Thursday April 11th
“Cara,” I hear my name whispered in my ear. I groan and roll over. “Cara!” the shriek is louder, and my hair is being yanked. I slap her hand away, which only issues a crying fit. “I’m hungry!” Alice shrieks.
“Don’t wake the entire boat,” I groan, though I refuse to open my heavy eyelids.
There is a pain on my arm. My eyes fly open and I see little Alice biting my arm. “What on earth was that for,Alice?”
“Get up!” she pulls at my hair more.
“If you don’t be quiet, I’ll tell Mother on you and you shan’t get any more deserts.”
“But I’m hungry!”
“I wouldn’t think so after the way you ate last night,” I mumble. Alice isn’t old enough to know it’s an insult, so she continues to pull at my arm.
I dress her in a few layers so she won’t be cold. It looks as if dawn has just come, and I’m sure it will be rather cold outside. I pull on a coat and comb the knots out of my ringlets. I love my hair, but sometimes it is such a bother. I can’t brush them too much, but I must brush them at least a bit for them to look presentable.
“Come on, Cara!” Alice screams impatiently.
“I’m coming. We’ll go grab some fruit, and then we can search for morning porpoise.”
“Maybe we will see that boy again. He was rather nice.”
“He was, wasn’t he?” I say, smiling at her.
“Are you going to marry him?” Alice asks me.
I laugh out loud because she doesn’t smile in the slightest when she asks me. I bend down and pick her up, kissing her on the cheek. “For now, I’ll say not.”
“He’s pretty,” Alice comments as I carry her down the hallway.
“Yes, I suppose he is. He’ll be joining us for supper tonight and you mustn’t say the slightest of words to him. Do you understand?”
“Why can’t I?”
“If you say he’s kind and handsome, he’ll assume I said it first. That would be very bad.”
“Why?”
“Girls aren’t supposed to have questions or opinions, dearestAlice.”
“Why?”
I laugh as we approach the dining hall, “We are simply property for sale in the world of men.” Alice frowns so I lean in and whisper in her ear, like I am causing mischief. “But you and I, we are different. We will be our own people and rule over all men. Do we have a deal?”
“Deal,” she shakes my hand with a smile.
“Now,” I say, setting her down. “How would you like an apple?”
Alice dances around the boat, singing how she will be special and unique and the best in the world. “Here’s the trick, Alice. We must pretend to be part of their silly game. Inside, though, we will be different. If they hear your opinions and questions, you will surely be beheaded!” I whisper for dramatic affect.
“I shan’t say a word!” Alice crosses her heart.
I take a bite out of an apple, and then tear out another piece. “I bet that we could catch a dolphin with this.”
“Do you really think so?” Alice’s face lights up like a lighthouse.
“I know so.” I tell her, though I really haven’t the slightest idea if dolphins like apples. I lean over the edge and drop the chunk waiting for something to happen. We stand there in silence for over a minute, and I am beginning to lose hope when I see a fin come up and then go back under.
“Did you see that, Cara?” Alice squeals, jumping up and down. She seizes my apple and drops the whole thing in.
“Alice!” I scold her, but I don’t go on any longer, for another fin appears and then there is another, jumping out of the water. I’ve never seen any wildlife so beautiful. They begin to race with the boat, jumping over the waves.
“There are hundreds!” Alice exclaims, though there is only five or so. I don’t bother to correct her.
“Carolina, we were looking all over for you two,” Father scolds. I turn around and see him, arms crossed, with Mother at his side.
“I’m sorry, Father. We only came to see the dolphins.”
“They are quite lovely. Next time, you must leave a note. We were beginning to get rather worried.”
“Silly Cara,” I hear Richard mock as he approaches me.
“Have you run off again?” Thomas sighs in fake boredom.
“You took poor little Alice hostage with you as well,” Richard shakes his head.
“Stop bothering your sister,” Mother tells them.
“Yes, Mother,” they say in unison.
“You scared away the dolphins!” Alice complains, coming to join us.
“You scared us. Don’t let your sister run off again like that.”
“Are you givingAlice reign over me?”
“If you continue to act so foolishly, perhaps I shall.”
I cross my arms, “I wasn’t the one who woke up at dawn and demanded to be fed.”
“Don’t argue with your Mother,Carolina.”
“Yes, Father.”
“Now, let us go to breakfast.”
YOU ARE READING
Crystal Key
Historical FictionWhen 17 year old Cara Bonnel sets sail on the Titanic in 1912, she has no idea she's going to meet the man of her dreams, and maybe her nightmares too. Even as she steps foot off of the great ship, she doesn't know what's awaiting her. She has no...
