Emma's Arrival

Emma arrived in Port Royal a month later. Groves met her at the dock and hugged her, glad to see her again after so many months, and relieved that she had made it safely across the ocean. He picked up her small trunk under one arm, and offered his sister the other, since her feet wary of the land after the weeks at sea.

"We'll have to walk home," Groves said apologetically. "I don't have a carriage."

"I don't think I could take you seriously if you did," Emma replied.

Groves smiled, happy to know that nothing had changed between them. "You don't take me seriously anyway."

When they arrived at the house, Groves invited Emma to sit down and relax after her long trip, while he took her trunk to the bedroom that was to be hers. Emma dropped onto the small sofa and remarked that it was heavenly to sit on a real piece of furniture again. Groves hardly thought the tiny sofa could be called "real furniture," but he just went into the kitchen to make a pot of tea.

"I didn't know you could make tea," Emma commented, when he brought two steaming teacups out.

"I'm not completely useless," he replied, sitting down in an armchair. "I take most of my meals at the fort, but I've taught myself to cook a thing or two."

"I'm impressed."

"You should be," Groves said. "It wasn't easy. I think I nearly poisoned myself once or twice."

They sat together, letting the tea cool until it was drinkable, and talked of Emma's voyage. Groves enjoyed listening to his sister talk about the routines that were most familiar to him as if they were the most fascinating things in the world. He was also glad to hear that the voyage had been uneventful, without any surprises or mishaps.

"It actually got boring," Emma said. "The other women were either too seasick to be good company, or they insisted on staying below and out of the sun."

Groves frowned slightly. "You didn't go wandering around on the deck by yourself, did you?"

"Oh, yes, and at all hours of the night." Emma rolled her eyes. "Of course not. Do you remember Gregory Wallace, from back home?"

Groves nodded.

"Well, as it turns out, he was making the cross too. He's coming here to work at the printer's. He thought he'd do better in the printing business in some place that wasn't so crowded as London," Emma explained. "And, he was kind enough to be my escort. Without a chaperone, of course, but all the other women were too busy being sick or complaining to gossip about me. And besides, I figured Gregory is practically family, since we grew up together."

Groves only shrugged. He didn't really care what gossips had to say about anything, and he wasn't particularly concerned with propriety, either, as long as his sister was safe. "I'll have to thank him for looking after you."

They avoided the subject of their father until after the tea was finished, but when the teacups had been taken back to the kitchen and the sunset brought a heavy silence to the room, the sad reality couldn't be avoided any longer. Groves broached the subject first, asking if all was settled with their father's estate. He was glad to hear that the will had been straightforward enough, leaving the property, possessions, and money in the care of Theodore and Emma. Mr. Wallace, Gregory's father, had helped Emma find an attorney who had taken care of all the legal work for a reasonable fee, and all the assets had been converted into cash and bonds, which were hidden in the bottom of Emma's trunk.

Then Emma spoke of their father's final days, of the funeral, and all the kind people who had come to mourn with her. Emma had stayed with the Wallaces throughout the entire ordeal so she wouldn't have to be alone in their father's empty house. Groves was glad to hear that Emma hadn't been alone during it all.

"I'm so sorry you had to find out in a letter," Emma said. "But I thought you'd want to know."

Groves nodded, agreeing that he appreciated hearing even bad news. "There were some rough days," he admitted, "but I never had to drink alone."

"Oh!" Emma exclaimed, suddenly brightening. "So you have made some friends after all!"

"Yes," he agred. "Even the captain doesn't mind having me around."

"You must have done something remarkable, then, to win him over."

Groves frowned and thought for a moment. "No," he said. "Not really. I think he just needed time to warm up to me."

"I'd like to meet them all," Emma said. "All your navy friends."

Groves smiled. "And they're anxious to meet you. Unfortunately..." He hesitated, hating that he had come to this point in the conversation already. The Dauntless was scheduled to sail the next morning, and he would be on it. He sighed. "I'm leaving tomorrow morning," he said. "The Dauntless sails at dawn, and we'll be gone at least two weeks."

Emma's smile faded, though she tried to mask her disappointment. "Oh," she said.

"Lousy timing, I know."

"It's all right. I understand."

"Lieutenant Gillette's offered to let you stay at his house while we're away. He has a housekeeper there, so you wouldn't be alone. It wouldn't be very exciting, but it would at least give you a chance to see a bit of the town and get used to living here."

Emma smiled for her brother and nodded. "That sounds like a good arrangement."

"I'm really sorry. It's hardly the perfect welcome."

Emma shrugged. "I suppose I'll have to get used to you being away," she said. "But perhaps your friend's cook can show me around a bit, and I'm sure Gregory would like to see the town as well. And," she added, "I'm sure a few cooking lessons wouldn't hurt."

Groves raised his eyebrows.

"Well, that is why you're letting me live here, isn't it? To be your cook?"

"No, actually, but now that you mention it..."

"You're abominable," Emma teased, but then her face grew serious again and she spoke quietly. "Be careful, Theodore."

He frowned. "Careful?"

"On your trip. I don't know what all you navy men do, but I know it's dangerous."

He hesitated. "It can be."

"So be careful out there," Emma said. "I won't mind if you leave sometimes, as long as you always come back."