Chapter Fifteen

 

 

Kitty leaned over the wharf’s iron rails and sniffed the salt air. Below, the murky water of the Mersey slapped against the quay’s wood and stone support structures. She spun around and leaned back against the railing to scan the busiest port throughout the world, Liverpool. Anticipation gripped her. She feasted on the scene. People came here from all over Europe, only to leave again on ships from this very port and start anew in other countries. A walk along the quays highlighted the different nationalities, as folk huddled together waiting for their turn to board the vessels taking them even further away from their homelands.

Strolling along the dock, Kitty listened to the foreign languages and admired the national dress of countries she dreamed about. Groups of each nationality merged together with their meagre belongings and spoke in hushed tones of their own language. Fear tinged the atmosphere. Their trepidation of the unknown could be clearly expressed without a word of English being uttered. No loving family members came to say farewell to these pitiful groups, for their relatives were already thousands of miles away.

Kitty meandered until she came to the bustle surrounding the iron built ship, the Ira Jayne, a vessel containing both steam engine and sails. It would be taking her and her extended family from the shores of England across the great oceans of the world to the land of their new beginning.

The captain, Mr Bartholomew Curtin, was a friend of a friend of Dorothea’s. Therefore, as a matter of priority, Dorothea secured first- class cabins for Kitty’s party. Their luggage had already been installed in the hold a week before. Tomorrow morning they’d be piloted down the River Mersey and out into the Irish Sea to steam or sail away as the wind allowed.

But, for the moment, she had the opportunity to stretch her legs one more time before being cooped up on the ship for months. The docks spectacularly assaulted every one of her senses. Her gaze swivelled to take everything in, her ears buzzed with sound. Seamen worked in the ship’s rigging at dizzying heights, while others loaded crates and chests tied on to swinging pulleys and then heaved onto the ship. Shouts and commands pierced the air. To her untrained eye it seemed to be chaos, an organized chaos, but chaos all the same.

A great commotion and noise occupied the wharf as the steerage passengers trudged aboard. Fathers, with furrowed brows, hustled their wives and children. Clutching what little luggage they owned, they followed the seamen trustingly. The English families cried, broken-hearted, waving handkerchiefs to loved ones they would never see again.

Kitty’s throat constricted with emotion. Her thoughts flew to Rory. Will I ever see him again? He didn’t even know they were leaving the country. Had she failed her parents? Was the promise she made at their graveside false? Despite all her best efforts, the family was divided, split asunder, but it wasn’t floundering, not really. Yes, Rory had absconded, breaking her heart, but it’d been his choice. Just like it’d been his choice to stay away.

Shrugging, she sighed back her disappointment and concentrated on the future. She was still responsible for so many lives, for their happiness and security. Yet, she would have help. She wasn’t alone. Besides Connie, she had Ben, the man who loved her.

At the foot of the gangplank leading up to the deck, she paused. Once she walked onto the ship she’d be leaving English soil for an uncertain length of time, perhaps forever. Everyone was aboard waiting for her to finish taking this last stroll, but still she hesitated.

She looked back over her shoulder at the skyline of Liverpool and, somewhere in the east, York lay. She was saying goodbye to her old home, her country, her brother and heading on an adventure that would test her spirit and courage.

She heard her name being called and looked up at the ship to see Joe waving to her, beside him stood Dorothea, waiting to say goodbye to them all.

Taking a deep breath, she slowly walked up to the deck into Dorothea’s waiting arms.

“I shall miss you more than I thought possible, my dear,” Dorothea told her.

They stood on the lower deck of the ship staring back at the crowded dock. The family, restless and eager, paraded around the poop deck above.

“What would I have done without you?” murmured Kitty. “We wouldn’t be where we are today if not for your influence.”

“Nonsense! You are made of stern stuff, my dear. You’d have survived with or without me.”

“No, Dorothea, no I wouldn’t. Without you, the shop would’ve gone under, Joe would still be in gaol and Georgina would have found a way to drive Ben and me apart.”

Dorothea patted Kitty’s hand and dabbed her eyes with her handkerchief.

“I love you very much.” Kitty smiled through her tears, hugging the old woman to her.

“I feel the same about you, my dear. Before I met you I lived a very dull life.”

“I find that hard to believe.” Kitty chuckled, wiping her eyes. “Will you think about coming over to see us some time?”

“Maybe, but I’m old, dear. Nonetheless, I may make the trip with Georgina, after she has recovered from her loss. No doubt, she will wish to see Benjamin soon. I would also like to see him again.”

“Benjamin would be so thrilled if you did. You mean so much to him.” She refrained from mentioning Georgina. The woman had no warmth in her heart.

Dorothea held Kitty by the shoulders. “Soon there will be other things for my grandson to treasure, such as a wife and children. That is all a man needs. A happy and loving home life far outweighs anything else. Remember that, my dear, and you will both be very happy. And promise me to bring him home again soon, will you?”

“Yes, I promise.”

A whistle blew and a command ordered all visitors to leave the ship before the Captain boarded. Kitty and Dorothea joined the others and the farewells began. After a last hug to Kitty, Dorothea allowed a seaman to aid her down the gangway. From her carriage step, she waved and then drove away.

On the drifting evening breeze, with the sun descending into the orange-streaked horizon, the officers lined up to welcome the captain on board.

Kitty waited on deck with the others as the ropes were cast off. The sun was descending, casting an orange glow across the water.

It took a long time for the ship to slowly head down the river Mersey. Kitty returned the waves of the few strangers left on the docks and her heart thumped against her ribs as the dark buildings inched further and further away. All the passengers stood side by side on the decks, their tears and farewells mixed with the thrill of witnessing something different.

It took some time to reach the mouth of the Mersey, though none of the English passengers minded as it was their last view of English townships and countryside, even if all they saw were twinkling lights and dark outlines. Nevertheless, saying goodbye to their homeland, maybe for the last time, was not to be missed. It didn’t matter if they weren’t from Liverpool. It was English soil.

Finally, the pilot handed the control of the ship to the captain and was ferried away in a small boat. The dying wind kept the sails furled and so under steam they entered the Irish Sea and headed along the coast of Wales.

Weary and aching with cold, Connie ushered the exhausted family to their beds to sleep their first night on the water, leaving Kitty to stand alone by the rail.

Darkness had claimed both land and sea. A full moon shone on the inky black waters. The cool breeze made little bumps rise on her skin, but it also brought her the drifting sounds, the flapping of the sails, ropes squeaking in the wind, of a haunting melody sung by a lone seaman and the deck boards creaking as the ship swayed with the swell. She shivered and pulled the shawl around her tighter as she rested against the rail.

She stared up at the black expanse of the sky, bejewelled with the glittering stars. How many nights would she gaze at the stars before she was in Ben’s arms?

Now the ship had set its course, the sailor’s activity had lessened. One seaman walked by carrying rope over his shoulder and inclined his head in her direction.

“Evening, Miss.”

“Good evening.” She smiled.

His kind, weather-beaten face creased in concern. “It’s getting cold, you might want to go down below.”

“Yes, I will.”

“Soon though we’ll be in the tropics and the heat will cook us,” he joked.

“Have you been to Australia before?”

“Oh yes, many times, Miss.” He scratched his head under his cap. “Grand place if you want to start again and get ahead. There’s lots of opportunities for folk there, I’ve heard.”

She nodded, her heart lifting. “I heard the same.”

“Well, miss, if you’ve the courage to take chances, you’ll do well out there.”

“I’ve become used to taking chances.” Kitty grinned and turned to grip the rail, fired up with enthusiasm. With Ben by her side there’d be nothing they couldn’t achieve.

“Soon, Ben,” she whispered into the breeze. “I’ll be with you soon.”

 

 

Kitty McKenzie’s saga continues in the sequel - Kitty McKenzie’s Land.

Kitty McKenzie’s path has taken her from the slums of York to the inhospitable bush of colonial Australia.

Yet, when she believes her dreams will never be attained, she is shown that sometimes life can be even better than what you wish for.

The sequel is available in ebook & paperback on Amazon.