I woke early – I had been on the boat for a fortnight now but I still hadn't got used to the rocking. Mathias had adjusted very quickly, probably because he had been on boats with his borrowed family long ago. I climbed out of my bunk quietly making sure not to wake Mathias (who was making the most of not being at the Foundling and sleeping in till nine sometimes – lazy bones!) and tiptoed across the cabin to the bathroom and splashed my face with water.
Looking at my face in the mirror I thought that I looked much more grown up than I had been at the Foundling. I had tried out a few different hairstyles, pinning my hair into different buns or braiding my hair differently. Thinking about my favourite style I stuck pins into my smooth, dark hair and twisted it into a pretty knot. I put on a new dress I had made from the cloth Mathias had bought me from the ship's shop (I didn't know where he got the money from but I had decided that I would rather not know). It was simple but much nicer than our foundling clothes, made of dark green corduroy in a pattern I'd copied from the fashion page of a working class newspaper. Mathias had also bought himself a jacket to wear as well as or instead of his Foundling one. So far, he had only worn it instead of his foundling one.
"Mathias. Mathias. MATHIAS! WAKE UP!" I shouted realising the time.
"Who, where, what, why, when?" he groaned sleepily
"Harriet. Nearly at America. You're being woken up. Because we need to get ready. 9 o'clock." I said patiently.
"What?!" Mathias said, sitting up with a jolt.
"Get dressed. I'll pack but be quick about it." I said pointedly, panicking slightly. I quickly folded our clothes and shut the lid of the case and then Mathias appeared wearing his new jacket and a worried expression.
"We've got a minute. Everything ready? Good, lets go down to the exit." Mathias mumbled so quickly that I only just caught the words. We left our cabin in our rush and I had to double back to hang the keys on a hook on the door. The ship pulled into New York Harbour with a judder and I shivered in excitement. We were here!
The Asquiths were supposed to have been there to collect me but there was just a note left saying:
To Harriet Summers,
I am very sorry not to have come myself to collect you but I trust that you will understand, we are going through a time of difficulty, do not worry as all will be explained when you reach the estate. Enclosed is some money for you to use to buy yourself food and hire a cab, the address is:
421 Park Ave
Upper East Side
New York
North America
Lady Amelia Asquith
"Wow. Well they made an effort," remarked Mathias after we'd read the note. "Brilliant. The Americans have different money systems, don't they?"
"Yes, they do. I researched it back at the Hospital. A penny is worth one cent, a nickel is worth five cents, a dime is worth ten cents, a quarter is worth twenty-five cents, a half dollar is worth fifty cents, and a golden dollar is worth one dollar or one hundred cents. You write the dollar sign like this" I said tracing the sign in the air, "You can also get one-, two-, five-, ten-, twenty-, fifty- and one hundred-dollar notes. Got it?"
"Yes. Maybe. No. Wow." Mathias answered. I hailed a cab and we stepped inside.
"What are we going to do about you?" I said to Mathais in the cab.
"What about me? I'm fine," was his confident reply.
"Where are you going to sleep? Where are you going to work? What food are you going to eat? What are you going to do? I still remember, even if you don't, that when we were eleven you escaped from the Hospital and you ran back traumatised. That isn't going to happen again. Not now. Not when you have nowhere to run back to," I pressed, concerned.
"All right. I'll ask for work from the Asquiths,"
"That's not what I mean."
"Harriet, please. If I have to work it might as well be with you," Mathias begged. I swallowed, turning the idea over in my mind.
"Fine. But what do we tell them? The truth?"
"Of course, what else? They know you and they've probably seen me around at the Foundling before."
"Sir, Madam, we have reached your destination." said the driver. I handed him the money and Mathias and I climbed out of the cab.