Midnight Jewel (The Glittering Court #2)(21)

We were taking two ships to Adoria, the Good Hope and the Gray Gull. Each ship would carry half of the girls, as well as all sorts of goods Jasper planned on selling. A handful of other passengers and commodities were also going with us, so apparently we weren’t the only ones willing to risk a winter crossing.

“You’ll be in the capable hands of Mistress Culpepper when you arrive,” said Mistress Masterson, speaking loudly to be heard over the wind. She tightened her dark shawl around her narrow shoulders. “She runs things on the Adorian side and will look after you.”

She and the other manor mistresses stood nearby, all quick to offer advice to us about avoiding sailors and remembering our manners in Adoria. Only some of the houses’ mistresses were accompanying us. Mistress Masterson wasn’t one of them. Instead, our chaperone aboard the Good Hope was the Dunford mistress, Miss Bradley, who seemed nice enough.

Once the cargo was packed away, it was time for us to go aboard. We surprised Mistress Masterson with hugs and then waited for our names to be read. Jasper was calling out for the Gray Gull, which would carry the Dunford and Swan Ridge girls, first. When I heard him say Tamsin’s name, I thought for sure I must have mixed everything up.

But no, Tamsin separated herself from the Blue Spring Manor girls, handed Mistress Masterson a stack of letters, and then walked down the wharf toward the Gray Gull. Her red hair danced in the wind behind her, and she didn’t look back.

“Tamsin . . .” I breathed.

Adelaide said nothing, but her blue eyes widened with disbelief. When our turn came to board the Good Hope, I whispered, “She’ll come around. She has to. This journey will give her a lot of time to think.”

But I could hear myself falter and knew that Adelaide didn’t believe me. I didn’t believe me either. I had to force one foot in front of the other when we started toward the dock. I’d failed. I hadn’t fixed things. Several Blue Spring girls shot Adelaide looks of sympathy.

“Can you believe it’s that bad?” Clara said to Caroline in a stage whisper. “Tamsin didn’t even think she was worth a goodbye.”

Tamsin apparently hadn’t thought I was worth a goodbye either.

I tried to put on a look of indifference as a sailor led us below the ship’s deck and into a narrow corridor that contained our party’s cabins. Adelaide came to a startled halt when we entered ours, which was half the size of our former bedroom. The tiny cabin had six bunk beds built into the walls and would hold us, three other Blue Spring girls, and Martha from Swan Ridge—whom Tamsin had swapped places with. Though we’d all come from humble backgrounds, this change from our living conditions at the manors was a shock. Even I had become spoiled, and I sternly reminded myself that when Lonzo and I had sailed from Evaria, we’d had standing room only in a cargo hold packed with other people.

Adelaide still looked glum, so I linked her arm in mine and steered her to the upper deck. I wanted her old smiles back. And she wasn’t the only one who needed a distraction. “Come on. They’re going to cast off.”

This ship dwarfed the little channel-runner I’d sailed on. The Good Hope and Gray Gull were great beasts of the ocean, vast and powerful and ready to take on the journey ahead. We gathered near the rail with other curious passengers while sailors shouted and scurried around us, each one focused on his task. The mighty ship swayed on the waves—up and down, back and forth—and then slowly pushed away from the wharf as the last line was taken in. Wind filled the billowing sails above, and we were off.

The thrill of it swept up even Adelaide, though I knew she’d spotted Tamsin on the other ship’s deck as we departed. The sight of that red hair tore at my heart. Let her go, Mira, I scolded myself. People leave. You’ve seen it your whole life. Focus on what’s to come. Lonzo. Adoria. The New World. It’s finally happening.

Cedric was also traveling on our ship and strolled over as Adelaide and I discussed cabins. He wore a long, deep red coat of unusual cut—unusual here, at least. I’d heard it was very fashionable in the Adorian colonies.

Adelaide gave him the first real smile I’d seen in days. “I suppose you’re staying in a luxury stateroom.”

He grinned back. “That would be my father. I’m in a cabin like yours, bunking with other passengers.”

I followed his nod toward a group of people standing at the opposite railing. After spending the better part of a year in a house with the same faces each day, I craved new stories and discussions. I hoped Miss Bradley wouldn’t insist on locking us away. Our sailing companions clearly varied in backgrounds, but all were men—typical, considering they outnumbered women three to one in the colonies. Some passengers looked like they’d used every copper they had to make it aboard this ship. Others, probably merchants and traders, displayed prosperity in both clothing and manner.

Not enough prosperity, according to Cedric. He was just remarking on how none of them could afford us when Rosamunde approached. She joined me in my assessment of our shipmates while Cedric and Adelaide chatted on my other side. “It sure would save us a lot of trouble if we could just find a respectable match on this trip,” Rosamunde remarked.

“Doesn’t sound like anyone here has enough money. Besides, I assumed you wanted to go to all the parties.”

“I do, but sometimes I get nervous thinking about all the pressure and the crowds.” She tilted her head speculatively. “Look at that one with the blond hair. He’s fine looking, don’t you think? And his waistcoat is silk. He might have some means.”