Writester.net

He watched with interest as she talked with the carriage driver and then saw him unload a trunk and bags from the carriage. He carried the bags and deposited them on the docks. The Major wondered why she was coming aboard. He turned to Captain Drake, who was standing beside him, and questioned him about the new arrival.

“Captain Drake do you know who that young lady is coming on the small boat?” He asked as a smile flashed across his lips.

“Major Marsh, don’t you be getting any ideas.” Captain Drake frowned. “She’s one of the women headed to Jamestown as a mail-order-bride.”

He laughed and shook his head. “All I’m asking is if you knew the young lady, as she seems a bit out of place compared to the other young ladies. If you haven’t noticed she drove up to the dock in a gentleman’s carriage.”

“Well, I do agree Miss Anna Pemberton does seem a bit different than the other women. Several of the men in the office yesterday remarked on the same thing and wondered why she was offering herself as a mail-order-bride. Who am I to question? I only provide the transportation.” He offered.

(Check tomorrow for part 8 of Chapter 2)

Major Robert Marsh stood leaning on the side rail of the ship all morning, wondering when his friends would arrive. This wasn’t a good time for him to be traveling to Virginia, since he had so many other things at hand that needed his attention, but after his meeting with King James two nights earlier there was only one option-to except his secret assignment. He was glad he was able to talk his two friends Sir Henry Hilliard and Sir Edward Brantley into going along.

He had watched from a distance all morning as the women said their farewells to their families before being carried by the smaller boats to the ships they were boarding. Most of the women he noticed had arrived in farm carts, probably a good sign they came from middle class families, probably looking to find a better life. Can’t fault them for that.

He thought the women while not ugly, seemed rather plain in their looks and clothing. They were dressed in bland colored simple shifts with ankle length skirts over them, and a few wore a full-length ruffled apron on top of that. He knew that no matter how plain they looked, they were sure to be welcomed by the women-starved men in Jamestown. Most of the men had not been with a woman since leaving England in 1606, and any woman would be a welcome sight.

Soon after he watched his friends arrive at the docks in their carriage, he saw another gentleman’s carriage drive up. A woman dressed in a dark green gown stepped out of the carriage as he watched. She wore what looked to be a dark green hat with something on top, maybe some feathers he thought. He wondered if she was one of his friend’s lady friends, but it didn’t look like either were going to greet her.

(Check tomorrow for part 7 of Chapter 2…)

She could smell the unpleasant odor coming from the fish farms, and slaughterhouses, all lined up close to the docks. It was a sickening smell, which took her breath away and made her homesick for the sweet smells of the beautiful countryside she treasured and her father left her. She felt like crying already and had to will her emotions under control. The sailors loaded her trunk and bags into the smaller boat, and off they went in the direction of the ship and her future.

The boat ride over was uneventful, and no one spoke one word to her. She enjoyed looking over the side, and dipping her fingers into the sea. It smelled and tasted so different to her than the ponds and streams she was used to swimming in. She wondered what it would be like to swim in the ocean. She would test that thought in Jamestown, after they arrived.

Henry and Edward continued chatting as they sat at the opposite end of the boat, facing her, but oblivious to her as they talked. Neither man was striking in appearance but both were handsome in their own way, Henry had large dark brown eyes, long eyelashes and boyish look. Edward with smaller blue eyes had a charm about him. Anna loved looking at people’s eyes, she felt like it was the portal to their soul, and it was the feature she always noticed first. Both men were dressed in expensive looking blue double-breasted fitted waistcoat, tan breeches, white shirt and socks, black shoes, and each wore a wide brimmed flat top black hat.

**

(Check tomorrow to see what happens as Anna comes aboard the ship … see part 6 of Chapter 2 tomorrow)

“Madam, I asked if there was anything else I could do for you?” The man said as he cleared his throat, waking Anna from her thoughts.

“No, but thank you for your help.” Anna answered softly as she gave him some coins for his help.

Anna knew her sister would awaken around noon as usual and find the note she had left explaining everything. By the time she read the letter, the ship would have left port four hours earlier. She just hoped her family would someday come to understand the decision she had made.

She looked at the roster which was posted on a board on the docks which held the names of each lady and which ship she was to travel on. A man at the dock told her all the other women had arrived before daylight. He also told her that she would be the last woman to board before the ship left port, but that there were at least two more passengers waiting to be taken on board the ship she was on.

Anna sat on her trunk while she waited, looking at the two gentlemen who were talking in a huddle. She couldn’t see their faces well, but she saw that the taller man, she heard called Edward, had long sandy blond hair, pulled back with a tie. The other man whose name she heard called Henry, was shorter and stockier than Edward, and had shoulder length dark brown hair. Feeling a little more than curious about the men she thought to question them, but didn’t want to draw any attention to herself.

(Check tomorrow for part 5 of Chapter 2…)

She had gone inside and spoke with the gentlemen in the office who seemed quite nice and anxious to sign her up. One nice looking gentleman said his name was Captain Thomas Drake, and informed her she’d be a passenger on his ship. She thought he looked to be around forty, his skin browned and weathered from the sun. He was dressed in a gray single-breasted waistcoat, with canvas breeches, white stockings, black squared toed shoes, and a black canvas hat. His gray coat seemed to bring out a gray color in his hazel eyes, which were complimented by his golden blond hair. The only orders he gave her were to be at the dock by daylight with her bags.

Anna knew about the Virginia Company, because her father had been one of the members, before his death. How ironic that she was heading to Virginia to escape an unwanted marriage on a ship chartered by a company her father had been part of. She was sure he would see the humor in it as she did, but she was just as sure her brother wouldn’t.

The truth was she had no intentions of marrying anyone in Jamestown, the ship was just a means of escape, and as far as she could see the only option available to her. Once in Virginia she planned on using some of the money she had with her to pay off her ship passage.

(Check tomorrow for your next addition… part 4 of Chapter2…)