"No Mama, please! I don't want to go!" 16-year-old Annabelle complained.
"This is YOUR ball, for YOUR birthday, child. You have tons, millions, of handsome young gentlemen downstairs all waiting to dote upon you." Emma, her mother, said.
"What do you take me for, Mama? A prize horse?"
"Behave yourself, Annabelle. Lift up your arms."
"Mama, I can dress myself."
"Oh, that I do not doubt, dear. However, I most certainly doubt that you can dress yourself PROPERLY."
"Yes Mama, I shall run downstairs in an undershirt and breeches." Annabelle chuckled.
"Hold your tongue, child and do as I say."
Annabelle sighed and lifted her arms so her mother could strip off her afternoon gown and help her change into her ballroom dress.
"Mama, who is suppose to attend my birthday party?" Annabelle asked.
"Oh, all those you would expect, dear. Handsome gentlemen, those young ladies who have been tutored by, and I have heard that Mr.Williams may have invited a few unwelcomed people."
"Papa has invited somebody to my party?" Annabelle asked.
"Oh I fear he has."
"Has he told you who?"
"Somebody by the name of, Keene, I believe."
"Keene? Captain Edward Keene?"
"Oh yes, I believe that's his name. Mr.Williams had served under his name once, only as a cook's hand but-"
"Mama, hurry with my dress! I simply cannot be late for my own party."
Emma finished tying off Annabelle's corset and then slipped her dress on over her head, it didn't take long for Annabelle to dash down the halls and drag her mother along behind her.
"Annabelle, your sash hasn't been tied!" Emma cried.
"Oh, my apologies, Mama." Annabelle said, she was a bit distracted.
Susan finally was able to tie Annabelle's sash in the back, Annabelle took off running.
"Darling, your shoes!" Susan called out.
Annabelle did not hear her mother, she was already descending down the stairs. Since the stairs were nothing but wood and carpet, Annabelle could feel her cold bare feet touch every plank. She did not even notice that she had forgotten her shoes until the last step. Biting the end of her left fingertips, she looked up at Emma who seemed quite displeased. At that very moment, the foyer door opened, Annabelle wheeled herself around and saw her birthday guests were arriving. People were coming in rather large groups, which made it rather difficult for Annablle to see if Captain Keene had arrived. She felt a hand reach for shoulder, she jumped and was quite relieved to see it was her father, Henry.
"Oh Papa, you gave me a start." Annabelle sighed.
"Apologies, my dear. Who are you looking for?"
"Nobody Papa." Annabelle said as she stood on toes.
"Your feet shall become rather sore if you continue to stand like that."
Annabelle stopped standing on her toes and curtseyed.
"I'm sorry, Papa."
"It's alright, Anna. Now, you musn't lie, who are you looking for?"
Annabelle sighed. "Your friend, sir. Captain Keene."
"He is not due to arrive for another hour, darling. You must try to set yourself at ease."
"Yes Papa."
For a whole hour, Annabelle was forced, by Emma, to dance with every man that attended her party. A wave of nauseous suddenly hit her as her seventh partner of the night whisked her across the ballroom floor, she excused herself for awhile and sat down to take a small recess. She was still anticapting the arrival of Captain Keene, who had yet to walk through the ballroom doors. She was growing rather weary, and her patience was wearing thin. As soon as it seemed as though he would never come, an elderly gentleman, in a naval uniform, strode into the ballroom and stood in front of Annabelle. She quickly stood and curtseyed.
"Good evening, sir."
"You are...the young lady of the house, I am to assume?"
"Yes, sir. Annabelle Williams, sir."
"The pleasure is mine, Miss Williams. I am-"
"Oh, sir. You have no need to be formal with me. I have often heard of you. You are Captain Edward Keene, aren't you?"
"Quite an intellectual child, if only my men were as gifted with minds as they are with swords."
"Oh, you musn't assume I am intellect, sir. I have heard of you so often, most women in London cannot seem to cease gossiping." Annabelle chuckled.
"Do you believe gossip, Miss Williams?" Captain Keene asked.
"Oh no, sir. Not often, I mean. Idle chatter was never one of my strongpoints. I'd much rather sail than swim."
"You long to sail?" Captain Keene asked, he arched his eyebrow.
"Oh yes, sir. I find the Navy rather fascinating! If you wouldn't mind, might you tell me of your travels?"
"If it pleases you. You are, after all, the lady of this house."
Annabelle smiled and took Captain Keene's arm as he began to tell her about his naval battles and trips, Annabelle listened to every word, her full attention was on him. She had no idea how, but they somehow had ended up outside her home.
"Oh, Captain Keene. How forunate you are." Annabelle smiled.
"Miss Williams, you can hardly call naval battles 'forunate.' " Captain Keene chuckled.
"Oh, don't misunderstand me. I know how many men have paid with their lives. It's only...It sounds rather exciting."
"Most young ladies often seem to focus on-"
"Pardon my interruption, Captain but if you dare to say the word marriage I shall find myself able to scream."
"I assume you are not fond of the idea." Captain Keene said.
"One day I would love to be married. Only if my Mama would stop her interference, and I could find myself a suitable husband."
"Ah, a rather adventurous girl."
"Independent, sir. Never adventurous. Alas, I will never be able to set foot on a ship as long as I live. So what I am left to do? Marry a wealthy man and throw myself into a circle of aristocrats. Just the life I admire." Annabelle said in all due sarcasm.
At that moment, a breeze swept by and Captain Keene let out a small cough.
"I hope you aren't ill, sir."
"It's this damnable weather, I fear. Shall we return indoors?"
"Most certainly, sir."
Annabelle and Captain Keene returned inside, Annabelle released his arm and he stood in front of her and bowed while she curtseyed.
"It's been a rather pleasurable conversation, Miss Williams."
"Yes it has, Captain."
"Sometimes, Miss Williams, I wish all my men were as pleasurable as you." Captain Keene chuckled.
Annabelle suddenly seemed distracted again, Captain Keene was confused.
"Miss Williams?"
"Oh, I'm all right, Captain. Only tired I suppose. Do excuse me."
Annabelle curtseyed again and walked away from Captain Keene, pondering his statement. After the guests left her house, Annabelle bathed her face and went to bed. She couldn't sleep, however, she only tossed and turn and kept thinking about her conversation with Captain Keene.
"Come now, Annabelle, be sensible. You are only sixteen, and what's more, you are female. You cannot possibly think about this a moment longer." Annabelle told herself.
Annabelle turned on her side and closed her eyes, when she heard voices downstairs. She recongized them as her father's and Captain Keene's, but she knew she couldn't eavesdrop.
"God in Heaven..."
Annabelle threw her blanket off her body and took her lit nightcandle and began to make her way down the upstairs hallway, she went to the top of the stairs and listened in on the conversation.
"Edward, are you sure you can't stay for another moment?"
"Oh, I believe my old bones are growing tired, Henry. Your daughter had shared a rather eventful evening with me."
"I do apologize, Annabelle tends to get excited about certain meetings. So, you must tell me, where does the Justinian head next?"
"No secrets, Henry. I can only tell you that it is rather important, and I leave in two days."
"Then you must rest. I shall see you soon then, friend."
With that, Annabelle heard the door close and then ran back to her room.
"Two days. Doesn't give me much time to decide then, does it?" Annabelle asked herself.
Annabelle laid her candle back down and crawled back into bed, hoping she would be able to sleep for at least an hour's time. The next morning, Annabelle was rather drowsy, she woke up later than usual and almost missed her breakfast. She entered the dining hall and curtseyed for her parents before sitting down in front of her bowl of porridge.
"Are you tired, Annabelle?" Emma asked.
"No Mama, what a remarkable accusation." Annabelle yawned.
"It's only your eyes seem rather weak, I had thought-"
"Oh, the candelight. I was reading a novel and I suppose I have overdone it."
There was a rather large silence before Henry decided to speak.
"Emma, my dear, do we have phantoms in our household?" William asked.
"Phantoms, Mr.Williams?" Susan asked.
"Yesterday night, when I was awake, I thought I heard the sound of running feet from the upstairs hallway."
Annabelle suddenly dropped her spoon into her bowl, her parents looked up at her.
"Oh, I'm a bit clumsy." Annabelle blushed.
Both of her parents strugged this off and continued with their breakfast, while Annabelle let out a sigh of relief.
"You were awfully late coming to bed to begin with, Mr.Williams. Perhaps it was your mind playing a nasty trick."
"Perhaps."
"Papa, Captain Keene told me that he will be leaving soon, is that true?"
"Yes, dear, Wednesday at the latest. Why do you ask? Not planning on a escape, are you?"
"No Papa, it was only a question."
"Where does Captain Keene plan to travel to, Mr.Williams?" Emma asked.
"I have not the slightest inkling, he only said he'd leave in a couple of days. Nothing more."
"Papa, would a rowboat carry seamen to their ships with no hesitation?" Annabelle asked.
"My dear, I've not been in the navy for 20 years. However, yes, I believe so."
"Mama, Papa. I'm not really hungry."
Annabelle calmly rose from her seat and curtseyed for her parents, as soon as she left the dining room, she dashed upstairs and to her room. She went to her window and opened it, she could see the open ocen as her view as a clear breeze rushed across her face. It tasted so salty.
"Marriage is simply dull, Annabelle. The sea is your adventure. After all, I am sixteen now. Free to choose my life." Annabelle told herself.
Annabelle closed the window and then went back over to her bed, she grunted and groaned as she pulled her traveling trunk out from underneath her bed. Thankfully, it had no engraving, so nobody would be able to know her idenity. Quietly, Annabelle crossed the hall and entered her parent's bedroom. Upon opening her parent's wardrobe, a shoe tumbled out of it and onto the floor. Annabelle gasped for a second, because it did make a rather large thud when it the floor. Emma, upon hearing the thud, went to the top of the stairs to check on Annabelle.
"Annabelle!"
"I'm fine, Mama. I only tripped over a chair." Annabelle yelled.
Emma, thinking nothing more of the sound, went back to her breakfast. Annabelle continued to search through the wardrobe when she found several of her father's undershirts and four pairs of breeches, the other clothes were probably outside, drying on the line. To make things seem less suspcious, Annabelle took only one pair of breeches and a undershirt and placed everything back where it was. She left the room and and went back to hers, where she placed the clothing inside her trunk. Monday came and went, before she knew it, it was already the night before Annabelle planned to stowaway. Annabelle was going to miss her parents, but she could no longer live at the thought of not taking a chance when she saw one. She had convinced herself it was fate that she met Captain Keene the day of her sixteenth birthday, his boat was going to take her on an adventure. At least she wouldn't be forced to live with Emma's constant bickering over who she should marry, or Henry's overbearing concern about her or where she was going. There was a knock on her bedroom door, Annabelle turned onto her side.
"Annabelle, are you awake?" Annabelle knew it was Henry's voice.
"Yes Papa."
"Have you seen my undershirts anywhere? Or my breeches? I know this seems like a rather absurd question, one I shouldn't ask so late at night. My memory must be a bother to you, but have you seen them?"
"No Papa."
"Are you ill, child? You seem rather exhausted."
"No, sir. I'm fine."
Henry sighed and sat on Annabelle's bed, touching her arm, she could feel his warm hand running up and down her bare skin.
"Anna, I know your Mother is rather doting, and I know she often angers you. I just believe you should know, especially now that you are a woman, that she does love you. In her own way."
Annabelle wiped a few tears that ran down her face, hoping her father wouldn't know she was crying.
"Yes, I know."
Henry kissed Annabelle's hair and blew out the candle, and left the room.
"I'm not trying to hurt you, Papa. Believe me I'm not."
At about three the following morning, Annabelle cut some of her auburn hair and tied it into a black ribbon, she dressed herself in another pair of breeches and an undershirt she had stole from her father.
"Stockings...I forgot stockings and shoes." Annabelle whispered to herself.
Annabelle sighed and removed her traveling trunk from underneath her bed, she knew it would be a chore getting it downstairs without making a single noise. No, she had to go about this quietly, however she had no way of doing this. The constant pounding it would make as it hit each step, it simply couldn't be done. Thinking for awhile, Annabelle came up with another idea and removed all the clothing from the trunk, grabbing her sheet off the bed. She laid the sheet on the floor and placed the clothes ontop of it, covering them up and tying the sheet into a knot, so it could act as a sack. While sneaking down the hall, only by the light of the lit candles, she passed her parent's opened door. A tear streaked her face as she ran by it quickly and went downstairs, opened the foyer door and left her house, not knowing if she would survive or die before evening reaching the Justinina. The adventure she had craved for so long, was about to begin.
The next morning, Emma awoke and went to Annabelle's room to wake her, seeing that her bed was empty caused a great concern. Annabelle had always been in bed at this hour, she had never gotten up early. Emma suddenly saw something perched ontop of Annabelle's pillow, it was something sealed in an envelope. She picked up the envelope and tore it open, inside was a letter, written in Annabelle's hand. She read the letter to herself, though since it was written in her daughter's hand, it seemed as though Annabelle were reading it herself.
Dear Mama,
Knowing you so often wake me, I know you are the one who is reading this letter.
Every morning, for sixteen years, you have come to wake me every morning at
this very hour. However, you can see, I am not there. Nor am I downstairs in
the parlor or in the dining hall. I have run away, Mama, and I trust that one
day, given I will survive, I will return home. I hope you do not believe that
I'm wicked, or that I do not love you and Papa. For I do, more than you
two will ever believe. As a child, you must recall that I was not fond of
dresses and tea, I was more fond of sailing and swords. I have always
craved an adventure, Mama, and I have not had the pleasure to be
granted one for a total of fifteen years. The moment that I met
Captain Keene, I had become convinced that this wasn't chance,
this was fate. The adventure I've so long forseen in my future,
has finally been placed in front of me. I would be a fool not
to take it. Which is why I've chosen to stowaway on Captain
Keene's ship, the Justinian.
Emma flipped the letter over, there was more written on the back of it. Susan wasn't sure how much more she could possibly bare.
As often as I am allowed, I promise to write to you and Papa. Because
I still do love you both, nothing shall ever change the fact that you both
have raised me for sixteen years and have loved me, even at my worst.
I have left you a little present, in hopes that it will keep me alive while
I am at seas.
Your daughter,
Annabelle Elizabeth Williams
Emma wiped her tears and placed the letter on Annabelle's dresser, she saw her music box was open, and inside was a lock of her hair. Her long auburn hair. Emma sat on Annabelle's bed and hugged her pillow, digging her face into it.
"Annabelle...My beautiful Annabelle."