Cecilia sipped her tea, waiting in vain for her brother or daughter to break the silence. So she put the cup down and looked up at them. Marina was sunk in her chair, pale and abashed. Wan Claup acted as if he were having breakfast all alone, staring out the window across the room.
"Would somebody please explain to me what's going on?" Cecilia asked softly.
Wan Claup turned to her as if he'd just realized she was there. His chin pointed at Marina. "What's going on is that your daughter sneaks out to meet with boys in the barn in the middle of the night. Oh, and she also dresses up as a man."
"I see." Cecilia nodded, as grave as him, and turned to her daughter, sitting opposite her. "I'm glad you didn't ruin your new dress. Trousers are better for fencing. But I didn't know there was somebody else with you and Morris."
The other two didn't hide their surprise at her words.
"You knew?" asked Wan Claup, taking offense.
Cecilia smiled at him, not the least bit afraid of his frown. "This is my home and Marina is my child. Of course I knew."
"And you allowed it? How could you!"
Cecilia held his eyes, a rebel spark in hers. She opened her mouth as to speak, but held herself back.
Wan Claup glanced at Marina. "Leave us."
The girl would've given anything to stay and listen what would follow, but she knew how far she could go. So she left the room without a word.
Wan Claup waited to hear the door closing and faced his sister again.
Cecilia took a moment longer to speak, keeping a soft, calm tone.
"You spend little time with us, brother, and I understand you still can't see it. Or maybe you don't want to, for it isn't easy, dealing with the changes when childhood comes to an end. But Marina is no ordinary child. She has our blood and Manuel's. Such a mix would never conceive a simple, docile child. She has fire in her heart and an inquisitive imagination. She needs much more than her needle and cooking chores. And you can be sure she doesn't dream of wedding a man fifteen years older than her and spend the rest of her life delivering his children and scrubbing his braies."
Wan Claup raised only one eyebrow, as if he had suddenly found out his sister had gone mental and he wasn't sure how safe it was to taunt her.
Cecilia flashed a quick smile. "I saw her bruises and mended her ragged dress after what happened with those little boys. That's why I got trousers and boots for her. They belonged to Bernabé's son and she was about to give them away because he's grown tall for them. I didn't know who Marina would turn to, but I thought it'd be Morris or Laventry." She sighed. "I thought Fray Bernard's lessons would be enough of a distraction. I was wrong."
"Lessons?" Wan Claup repeated, suspecting the worst.
Cecilia smiled again, foreseeing his reaction. "Fray Bernard taught her to read and write two years ago."
Wan Claup stiffened. "Marina can read?" he whispered.
"Yes, and since then, she started learning Spanish and English. I think they're about to start with German, too." He moved his lips, unable to utter a single word, and Cecilia chuckled softly. "Please, brother. This is Tortuga. Any harbor girl speaks five languages. Why not your niece?"
"Because she will never be a whore!" Wan Claup was outraged.
Cecilia's sarcastic smile made him look away. "Spoken like the lost son of a duchess," she said.
"Mother wasn't a whore!"
"Of course not. But don't come tell me she fled Nantes before you could even walk, to end up here, sold for a wife to old Wan Claup and his mate Fabrice, just because she couldn't handle such a nice, wealthy life."
Wan Claup snorted. "Now you mean to teach me family history?"
"Not teach you, brother. But I'll remind you of it every time you need it. Remind you that we don't know which one of them was my father, and you never met yours. But old Wan Claup gave us both his name and raised us as his own. And I would've ended up in a harbor tavern if Manuel hadn't wedded me before I was recruited."
"And you want your child to end up like that?"
"Of course not." Cecilia softened her tone and patted his hand to calm him down. "But just like good old Wan Claup taught us both to read, and Fabrice always managed to find books for us, I want Marina to have the same opportunity, because keeping her intelligence in the dark is a true sin. The problem is that studying is just too passive for her restless blood. I'm thinking about hiring a tutor to teach her fencing and horseriding. Maybe you can direct me to somebody we can trust?"
"She's a girl, Cécile!" Wan Claup cried, not believing his ears. "Horses? Fencing? Even if I let you keep spoiling her, nobody would lower themselves to teach men's activities to a girl!"
It was Cecilia's turn to take mortal offense. "Spoil her?" She needed a moment to control her anger.
"Yes! Spoil her! What will become of her if you keep pampering her? Who will marry a woman that can read, write and speak other languages?"
"Manuel never cared I could read. He even asked me to teach him, and taught me Spanish in return. And if I pampered Marina like you say, I'd let her pose as a boy and enroll on any crew that would take her."
"Enough!"
Wan Claup's hand landed on the table so hard it made the china jump. He stood up and stalked out of the room.
Cecilia sighed, shaking her head with a sad grimace.
Marina helped Colette and Tomasa in the kitchen when she saw Wan Claup head for the stables, still grunting and swearing under his breath. A moment later he rode away on his horse, his face reflecting his anger. The girl dropped what she was doing to run to her mother.
"I saw my uncle going out, and he looked so angry!" she said. "Is it because of what I did last night?"
Cecilia flashed a sweet smile at her. "No, child. Don't worry, he'll get over it. Men find it hard to remember our lives go on while they're out at sea." The answer didn't soothe the girl, and Cecilia took her to the library. "Here," she said, giving her a book. "Fray Bernard wanted to read it. Now go change, or you'll be late for your lessons."
"Going to church? Now? Can't I go for my uncle, instead? I'm sure I'll find him at the shipyard. And I could apologize to him."
"Haven't you already?"
"Of course, last night. But—"
"Let it ride, Marina." Cecilia caressed her hair, touched because her daughter was so upset. "Keeping it up would only feed his anger. Give him a chance to calm down."
The girl sighed, grimacing.
"Come, child. Fray Bernard awaits."
Wan Claup only went back home by nightfall. He stated he'd already had dinner and locked himself up in the library. Cecilia decided she and Marina would have dinner in the kitchen with Colette and Tomasa, like they did whenever Wan Claup was at sea. The girl hardly touched her food, and didn't pay any attention to the women's chattering, even more troubled than she was in the morning. She asked to be dismissed as soon as she could.
Cecilia followed her out of the kitchen. She saw the girl pause outside the closed door to the library, hesitate and hurry down the hall, her head low. As soon as the girl closed her room's door, Cecilia went to the library herself. She knocked and didn't wait for an answer to walk in.
Wan Claup lowered his book and faced her, no trace of a smile. Cecilia set her jaw and crossed the room to stand only two steps away from him.
"May I know what's with you?" she asked, in the same tone she used to scold her child.
Wan Claup was surprised. "What do you mean?"
"Have you seen your niece since breakfast?" He shook his head. "That's what I mean."
"I'll see her in the morning, right?"
"And I hope you stop acting as if she'd committed a mortal sin. Goodnight."
"I met with Captain Feraud this afternoon," Wan Claup said before she reached the door. "He's making the last crossing of the season in two weeks. I'd advise you to start packing."
Cecilia spun around. "Packing? What are you talking about?"
"Marina is leaving for France this very year. I've already booked a cabin for you two on Feraud's ship."
Wan Claup looked back down to resume his reading, but his sister's shadow cast over his book and he was forced to face her again.
"Are you kicking me out of my own home?" she asked in a furious hiss.
"Of course I'm not. You can be back in the summer, as soon as the little pearl is settled."
"Settled in a nunnery or with a husband?" Cecilia sneered down at him. "My daughter and I aren't going anywhere, Wan. But you could go visit your friend the Mercier widow. Maybe she can help you clear that head of yours, so full of foolery."
He sighed. "I'm doing this for her own good, Cécile. Trust me."
She let out a bitter chuckle. "Whose good, brother? You no longer know who your niece is. Or who I am, for all that matters. It's not your fault, I get it. But it's up to you to get that a few weeks a year with us are not enough to understand the changes around you. You still call me by my maiden name! I quit being Cécile Wan Claup fifteen years ago, brother. I'm Cecilia Velazquez, and I will be till the day I die. And I'm telling you I'm not sending Marina to Europe, to condemn her to a life of unhappiness." She turned her back to him and headed for the door. "My regards to Madame Mercier. Maybe you should stay with her until you set sail again."
Cecilia left Wan Claup stomaching the insight and went to her room. As discreet as usual, Tomasa brought her an herbs tea. While the housekeeper helped her out of her dress, Cecilia heard her brother's horse ride away again and let out a heartfelt sigh.
Wan Claup came back late that night. He came from visiting not the Mercier widow but Laventry, and his friend's mocking laughter still echoed in his ears. To his surprise, Laventry had taken Cecilia's side and called him a stubborn blockhead.
"Of course the little pearl asked me to teach her fencing. More than once. She also wants to be my cabin boy. What were you expecting? She's the Ghost's child, brother! What else would she dream of? Trust Cecilia. She's her mother and nobody knows better what our child needs."
The stable boy waited for him, and took his horse as soon as he stopped outside the stables. Wan Claup thanked him in a whisper and tiptoed into the house, to keep from waking anybody up. Only to find there was light in the kitchen, the main hall and his sister's and niece's rooms. He almost stumbled onto Tomasa, who hurried out of the kitchen with a jug full of fresh water and clean clothes.
"What's going on?"
"It's Marina, sir," the black woman replied. "She's burning in fever, just like that night. God spare us from another tragedy."
That night. Tomasa meant the night the Ghost had faced Diego Castillano for the last time. Cecilia had told him that the little girl had woken up in the middle of the night, burning in fever, crying out loud for her father. Comparing stories, the siblings had concluded that it had happened about the same time Manuel Velazquez had fallen, deathly wounded, all the way across the Caribbean Sea.
He pressed on down the hall, dropping his felt hat and his cloak on the way, a bad feeling souring his mouth. Cecilia recognized his footsteps and came out of Marina's room.
"Finally! I was about to send Claude for you!"
"What happened?"
Cecilia signaled Tomasa to take what she carried into the room and rested her hand on her brother's chest, stopping him.
"Marina needs you, brother. It's the first time her crying wakes me up ever since Manuel's death. Go comfort her. But for all you hold dear, don't mention France. I haven't told her about it. Else, she would've run away, and instead of finding her crying in the middle of the night, we would've found her bed vacant in the morning."
Her words seemed to push Wan Claup into the bedroom. He found his niece curling up in bed, crying and shaking, her face against the wet pillow. Tomasa filled the washbasin on the nightstand and wetted the clothes to refresh her.
"Marina!" Wan Claup cried, rushing to her side.
The girl looked up and stretched her arms out to him, sobbing. He held her tight against his chest and kissed her fevered forehead.
"Forgive me, Uncle! Please, forgive me!" Marina cried, soaking his vest in her tears. "Promise I'll be good! I'll do whatever you want! But please, forgive me!"
"Hush, my pearl, don't cry," Wan Claup whispered, moved. "There's nothing to forgive, my child. Calm down. You are my little pearl and I love you, now and always."
The girl quivered in his arms, unable to stop her heartbreaking tears. From the door, Cecilia signaled Tomasa to walk out and followed her, leaving them alone.