Ahoy mates! My apologies on this being a week late. I was coming home from vacation last Thursday and did not want just a quickly typed, barely edited chapter out to you guys. I hope you understand. But I was writing on the long (long....long....) drive home so no fear! Chapters will still be coming. As they say in theater, the show must go on! So, I present to you...
A Sister's Worry
Lightning flashed and thunder cracked. Rain drops pitter-pattered on the window. They ran down the glass in rivlets, racing each other to the sill. The fresh smell of it permeated throughout the area.
Sarah Crestshot sat in a large armchair in her parent’s sitting room. She stared into the orange flames in silence. Anyone looking at her would have thought her a statue. Her eyes were glazed over as she thought and wondered.
Katherine had not written to her. It had been over a year since she had left with her husband to the Caribbean. When they had parted, Katherine had said she would write to her as soon as she arrived in Port Royal. By Sarah’s estimations, that would be about a month after leaving London. She had waited patiently for three months after Katherine’s departure for a letter, but nothing came.
It was then that Sarah had used what connections the family had in the Navy to inquire about Katherine’s ship. The news came back to her that it had landed safely on the shores of Port Royal. If this was the case, there should be no reason she had not received a letter. Perhaps it was possible the ship carrying the first letter could be lost to the sea, but surely Katherine would have sent more letters after that, and after that. It was all very puzzling to Sarah.
The door suddenly opened and in walked a rain splattered Charles, his brown hair plastered to his head and his clothes sagging from the weight of the water. Sarah immediately leaped from her chair - in a ladylike fashion of course - and over to the soaked young man.
“Charles, you are dripping all over the rug!” she admonished him. Then she noticed his teeth chattering and his legs trembling, so she shuffled him over to the fire. He sat on the floor in front of the flames and rubbed his hands together close to them. Sarah went to have a maid fetch a blanket for him. It came back a moment later, and Sarah draped it around his trembling frame. She sat back down in her chair across from him.
“What were you doing in the rain without an umbrella, Charles?” she reproached. “Look at your suit! It’s soaked completely through!”
“Oh please Sarah, they’re just clothes,” Charles snapped. “I can get a new suit.”
“All the same, Charles,” Sarah said evenly, trying to control her exasperation, “there is no point in wasting it.” She sighed. “What were you doing out anyway?” she asked heavily.
She inhaled the rain soaked air, then unexpectedly caught an odd scent. Her nostrils widened as she sniffed a little harder.
“Charles…” she began disapprovingly. Charles glanced at her guiltily. Sarah took another whiff of the air. She turned to Charles with a glare.
“Have you been down with the dockworkers and their…their coca leaves again?!” she spluttered angrily. Charles flushed, and this time it wasn’t from the cold.
“What does it even matter, Sarah?” he snarled, standing up and throwing the blanket off his shoulders. “They don’t do anything but numb my mouth a little.”
“You are not to be associating with those men, Charles!” she yelled at him. “They are below your status! You know this!” She began pacing in front of him. “I can’t believe you went to see them again. Those leaves are an excellent example of the bad influence they have on you!”
“Oh don’t be daft Sarah! They’re not dangerous! Those leaves are the only bit of adventure I can get in this standstill life, and even then, it's nothing!”
Sarah stopped pacing and looked at him. She sighed. “Charles, you’re only 18,” she said. “You have the rest of your life for adventure.”
Charles shook his head at her. “No I don’t Sarah,” he said lowly. “It won’t be long before I am forced into a loveless marriage and take father’s place as the head of the family. There will be nothing but tea and business meetings after that. I need something while I can get it.”
Sarah turned away from him and to the tears down the window. She stared morosely at the flashing clouds and the carriages creating waves as they passed through puddles. It was quite fitting to her mood as she saw one wave envelope a smaller one.
“I want you to help me with something Charles,” she spoke, her breath fogging up the window. “Perhaps after it you will get over your foolish inclination for adventure.”
Charles crept towards her, all anger lost to curiosity. “What is it Sarah?” he asked.
Sarah took a deep breath before speaking. “It has been months since we have heard from Katherine. Everything I have done to try and locate her has lead to false trails and dead ends. I can’t figure out anything from these people in England, because they know nothing as well.”
She turned back to Charles with a gleam in her eye. “It is time I take matters into my own hands. I want to go to the Caribbean, and I want you to come with me. We are going to find our sister.”
Well, not the chapter you were expecting, was it? Actually, it wasn't the one I was expecting either, but I can't help when the characters yell "I want to be introduced
now do it
now!"
I also want to send out a special shout out to my brand new editor....
Juliana Maria!!! Sorry TSC, but now you know why I wouldn't send them to you, haha. Jules here has been very helpful in her reviews and I know that she is an author herself, so we both get chances to hone our skills, aye Jules? Rum's on me mate!
So mates, I'm done here till next week. Reviews please! Thanks for reading!
-Kat Crestshot