush nodded and opened the front door, stepping out without another glance at Meg. Horatio followed him, without even noticing she was there.