The Esmerelda, Chapters 1&2

The Esmerelda

Chapter One


         Annabelle Burnell stood at the rail of the ship looking out towards the distant horizon, hoping to catch a glimpse of land. She looked in vain though, for they had only been at sea for eleven days, and the coast of America was a long way off. Anna sighed, and turned about, letting her gaze drift across the deck of the Esmerelda as the sailors went about their morning duties.
         A shadow fell across Anna, blocking the bright morning sun and announcing the unwanted presence of companion. She gave an inward groan of frustration and turned her eyes towards the man now standing next to her.
         "Sir Melvin, I hope you are well this morning. I don't usually see you about this early."
         Sir Melvin Springford smiled at her, and politely ignored the sarcasm in her words. "Miss Burnell. I am indeed well on this beautiful morning. I can only hope you fare as well. You made such a wonderful picture here by the rail, I almost thought you were one of those bewitching sirens I hear the sailors talk about. I just had to join you."
         Anna had to stop herself from rolling her eyes. She contented herself with smoothing back the wayward curls of her blonde hair.
         Melvin Springford was the younger son of a minor lord and an associate of her father's. Anna had to tolerate him for her father's sake, but the man was too arrogant for her own liking. He also had a tendency for extreme flattery, which Anna found quite embarrassing.
         "Are you getting as far away as possible from your imposing father and your beautiful young cousin?" Springford asked with a sly look when Anna did not respond to his original greeting.
         Anna looked up in surprise. "Why would you think that sir?" she asked.
         Sir Melvin laughed. "You don't need to pretend, my dear. My cabin is right down the hall from your own.  I heard all the ruckus this morning." He grinned. "You did wonder why I was up at such an ungodly hour."
         Anna pressed her lips together, wishing that Sir Melvin would disappear. The argument with her father had been bad enough; she didn't need to know that others had been privy to it.
         "You should know better than to eavesdrop Sir," she said tightly, feeling her face burning. "Our family business is our own.  I will not talk about private matters with you."
         The grin on Melvin's face grew even bigger, if indeed such a thing was possible. "I do apologize then Miss Burnell. I just wanted to assure myself that you were all right, and see if I could be of any assistance. Perhaps I'll see you at lunch."
         With that, Sir Melvin tipped his hat to her, and with that massive grin still on his face, strode away.
         Anna whirled around towards the ocean again and banged her fists upon the railing. Today was not starting out well at all. First the argument with her father, and then her encounter with Melvin Springford.
         Anna's father was Sir John Burnell, a wealthy merchant and minor member of the British nobility who had made a name for himself through lucrative trade deals with the American colonies. He was a tough and imposing man who was only happy if things were going his own way. Unfortunately, this morning Anna had wanted things to go her way, which hadn't gone over well with Sir John.
         Anna and her father, along with her orphaned cousin Rhonwen, were on their way to Georgia, where they would stay with Sir John's brother, Edward. Sir John had hopes of starting a new business venture while in America, and had decided to bring his daughter and niece along, to experience the new land. Anna had been ecstatic that her stern and unyielding father was allowing her to make this business trip with him. She had never before left England. She had believed that her father had wanted to spend the time with his only daughter, and get to know her, something he had never shown an interest in before. She should have known better. Oh, she should have known much better. The only reason Sir John was bringing his daughter along was as a bargaining chip.
         This morning he had informed Anna that when they arrived in Georgia she would be wed to one Mr. Harold Babbacombe, a very wealthy and very old plantation owner with whom her father would be doing business. They were already betrothed.
         Anna had been outraged. She had refused, saying she would not marry for her father's personal gain. She had screamed and she had cried and she had argued, but trying to reason with her father was like reasoning with a brick wall. He wouldn't budge. Finally, he had declared their discussion over, and had simply left the room, leaving Anna mid-tirade with tears tracking down her cheeks, to stare after him in astonishment.
         Now, Anna resisted the urge to stomp her foot. She wouldn't behave like a child over this. But her father would not get his way with this one. Anna would never marry a wrinkled old man she had never before met, and who probably didn't even have all of his teeth. Anna vowed that she would find a way to stop her coming marriage and prove to her father that he could not make such decisions for her. She was a grown woman after all.

         

         The light was fading as Rhonwen Hill descended the stairs into the belly of the Esmerelda, heading towards the tiny cabin she shared with her older cousin Annabelle. It had been a long and exhausting day; one spent avoiding her uncle and trying to keep her cousin's temper in check. Rhonwen sighed. She hated being caught in the middle. She wished she were at home. But home as she had known it no longer existed. A fire had destroyed the building late last summer, a fire that had taken the lives of her mother, father, and two younger brothers.
         Rhonwen quickly closed her mind to the memories. She couldn't deal with them now. She unlocked the door to her cabin and entered, feeling a wave of relief when she saw that Anna was already fast asleep, a single candle covered by protective glass still flickering beside her. She was still fully clothed. Rhonwen collapsed on her bunk, letting her eyes close as she enjoyed the silence.
         She could understand why Anna didn't want to marry the ancient plantation owner from Georgia. What young woman would want a wrinkled old man when she could have her fair share of the charming, handsome young men back at home? It was well known that Anna, with her willowy frame, golden ringlets, and porcelain skin, was a beautiful young woman. She had several suitors waiting back in England. Rhonwen wished she were as beautiful as her cousin. Unfortunately, she didn't fit the English ideal of beauty, with her tanned skin, dark hair, freckles, and smaller stature. Not only that, Rhonwen knew that she didn't have the same carefree, child-like innocence as Anna, that same innocence that drew so many people to her cousin. While Rhonwen possessed an adventurous spirit, she was much more worldly and outspoken, and somewhat of a tomboy.
         Although Rhonwen was two years younger than her cousin Anna, most of the time she felt much older. She chalked it up to how sheltered Anna had been for most of her life. Her Uncle John was the type of father who could easily lock his daughter away in some remote country estate and forget about her for several years. It was a shame that Anna's mother had died when she was just a baby. At least Rhonwen had known her mother, if only for a short number of years.
         Rhonwen was lost in thought when the ship gave a sudden jolt, and there was a loud crack! She instinctively grabbed for the bed so as not to be thrown on the floor. There was a loud, vibrating shudder, and the candle was knocked over and blown out. Shouts could be heard from the sailors above, and the terrified screams of the passengers. Rhonwen tried to fight the rising sense of panic.
         "Rhonwen?" came a tiny voice out of the darkness.
         "I'm here Anna." Rhonwen answered, trying to calm herself for her cousin's sake. "I think-"
         Rhonwen was cut off as the ship gave another loud groan. The cabin tilted and Rhonwen was thrown to the floor, her head hitting the corner of the nightstand.
         The world went silent.          




Chapter Two


         When Rhonwen next opened her eyes, it was to a dazzling blue sky and the worried expression of her cousin Annabelle.
         "Rhonwen thank God!" were the first words out of Anna's mouth.  "I feared you might never wake!"
         "Anna? Oh God, what happened?" Rhonwen struggled to rise, but was too weak to get any farther than her elbows. "Where are we?"
         "Shush. Don't you dare move or Dr. Carr will have my head." Anna pushed her back down to the tattered blanket. "Are you thirsty?"
         Rhonwen started to nod, but winced as her head began to pound.
         Anna looked sympathetic. "Stay put. I'll fetch you a drink, then I'll tell you everything that happened. I'm sure you're just dying to know."
         She quickly left, in a flutter of skirts. Rhonwen again tried to sit up, but her head throbbed and she saw stars. She contented herself with slowly turning her head to survey her surroundings.
         She was on a beach. A beautiful beach, covered in fine, white sand and dotted with large, smooth boulders, some taller than she. The nearby ocean was a clear blue, and white-tipped waves crashed along the shoreline. The air was warm and salty, and gave one the feeling that winter never came to this place.  Surrounding the beach was a dense, luscious forest, full of trees that Rhonwen couldn't recognize. She wondered what life was hidden out there. The whole landscape was gorgeous and exotic.
         The picturesque setting was interrupted by the mass of people crowded onto the beach. Everyone looked exhausted. Many were sleeping. Several were injured. All were faces that Rhonwen recognized from aboard the ship. She could see her Uncle John in the distance, deep in conversation with the captain of the Esmerelda, William Middleton. The captain looked distracted, frustrated.
         Anna reappeared then, with a canteen filled with water. Summoning all her strength, Rhonwen finally pulled herself up to a sitting position, ignoring the stars, and reached for the canteen. Her mouth was dry, and it felt like she hadn't had a drink in weeks. She drank greedily while Anna arranged herself on the ground, uncharacteristically quiet. Once Rhonwen drained the entire contents of the canteen, she turned towards her cousin.
         "The ship is gone isn't it?" she asked quietly.
         Anna nodded, her eyes focused on some invisible point far out at sea.
         "I remember the noise. And the ship being tossed around. Did a storm hit then?"
         This time Anna shook her head. "No. It was a reef. The ship hit a reef, and it put a huge hole in the hull. She went down so fast. We're lucky to be alive. If you look into the distance, you can see one of the ship‘s masts still above the water. The water is not so deep." She pointed towards the sea, but Rhonwen's head was fuzzy and she couldn't make anything out.
         Ann continued, "I thought I was going to lose you. After you hit your head, you wouldn't wake up and there was no way I could carry you up to the deck. I managed to drag you into the hall, but I couldn't get you up the stairs. One of the sailors finally came along and lifted you up.
         "I didn't know where Papa was, but the sailor wouldn't let me look for him. He put you in a longboat and said I had to go with you, because it was the last boat left. So I went with you. I watched the Esmerelda go down from the longboat." Anna shook her head sadly. "The sailor who helped us didn't make it." she whispered, tears in her eyes.
         Rhonwen closed her eyes tightly. She wished that when she opened them she would find herself back in England, with her parents and brothers. She wished she didn't have to face yet another tragedy. The throbbing in her head increased.
         "How many went down?" she asked.
         Anna hung her head. "I'm not sure exactly. At least seven for sure. And five are unaccounted for. The sailors have been out in the boats all morning, searching for survivors. Several people managed to swim ashore. It didn't happen that far out."
         Rhonwen's mind was racing. She wondered how the sailors on lookout duty could have missed the large land mass right in front of their noses. The island, if it was indeed an island they were on, had a large mountain rising in the distance. It should have been visible for miles during the clear daylight hours of yesterday, yet no one had seen it?
         She wouldn't worry Anna with these thoughts though. Besides, there could be a perfectly good reason why no one had seen this island. She knew, from hearing the sailors talk in the previous days, that they should have been thousands of miles away from any kind of land at all.
         Anna's voice brought her back to the present. "I've got to go and find Papa now. He'll want to know that you're awake. So will Dr. Carr. You'd better not move until you see him," she said warningly. "You have a nasty bump on your head and you need to take care of yourself. I know you don't like to be stuck in bed, but you need to be healthy before you can be up and about."
         Rhonwen sighed. She did hate being sick and lying still for long periods of time, but right now she was too weak to make any protest. Her head ached and she wanted to go back to sleep. She mumbled an agreement to Anna's demands, and let her eyes drift shut as her cousin, satisfied, left to find Sir John.


         Anna found her father on the far side of the beach, deep in conversation with William Middleton, the captain of the Esmerelda. Knowing that Sir John would not welcome an interruption, she waited patiently nearby for the conversation to finish. She observed the men from a short distance, noticing the differences between the two of them.
         She had always thought of her father as a handsome and healthy man in his prime. Now, with the stress of the situation upon him, he was beginning to show his forty-six years. There were lines on his face that she had never seen before, and his imposing, six-foot frame was stooped with fatigue.  She even noticed for the first time that his chestnut hair was becoming streaked with gray, although that must have happened sometime before now.
         Captain Middleton, on the other hand, was an attractive man with skin that was still fair and clear, despite a hard life at sea, and coal black curls pulled back at the nape of his neck. He looked not a day over thirty, although Anna had heard that he was in fact much older. Despite the disaster that he was now dealing with, not to mention the definite lack of sleep, he was still fully in charge, and didn‘t look the slightest bit worried.
          "We'll be back on course soon enough Mr. Burnell," he was now assuring her father. "Once we solve the minor problem of not having a ship. Right now, my duty is make sure that everyone on this beach is safe and healthy. Once I am assured of that, we'll need to figure out where we are. And once that is done we can begin to rebuild the ship, or if luck is with us, travel to a conveniently placed port on the other side of the island. Unfortunately, this cannot all be done in one day."
         "I realize that Sir, but I still question if you are looking at this situation with the gravity that is required. There are people dead because of a mistake made by your men. Those men should be disciplined for their miscalculations! How could one miss an island of this size in the middle of the Atlantic? This needs to be dealt with, Captain."
         There was a slightly sarcastic tone to the word Captain, and both Anna and Middleton heard it.
         Middleton's voice was tightly controlled when he answered. "Sir, may I remind you that despite our current situation, we are still under naval law. I am in charge, and I will not tolerate any under my authority to question or disobey me. I will deal with my sailors as I see fit, and you have no say in that."
         His gaze shifted then, and Anna found herself trapped by a pair of strikingly blue eyes, full of fire. "I believe your daughter wishes a word with you."
         He nodded to Anna then, and she barely remembered to acknowledge him, so captivated was she by those eyes. Abruptly, Captain Middleton cut the contact then, as he turned and strode across the beach, calling to his sailors. Anna watched him go, unnerved by the way he had looked at her, as though he would devour her.
         Her father's grumbling forced her to look away from the captain. Sir John was in a foul mood. No wonder, after the dressing down Anna had just heard Captain Middleton give him. She had never before heard anyone talk to her father that way.
         Anna was still angry with her father over her supposed engagement to the wealthy Georgia plantation owner, and with him in such a mood, she didn't want to stick around long.
         "Rhonwen's awake Papa. Dr. Carr should be looking in on her now. Will you be coming over to talk with her?"
         Her father shook his head. "No," he said curtly. "I have things to see to. Keep me posted on her condition."
         Anna breathed a sigh of relief. "Alright then. I should get back Rhonwen."
         "Wait Anna," her father began. Anna tensed, knowing that whatever was coming next, she wouldn't like it.
         "I want you to keep to the section of the beach where Rhonwen is for the time being. No exploring. Only associate with the people we know well from the ship, and leave the sailors to their business. While we may not be in any sort of civilized land at the moment, you still must remember your reputation. I'd not like to see anything compromised because you think the rules of society do not apply here."
         "But Papa-" Anna began.
         "No buts Anna." He said sternly. "You will obey me in this. And the same goes for Rhonwen when she is up and about. You are both ladies and must continue to act like it despite your circumstances. I'll be sending Johnson to look in on you from time to time."
         With that, Anna's father was gone before she could utter another word. She let out a frustrated sigh. How like him to send his manservant to check up on the cousins to make sure they were obeying his every word. He could never believe that they were capable of doing anything on their own.
         Anna kicked at the ground, sending up a cloud of sand that got in her eyes and made them itch. Rubbing furiously, she stomped back over to the corner of the beach that had been set up for herself and Rhonwen, wishing she were back in England.


         After two days on the beach, it was becoming clear that the crew and passengers of the Esmerelda would not be making it to Georgia any time soon. Scouting parties has been sent inland, but although signs of human life had been found, no contact had been made. The men from the scouting parties swore that they were being followed on several occasions, but whoever lived in this tropical paradise seemed to be avoiding their foreign guests.
         The size of the island had not yet been determined either. The scouts came back more despondent each day, reporting that the coastline went on for miles.
         What the scouting parties did find was plenty of wildlife. The dense forest that began at the edge of the sandy beach was full of all manner of creatures, many of which the sailors had never seen before. Hunting was made easy by the fact that several of the men knew how to make snares and traps. Fresh water was also easily found within walking distance, and the women could walk to the streams without trouble. Despite the abundance though, food was still rationed, as there were over one hundred and fifty mouths to feed on the beach.
         The once pristine beach had been transformed into a refugee camp. Makeshift lean-tos had been built for the women, with salvaged canvas from the ship, while the men spread blankets on the ground to sleep. Ever-burning campfires could be seen dotting the white sands, with game being roasted, and the odd pot of boiling water. Ship wreckage was scattered throughout the camp. Each low tide revealed new treasures, and there had been many a cry of delight as some personal belonging was found.
         Despite the tragedy that had brought the crew and passengers of the Esmerelda together, the living arrangements on the beach were clearly segregated. Anna and Rhonwen shared a section of the beach with the wealthy and titled travelers that they had been allowed to associate with on the ship. These included Sir Isaac Garlow and his young wife and child, the Ladies Eliseth and Catherine, who were two widows in their thirty's, Paul Paulson, the pastor, and his wife and children, and also the assorted servants that attended to them all.
         The poorer families that had been on the ship were stationed some distance away, with their own cooking fires and shelters. Many of these families were young, and were on their way to America in search of a better life. Many were also mourning relatives that had been lost in the shipwreck.
         Closest to the shade of the forest, a surgery had been set up to care for those who had been injured in the wreck. Dr. Niall Carr and his studious eighteen-year-old assistant, Kirby Holmes had been keep constantly busy by the dozen or so wounded in their care. Two had died since arriving on the beach, but it seemed that the rest were out of mortal danger, although some at a great cost. One of the sailors had lost an arm, while Isabel Somerville, a six-year-old girl, had lost her vision when a loose rope had whipped across her face. 
         The largest group on the beach was that of the sailors and the single men. They slept on the outskirts of the camp, on the bare ground without any shelter. They took turns on guard duty throughout the nights, and spent their days exploring the coast.
         Defying Dr. Carr, Rhonwen was up and about by the end of the first day. She couldn't stand the thought of missing anything exciting because of a measly bump on the head. She ignored Anna's pleadings to take it easy and rest, and promptly took off down the beach to explore. She had all of fifteen minutes to herself before Johnson came to collect her, promising he wouldn't mention anything to her uncle, as long as she promised to stay in the camp. Rhonwen was less than pleased, but agreed, not wanting to deal with her uncle's famous temper that day.
         By the second day, both Rhonwen and Anna were bored from sitting idle. While the beach was a constant hive of activity, the cousins had not been allowed to do much more than raise their shelter and tend to the cook fire. Even that did not keep them busy for long though, as Sir John quickly found a girl willing to act as a servant, in promise of payment at a later date. After some serious effort on the part of Anna and Rhonwen, Lord John finally relented and allowed the girls the freedom to travel the camp and the beach, so long as they stayed together. He also allowed them to join the women as they drew water and gathered the edible fruits that were abundant in the immediate vicinity.
         It was on the return from on of these trips, on the morning of the fourth day, that the women heard a loud commotion on the beach. They entered the camp, only to find that everyone had gathered on the far edge, where the camp gave way to open beach. Everyone was talking excitedly and casting looks and gestures to something that was hidden among the mass of people. Rhonwen's first thought was that the men must have caught some exotic creature that no one had ever seen before. She reached for Anna's arm and pulled her along, eager to see what the creature would look like, and if the men had managed to catch it alive. The other women with them followed, their curiosity also aroused. As they made their way across the sand, the shouts and yells died down, but it wasn't until they were much closer that Rhonwen could see that it was not a strange animal at all.
She quickly made her way through the crowd, still pulling Anna behind her, ignoring her cousin's protests. She was too intrigued. For there, standing at the center of the shipwrecked crew and passengers, were a group of unfamiliar men. She noted their strange dress and fierce, weather-beaten faces and her breath caught in her chest.
         The locals had arrived.


         


**Be sure to check out Chapters 3 & 4!!***