I have the most elegant cabin in the ship, or so the captain had said. Elinor was residing in the cabin next to mine. Having no interest whatsoever in our sojourn, I changed for the evening.
I was pinning up my long hair into an elegant coffiure, when the cabin door opened and Elinor came in talking. "Are you ready, dar -?" she stopped at midsentence when her eyes fell on me.
"My lady," said Elinor, "You look fetching."
I raised my eyebrow, and gave her a crooked smile, "Dont I always?"
She blinked, "Yes, child." smiled Elinor, "But today you look more like a woman then a girl in that evening gown of yours."
True, I thought as I looked once more in the mirror. Never before this had I dressed to be alluring and formal at the same time. Slender sphagetti straps uphold the fitted bodice of this gorgeous gown with the skirt flowing to the ground. I was wearing my mother's diamonds, and my coiffure was the best a woman can have.
"When are we setting sail, Eli?" I asked matter of factly.
"Soon after dinner." she said. "Which reminds me why I'm here in the first place. Dinner's to take place in the Captain's cabin. He has invited us to join him. Like we knew he would."
Sighing, I opened the small box on my dressing table and retrieved a folded piece of parchment.
"What is that?" Eli asked curiously.
"A letter for you," I said tonelessly, "But I want you to promise me that you will only open it after midnight." Preplexed she took the parchment, from my hand but asked no further question.
Simpson's cabin was a little larger then the one she was given but it was more elgeant. The smell of roast turkey had my stomach growling but overall it was a very sordid affair. The Captain wasn't as pleasent as I thought he was. With his bunch of questions and a sneer across his face.
"So, my lady," he said, turning around to look across the dining table at me, "Why, may I ask, have you decided to leave Britain?"
No, "To Marry, Captain." I said, contradicting my thoughts.
"Marry?" ventured Simpson, taking a sip of his brandy, "But you arent out of the school room, are you?" He spared a fleeting glance at Elinor.
I stiffened, surely a dinner conversation didnt revolve around a ladies personal life, "I am, indeed, out of the school room. Elinor is not only my governess, she's a good friend as well."
"I see..."