Chapter 1: The Excursion

(Twelve years later...)

"But why can't I go?" Victor's daughter asked him one more time. She was not one to give up easily.

"Look, Emily," he said patiently. "You know how your mother feels about that."

She crossed her arms and pouted. "But I'm nine-and-a-half," Emily insisted. "That's more than old enough to go with you. I'm not a little kid like Willie, you know."

"I know," he conceded, "but ... "

"Please?" she pleaded. "Pretty please?"

Victor thought it over for a few more seconds.

"I'm sorry, Pumpkin," he said at last. "Not today."

She was tempted to argue, but the girl knew exactly how far her father could be pushed and she knew that that particular battle wasn't going to be won that day. So Emily switched tactics.

She leaned forward and made a show of looking at her father's hair. "Uh-oh." she said.

"What now?" he asked wearily. "Don't tell me that you've found another one?"

"Yes, Papa," she answered.

Victor sighed. He was only a year into his thirties and already his hair was beginning to turn gray. The business had been harder on him than he cared to think. "Oh, well. One more for your mother to pull out later."

Emily laughed.

He stood up. "Time to go, I'm afraid. The market won't run itself, you know."

His daughter snorted. "Hmmph! The market! We never get to see you anymore. It's not fair … "

Victor shrugged sadly. "I miss you all, too. Where's your mother?"

She pointed upstairs. "With the brat."

"You shouldn't call William that," he scolded. "He's your little brother, you know."

"Don't remind me," Emily muttered.

Her father shook his head. "What have I done to deserve this?" he grinned in mock annoyance. Then he pulled out his watch. "Oh my goodness! I'm late!" And he hurried upstairs to give his wife her good-bye kiss.

"Ask me again next week," Victor called to Emily over his shoulder. Then he rushed out the door.

Emily got her chance three days later. Victor was collecting his things for another day at work when she intercepted him.

"Can I come along, too?" she asked.

"Oh, I don't know..." her father replied, a slight smile on his face. There was something different about his manner this time, and it encouraged her to keep trying.

"Please?" she asked hopefully.

Victor pretended to think it over. He let his daughter fret for a few more seconds, and then he answered. "Yes," he said.

Emily squealed and rushed forward to give her father's neck an enthusiastic crushing hug.

"Easy, easy," he said, prying her arms away from his throat so that he could breathe again. "Go upstairs and put something else on … something suitable for a young lady to go to town in."

Happily, Emily bounced up the stairs to change. As soon as she had gone, Victoria emerged from the sitting room.

"Are you sure it's a good idea?" she asked him, wringing her hands.

"I think so," he answered. "She hasn't seen much of me lately, and you know that things aren't getting any easier at the market."

Victoria sighed. "Must you work so hard? All the time?" she complained. "William and I aren't seeing much of you either."

He paused. "It hasn't been the same since Father died. I guess I should have paid more attention to the business while he was still here."

"You'll learn," Victoria said. "Look at how much you've done in only a year."

He shook his head wearily. "Not nearly enough, I'm afraid."

His wife changed the subject. "Mother and Father are coming by for supper tonight."

Victor groaned. "Again?" His least favorite relatives...

After eleven years of marriage, Victoria had learned to read her husband. She waited for him to absorb the news, and then added the rest of her tidings.

"Father will be needing another loan," she announced.

"Can't those people learn how to budget?" Victor griped.

His wife said nothing; they'd had this discussion many times before.

He continued. "You know, if they got rid of that drafty old barn they insist on living in they could get by on a reasonable amount.''

"You know how Father and Mother are," she said quietly.

I certainly do," Victor grumbled. "If they weren't so concerned about 'keeping up appearances' they wouldn't need so much of our money."

"Oh, Victor," she said. "It's not like we don't have it."

"If the market keeps on like this for much longer, we won't."

She said nothing.

The sound of their daughter running noisily down the stairs put an end to the conversation. Victoria scrutinized Emily's outfit but could find nothing wrong with it, so she kissed her child good-bye and then stepped back.

"Be careful!" she warned.

"I will, Mama," Emily replied.

"You too, Victor," Victoria said. He answered by stepping forward for his good-bye kiss, then he and Emily left.

Victoria watched them go. She still wasn't sure that an excursion for their daughter was such a good idea...

"Where are we going today, Papa?" asked Emily as they waited for their carriage.

"Well, the market first," he replied, "and then, if you behave..."

"The docks?" she cut in eagerly.

Victor smiled. "Perhaps. But only if you behave."

"Oh! I will! I will!" Emily cried.

"Anything to see the boats, huh?" her father commented.

Emily grinned.

"Ah!" he said, cupping a hand to his ear, "Our ride's here." The sound of iron wheels on cobblestones grew louder and, a half-minute later, their carriage and driver pulled into view.

"Sorry I'm late, sir," the man said.

"Not at all, Mister Woodford," Victor replied, "My assistant and I are ahead of time."

"Ahhh ... I see you brought your assistant, sir," Woodford replied. "There'll be no slackin' for us today then?" And he leaned over and gave Emily a wink.

"I'm afraid not," his employer said with a grin. "You'd best be on your toes today."

The driver started to climb down, but Victor waved him back. "Never mind, Woodford," he said. "I'll get the door."

He opened the door and waved Emily inside. "After you, milady."

She climbed inside and her father hopped in behind her.

They spent the morning at the market, where Emily socialized with the employees. She had learned many visits ago not to get in the way, so she pitched in wherever she could. All morning, it was, "Miss Emily, could you help us with this?" or, "Miss Emily, do be a dear and fetch that..." But she didn't mind, knowing that the best way to guarantee future outings was to be as helpful as she could be on this one...

Before she knew it, lunchtime had arrived and, at the stroke of noon, her father appeared.

"Are we hungry yet?" he teased.

She nodded vigorously. "What's for lunch, Papa?"

Victor hung his head. "I hate to tell you this, but methinks I forgot our lunch. What do you say we make do with a fish-and-chips?"

Her broad smile answered that question...

Emily liked fish-and-chips, but even more, she liked having her Papa all to herself. They chatted all through lunch, so much so that twice Victor had to remind her to eat faster.

But, finally, lunch was done and two minutes ahead of time Woodford pulled around in front with the carriage.

Victor acknowledged the early arrival with a nod and a smile, and then the pair climbed inside and settled into the well-padded seats.

'Mister Woodford!" Victor called up to their driver. "Do you still remember the way to the docks?"

"Indeed I do, sir," was the cheery reply.

"Best make it snappy, then," he called up again, then he leaned back and closed his eyes, a slight smile on his face.

Emily squealed with delight.

Her father opened one eye. "Mind what I said about behaving, now," he cautioned.

She promised to be good.

A few minutes later they were at the village harbor. Emily didn't have to look out her window to know that they had arrived. The smell of freshly caught fish filled the air, as did the sound of what seemed to her to be a thousand sea gulls, each and every one of them screeching at the top of its lungs.

"Back to work," Victor grinned, clapping his hands. They hopped out, and he dismissed Woodford, telling him to return in three hours.

Quickly, they made their rounds among the fishermen, Victor transacting his business with each in turn. He and Emily inspected a lot of fish and he made a point of asking her opinion of the product offered at each stop.

His daughter wasn't quite ten yet, but Victor was determined not to make the same mistake his own father had made. His children would grow up knowing everything that he could teach them about life and about business.

Before an hour-and-a-half had passed, they had finished their business with the fishermen.

"Look at this," Victor said, pulling out his pocket watch with a flourish. "We seem to have ninety minutes to spare. Whatever shall we do with it?"

"The boats! The boats!" she pleaded, tugging on his hand.

He pretended to think about it. "Oh, sure. Why not?"

Emily squirmed with excitement. "Thank you, Papa! Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!"

Emily was boat-crazy: if it was capable of floating it was worth seeing. And she looked at everything - from the smallest beached dinghy right up to the stately pair of schooners moored to the largest and best kept of the wharves.

But she liked the schooners best and she saved them for last. She found the complicated rigging and sails fascinating and spent a good quarter-hour studying them, squinting and scratching her head as she puzzled out their design.

She was so engrossed that she nearly walked into the elderly gentleman in the white captain's cap who was also inspecting the works.

"Oh!" Victor scolded. "Do be careful!"

The old man smiled. "That's all right," he said. "I can see that the young lass knows a fine ship when she sees one."

"Yes, sir," said Victor. "She certainly does like boats."

"That's not a boat, Papa, that's a ship," she corrected.

The two men laughed.

"That's a sharp young lady you have there, Mr. Van Dort. She'd make a fine ship's captain."

"That's what I want to be when I grow up," said Emily.

Her father looked down at her. "It's not polite to interrupt," he said.

Mortified, Emily said nothing.

The older man laughed again. "Who knows? Maybe she'll be one some day. Good day to you, Mr. Van Dort." He looked downward at Emily and nodded. "Miss Van Dort." Then he turned and walked away.

Emily waited until he was out of sight, then asked her father, "Who was that?"

Victor paused. A puzzled expression passed across his face, and he turned and looked hard in the departed man's direction. "I don't know," he finally answered.

"But he knew us, Papa," she commented.

He was still staring. "So he did... "

Victor shook his head and pulled out his pocket watch. "Time to go, I'm afraid."

"Awwww."

He held firm. "We mustn't keep Mister Woodford waiting."

Emily shrugged - she knew that it was time. "Okay." She ran ahead to get in some last-minute looking around while her father made his way back at a more moderate pace.

Something in the water caught her eye, so she stopped and made a detour to investigate, walking to the very edge of the dock to get a better look.

"Be careful!" Victor called ahead to her as she strained for a better view.

Emily turned to acknowledge him but, as she did, her foot slipped on the wet, slippery wood and she lost her balance, spun, and then tumbled over the edge into the filthy water.

"Emily!" he cried.

The sudden plunge into the cold saltwater was a shock to the girl, and she gasped in surprise. Her nose and mouth instantly filled with water and she began to choke. Then Emily felt something grab her arm and she was pushed out of the water, against the rough edge of the dock.

"Hold on to the side!" she heard her father yell and she scrambled for a grip on the slimy wood. After a few terrifying seconds she was hauled out onto the surface of the dock.

The water down in her lungs made her cough and she fought to breathe.

"Cough! Cough it out!" her father barked, and he pounded her furiously on the back. That helped, and she managed to finally get the last of the water out and to catch her breath.

Something dripped on her cheek and she turned her head. The anxious face of her father hovered above her.

"Are you all right?" Victor asked.

Emily looked up. "Papa, you're all wet," she said.

He rocked back on his heels and exhaled raggedly.

"My God, girl, I'd thought I'd lost you."

Then his voice sharpened. "Don't do that again!"

Tears came to her eyes. "I'm sorry, Papa."

He leaned forward and hugged her.

After a half-minute or so, he released her and stood up. "We'd better get going - we're going to be in enough trouble with your mother as it is..."

Victor held out his hand and helped his daughter to her feet. "Are you all right now?"

She wasn't sure. "Let's go home, Papa."

He nodded. "Let's."

Luckily, Woodford was already waiting for them with the carriage. He raised an eyebrow but said nothing.

"Just a slight mishap," Victor commented. "Let's get this young lady home."

"Aye." Woodford agreed, opening the door for them.

"Oh, Victor, what happened?" Victoria exclaimed when they appeared at the door.

"Just a little salt water," Victor replied as he ushered his dripping child inside. "Nothing too serious."

"She could have drowned, Victor! Or you could have…"

He looked sheepishly down at his ruined shoes. There was a large and growing puddle of greasy water where he was standing. Then he looked back up at his wife. "No harm done."

She wrung her hands. "No harm done? Mother and Father will be here at any moment! What will they say?"

Victor grinned. "I know what your mother would say."

He pulled his voice up into a perfect falsetto imitation of his mother-in-law. "Oh ... what impropriety … Shocking! … Shocking!"

At that very moment, there came a knock on the door.

"Victor!" Victoria hissed. "Get her up to her room ... They're here!"

"Let's go, Pumpkin," he said to Emily. "Quickly!" And he hurried her up the stairs.

From the top of the stairs Victor could hear his in-laws noisily greeting their daughter. "Put something nice on," he called through the bedroom door, then he turned and walked down the hall to check up on William.

A half-hour later, everyone sat down to dinner.

After the meal was done, Victor and his father-in-law retreated to his study.

"Did you talk to the Solicitor like I asked you to?" Mr. Everglot asked him.

Victor nodded, but not enthusiastically.

"He is a good friend of mine," the older man said. "That's why we're getting such good terms."

'What do you mean 'we'?' Victor thought, but he bit his lip and said nothing.

"I have the papers right here," Finis said.

The younger man sighed. He hated the idea of borrowing money, but business was still slow, and he had no other alternatives.

"I still don't like the terms, Finis," he said to his father-in-law. "Some of these conditions worry me. What if he calls in the loan early, and we've already spent the money? If that was to happen, that could be the end of the company."

"Don't worry, Victor, my boy. It wouldn't make sense for him to do that. Why would he walk away from such a good investment?"

"Well, Father wouldn't have taken a risk like this. He wouldn't have borrowed under these circumstances, and certainly not on these terms."

Finis bristled. "Well, your father isn't here now, is he? The business is in your hands. And it's up to you to make it work - unless you have a better way."

He added, "This will ensure our financial survival. We need to do this."

'We indeed,' Victor thought again. Then, with a sigh, he picked up his pen and signed the papers.

"I hope you're right," he said to his father-in-law.

"Oh, by the way, Victor..." Finis said casually. "Did Victoria mention to you that we'll be needing another loan? …"