I had no choice but to start my journey to the mansion of Sir Dunnmore. I repeated the directions that Will had given me silently to myself as I turned from the narrow street that the smithy was on to the main avenue of Port Royal. I sauntered down the busy walkway, in no hurry to get to the mansion. Unfortunately, Will had given me the most direct way there, and I found myself standing in front of a grand three-story townhouse in a very upscale neighborhood far sooner than I had expected. Everything about the house and the small but immaculately-kept garden surrounding it gave off a distinct impression of wealth and privilege; and I suddenly became aware that my dress was filthy, faded and torn, and my hair was matted and tangled beyond the help of any ordinary comb, and I probably smelt terrible too. I couldn't just waltz through the front door like I belonged there.
I walked around to the alley and went through the back gate into the small courtyard where the kitchen was. I felt less out of place here; the back of the mansion and the small kitchen building next to it were far less imposing than the front. I stood there for a while, debating how I should make my entrance, when the kitchen door swung open and a familiar figure came out, carrying a basket of eggs. She saw me, and her eyes went wide. The basket fell and the eggs broke at her feet, but she didn't seem to notice.
"What devil sent you, ghost child?" She whispered, crossing herself. The familiar figure was Jane Atwood, Sir Dunnmore's deeply superstitious cook, who had taken on the role of mother toward me when I first came to work for the Dunnmores.
"Jane, I'm not a ghost! It's me, Maggie!"
"Maggie was taken by pirates," Jane said, still staring at me suspiciously.
"I escaped," I said simply, hoping that she'd take the hint and drop questioning. Jane studied me, as if seeing me for the first time.
"Maggie, 'tis really you?" She cried, hugging me. "We'd given you up for dead, or worse! You must be exhausted, and famished! Let's get you something to eat; you're all skin and bones!" Her motherly instincts had kicked in, and she was leading me into the kitchen.
She served me a bowl of beef broth and distractedly went about her real kitchen duties until she was sure that I was done eating. Then she sat down next to me and said, "Oh, I can't believe you're truly here! How on earth did you ever escape?"
I made up a rather clever story about how I escaped the Pearl when we stopped at Tortuga, and bartered passage on to the first merchant ship I found that was going to Port Royal, so I could find someone familiar in this foreign land. To my great relief, Jane believed every word.
"You poor dear!" She exclaimed. "Don't worry about a thing! We'll see Sir Dunnmore right after his dinner and we'll discuss your employment here, and everything will be back to normal."
She guided me to the parlor where Sir Dunnmore retired to after he ate. I waited outside while she announced that he had a guest, then she summoned me in. Well, it was quite obvious that I was the last person he expected to see. His face turned grey and he dropped the pipe he was holding, scattering ashes all over the floor.
"You're not dead!" he said. I relished the look of complete and utter shock on his face.
Damn right I'm not, Maggie-the-Pirate thought. Did you really think that lot of pathetic excuses for pirates would take down the Pearl? It was too bad Maggie-the-Humble-Servant couldn't say any of that. I wasn't sure what would be the humble servant response, so I just looked at the pipe ashes smoldering in the expensive Oriental rug and said nothing.
Jane, who was quite unaware that the real reason that Dunnmore was surprised to see me alive was that he tried to kill me himself, said cheerfully, "Maggie managed to escape that awful pirate ship! Fancy that! Will you be hiring her back then?"
Sir Dunnmore looked somewhat dismayed, but was unable to think of a good excuse not to hire me, and was forced to acquiesce.
I started work first thing that next morning. As I had thought, it was insanely difficult to balance the mundane tasks I was assigned to and search for a treasure map at the same time. There were a hundred places in each room where the map could be, and there had to be a hundred rooms in the entire house, not to mention outside in the garden, or in the kitchen, or the servants quarters. It was like searching for the bloody needle in that proverbial haystack. And to make things even worse, Dunnmore kept a sharp and suspicious eye on me whenever he was around. Despite these daunting obstacles, I did manage to do a thorough search of the parlor, the library, and the dining hall. But these rooms were sadly void of anything out of the ordinary, and there were too many more that needed to be searched.
I was losing hope by the third day. I planned out what I would say to Jack as I dusted and polished the base boards in the third story hallway. I needed another day, or two, or ten. His grand scheme would just have to wait until I could find that bloody—
My thoughts were interrupted by the sound of a door opening and closing again. I looked up to see Sir Dunnmore locking a set of double doors at the end of the hall that I had not noticed before.
"What are you doing here, Miss Elden?" he said angrily, once he saw me.
"Dusting the baseboards, sir, as I was ordered to," I said lightly, giving a small curtsey.
He glared at me formidably, and for the first time I began to realize how dangerous he truly was. "Well I order you take your dusting to another floor," he said coldly. "It would be wise of you to avoid this hall altogether, Miss Elden. We wouldn't want you to be found in the wrong place at the wrong time, would we?"
He left brusquely. I stayed where I was, staring at those doors at the end of the hall, and feeling quite certain that behind them lay the map I was searching for.
I walked around to the alley and went through the back gate into the small courtyard where the kitchen was. I felt less out of place here; the back of the mansion and the small kitchen building next to it were far less imposing than the front. I stood there for a while, debating how I should make my entrance, when the kitchen door swung open and a familiar figure came out, carrying a basket of eggs. She saw me, and her eyes went wide. The basket fell and the eggs broke at her feet, but she didn't seem to notice.
"What devil sent you, ghost child?" She whispered, crossing herself. The familiar figure was Jane Atwood, Sir Dunnmore's deeply superstitious cook, who had taken on the role of mother toward me when I first came to work for the Dunnmores.
"Jane, I'm not a ghost! It's me, Maggie!"
"Maggie was taken by pirates," Jane said, still staring at me suspiciously.
"I escaped," I said simply, hoping that she'd take the hint and drop questioning. Jane studied me, as if seeing me for the first time.
"Maggie, 'tis really you?" She cried, hugging me. "We'd given you up for dead, or worse! You must be exhausted, and famished! Let's get you something to eat; you're all skin and bones!" Her motherly instincts had kicked in, and she was leading me into the kitchen.
She served me a bowl of beef broth and distractedly went about her real kitchen duties until she was sure that I was done eating. Then she sat down next to me and said, "Oh, I can't believe you're truly here! How on earth did you ever escape?"
I made up a rather clever story about how I escaped the Pearl when we stopped at Tortuga, and bartered passage on to the first merchant ship I found that was going to Port Royal, so I could find someone familiar in this foreign land. To my great relief, Jane believed every word.
"You poor dear!" She exclaimed. "Don't worry about a thing! We'll see Sir Dunnmore right after his dinner and we'll discuss your employment here, and everything will be back to normal."
She guided me to the parlor where Sir Dunnmore retired to after he ate. I waited outside while she announced that he had a guest, then she summoned me in. Well, it was quite obvious that I was the last person he expected to see. His face turned grey and he dropped the pipe he was holding, scattering ashes all over the floor.
"You're not dead!" he said. I relished the look of complete and utter shock on his face.
Damn right I'm not, Maggie-the-Pirate thought. Did you really think that lot of pathetic excuses for pirates would take down the Pearl? It was too bad Maggie-the-Humble-Servant couldn't say any of that. I wasn't sure what would be the humble servant response, so I just looked at the pipe ashes smoldering in the expensive Oriental rug and said nothing.
Jane, who was quite unaware that the real reason that Dunnmore was surprised to see me alive was that he tried to kill me himself, said cheerfully, "Maggie managed to escape that awful pirate ship! Fancy that! Will you be hiring her back then?"
Sir Dunnmore looked somewhat dismayed, but was unable to think of a good excuse not to hire me, and was forced to acquiesce.
I started work first thing that next morning. As I had thought, it was insanely difficult to balance the mundane tasks I was assigned to and search for a treasure map at the same time. There were a hundred places in each room where the map could be, and there had to be a hundred rooms in the entire house, not to mention outside in the garden, or in the kitchen, or the servants quarters. It was like searching for the bloody needle in that proverbial haystack. And to make things even worse, Dunnmore kept a sharp and suspicious eye on me whenever he was around. Despite these daunting obstacles, I did manage to do a thorough search of the parlor, the library, and the dining hall. But these rooms were sadly void of anything out of the ordinary, and there were too many more that needed to be searched.
I was losing hope by the third day. I planned out what I would say to Jack as I dusted and polished the base boards in the third story hallway. I needed another day, or two, or ten. His grand scheme would just have to wait until I could find that bloody—
My thoughts were interrupted by the sound of a door opening and closing again. I looked up to see Sir Dunnmore locking a set of double doors at the end of the hall that I had not noticed before.
"What are you doing here, Miss Elden?" he said angrily, once he saw me.
"Dusting the baseboards, sir, as I was ordered to," I said lightly, giving a small curtsey.
He glared at me formidably, and for the first time I began to realize how dangerous he truly was. "Well I order you take your dusting to another floor," he said coldly. "It would be wise of you to avoid this hall altogether, Miss Elden. We wouldn't want you to be found in the wrong place at the wrong time, would we?"
He left brusquely. I stayed where I was, staring at those doors at the end of the hall, and feeling quite certain that behind them lay the map I was searching for.