Chapter Three

Sir Thomas' ship was large and spacious, and Viola's rooms were comfortable. She had a cabin all her own, complete with bed, dresser, and a wardrobe full of expensive dresses left over from Sir Thomas' trades. All the furniture was nailed down to the floor to prevent them from rolling about the cabin during the journey.

The sailors were also nice, and welcomed Viola aboard cheerfully. It had been a while since they had been in female company, and liked Viola's spirit and eagerness to learn about sailing. And though they knew she was a lady, they still delighted in telling her gruesome sea-stories and teaching her how to sail.

She ate her meals in Sir Thomas' rooms, but spent her days with the sailors, learning everything they already knew and enjoying life. Her pale face, which had been her mother's pride, was now freckled from her time in the sun, and though she didn't mind, she wondered what the Court would think if they saw her now. She also knew that she could not be criticized for not staying out of the sun, for it was impossible while stranded on a desert island. So she spent as much time outdoors as possible, knowing that it would be her last for a while.

She enjoyed not being a lady. She drank ale with the sailors in the evenings, sang ballads with them under the stars, and enjoyed listening to their crude jokes which they told each other while working. It was fun, and she relished it. And they, in turn, did not try to dissuade her from spending time with them, for they liked the spunky, high-born widow whose husband had perished at sea, barely a month after their marriage. They thought it a tragic love story, and thought Viola quite brave for putting up with her loss so well, but if some of the sailors were curious about how she could act so uncaring about the death of her husband, they soon forgot it as soon as Viola came near and began to sing in her soprano voice some song which they had taught her.

At night everyone gathered on the deck to hear stories, and it was on one such night that Viola told them of William Shakespeare. Being worldly men, they had heard of the playwright, but did not know very much about him. And they listened eagerly to Viola's tale, for it promised to be an interesting one. Even Sir Thomas, who usually yawned boredly during the nightly tales, leaned in towards Viola, a rapt, intent look on his face.

"The first time I ever spoke to Will Shakespeare was during an audition. I was auditioning to play Romeo in Romeo and Juliet, and I recited a monologue from one of his plays. This play had not been well-received by the London community, and when I recited it, he seemed taken by me and by my acting. I had been posing as a boy to get the part, so I ran frightened through the streets of London, trying to get to the Thames so that I could cross the river and reach home, where presumably I would be safe. But Will followed me home, and gave a message to my nurse, asking her to tell me that he would like for me to be in his play. I readily accepted the offer, and I become Romeo. It was very amusing, and he seemed taken by my acting. And believe me, I had always wanted to be an actor. But it isn't allowed for a woman to act, and so I knew that my dream was unreal. But this opportunity was too good to be true, and I tried my hardest to be satisfying to its author.

"In any case, one day Will found out about my being a girl. He followed me home, and he stood outside my balcony window, calling for me until I came outside. Oh, how exciting! And one night he even came upstairs into my room! I learned the whole play by heart, and I loved every minute of it. Will was my idol, a god in my eyes. And to be a personal friend of his was an honor beyond measure. But one day the police found out about my being a girl, and I was shunned from theater. And the Rose Theater, where the play was to be performed, was closed. Lucky for Will, Richard Burbage, the owner of the Globe Theater, was kind enough to offer him the use of his own theater for the exposition of the play. Everything seemed to be going well. But then the actor who was to play Juliet could no longer play the role, and they were in a fix. And I was watching the play, and overheard two of the workers talking. And I told them that I knew the part of Juliet, and they had me go onstage as Juliet. It was so very exciting! I loved every minute of it. I acted my heart out, and the play was very well received, especially by the Queen. She even offered to look at some more of Will's plays. And then I went to Virginia with my husband, but our ship was sunk, and now here I am."

She smiled at her audience, who was by now in tears, touched by her story of womanly courage. Sir Thomas began to clap, and all of the sailors followed suit.

"That was beautiful, Lady Viola! Simply beautiful!" Tom, one of the sailors, said, whimpering slightly. His face was bleary with tears, and if everyone else hadn't been crying too, he would have been laughed at.

"Thank you, everyone. It means a lot to me that you enjoyed my story. And it's true, too, in case some of you had any doubts," Viola smiled sweetly, folding her hands in her lap and looking rather out-of-place, sitting on a barrel like a sailor and wearing an expensive dress in the latest fashion.

"Is Will still in London?" asked Tom, his voice reverent. Many of the other sailors repeated this question with curiosity, wondering if Lady Viola's one true love was waiting for her to return.

Viola smiled and sighed, lapsing into a short day-dream, remembering Will. Oh, how she had missed him! And his plays! She had missed those almost as much as she had missed him! She sighed again, then came back to earth.

"Well, I don't know for certain, to be honest. I've been gone for nearly two months now. I don't know what's been going on in London. He might have moved. And he might not remember me too well-"

"That would never happen, Lady Viola! No one could ever forget a character as lovely as you!" interrupted someone. Viola blushed.

"That's very kind of you, but I don't deserve such praise."

"What! Of course you do, Viola. Everyone knows you do. Why, you're the toughest person here, and you're a lady as well. No one could forget a person such as that," Sir Thomas protested. Viola smiled at such praised. During her weeks at sea she had learned that Sir Thomas was a very kind and cordial person, but very cold and private. He never warmed up to anyone, and apparently had no trusted friends on board. So she was very touched that he thought of her that way.

"That's very sweet of you, Sir Thomas. Coming from you, that means…"

Her voice trailed off, and the boat started to rock. The whole world spinned and stars erupted in her eyes. She rubbed them, trying to ward off the feeling of sickness. She couldn't. She could hear muffled mutterings, but paid them no mind. She could barely think. And then everything passed into darkness.