Chapters (41)
- Cover
- Books by Jody Hedlund
- Title Page
- Epigraph
- one
- two
- three
- four
- five
- six
- seven
- eight
- nine
- ten
- eleven
- twelve
- thirteen
- fourteen
- fifteen
- sixteen
- seventeen
- eighteen
- nineteen
- twenty
- twenty-one
- twenty-two
- twenty-three
- twenty-four
- twenty-five
- twenty-six
- twenty-seven
- twenty-eight
- twenty-nine
- thirty
- thirty-one
- thirty-two
- thirty-three
- Author’s Note
- About the Author
- Back Ad
- Back Cover
“Miss Spencer . . .” She paused and lowered her voice. “I was in the cabin when you dropped the necklace into the chamber pot.”
Miss Spencer finally had the grace to release Ann from her glare. Instead, she turned embarrassed eyes upon Miss Lawrence. “Since you were there, you can attest to the fact that it was an accident. It slipped from my hands.”
“Truly, ’twas most unfortunate.” Miss Spencer started to respond, but Miss Lawrence continued before she could say anything more. “And yet I do distinctly remember you saying it was rubbish and that you had no need of it.”
“That was because it was . . . well, irretrievable.”
“’Twould appear it was retrievable after all.”
Ann still hung on to the necklace, her expression wary. Mercy nudged her, hoping she’d take the hint that she needed to do the right thing and give the necklace back. But the girl averted her eyes.
Miss Lawrence cleared her throat. “If this girl went to the trouble of finding and . . . cleaning the necklace, then perhaps she deserves to have it.”
The anger had dissipated from Miss Spencer’s expression, leaving indecision in its place.
Miss Lawrence leaned in and whispered, “Surely you have no desire to wear the item now that everyone knows where it has been.”
The blanching of Miss Spencer’s face was answer enough.
Mercy guessed that in the world they came from, jewelry was disposable. Once lost, they could easily buy another. At the very least, neither would consider the value the necklace could bring once it was pawned, an amount sure to feed and house a poor family for days if not weeks.
Without another word, Miss Spencer spun and stalked away, heedless of the piles of feathers she disturbed in her wake.
Miss Lawrence stayed a moment longer, studying Ann as if she wanted to say more. But at Ann’s defiant expression, the gentlewoman took a step back. She offered Mercy a tentative smile before continuing on to her side of the deck.
As Mercy watched her go, new admiration settled inside her for the gentlewoman. She sensed this voyage was the start of a journey for Miss Lawrence too, and she prayed the woman’s scars would one day fully heal.
nineteen
A cry awoke Mercy. She jolted up in bed and listened.
Through the complete darkness of the night, only the faint rumble of the engines and the soft lapping of waves met her ears.