From the quarterdeck of the Andromeda, I held on to the rail. The sea and this beautiful city of bricks, Portsmouth, lay ahead. William had commanded the sails, catching each good wind. It only took six weeks to travel from Dominica to England.
Water lapped peacefully on this British shore. At the docks, many ships moored. Drays piled high with timbers roamed everywhere. I could smell the cedar from here.
“Dorothy?” Mrs. Clarke approached. Her hat wrapped in gray ribbons matched her gown. She looked ready to leave. “You’ve already started the day, so early. The prince is going to make a reefer of you yet.”
“Didn’t want to miss the sunrise. It was amazing how everything changed. The reddish ball like a cashew cherry appeared from the water.”
“Sunrise at sea is lovely but it’s too early.”
“Not early enough. He’s gone.” William left the cabin with barely a word.
Mrs. Clarke stood beside me. “He’s back to his world. The scoundrel captain goes away, the royal-born prince, third in line to the throne to one of the most powerful nations on the earth, reappears. That world doesn’t quite have a place for us.”
“Wasn’t looking for that. I’d rather visit and discover why every man of significance in my life is drawn here.”
“Then you and I should go see this, before we set off to our own.”
“Mrs. Clarke—”
“Kitty. Dorothy, call me Kitty.”
I’d always done well with the Kittys in my life. Maybe God sent this one to me, an older, wiser, worldly woman, to make up for the sweet one who never aged.
Turning, I looked into this cherub’s eyes. “I believe that’s why the prince invited you, to show me Portsmouth. He does think of everything.”
“Yes, and after that, I take you to London. What troubles could two daring ladies stumble into?”
I went to the cabin and retrieved my sack with my letters of credit, the copy of my manumission, and my coins. There. Now I was prepared for a great deal of trouble.
As the carriage rumbled down the streets, I found myself in awe of this horse-drawn thing. Leather had been stretched and buffed smooth to cover the padded seat. My fingers could disappear in the tufting.
Mrs. Kitty laughed. “Every time I come to Portsmouth, I see new houses and more expansion of the dockyards. Look at that pond, Dorothy. It’s for nothing more than cloth sails, to soak and season them to ready them for the ships.”
Too busy poking the carriage’s cushions, I missed it. “Drays offer transport in Dominica. Nothing is this comfortable.”
“You’re amused by the simplest things, Dorothy. This doesn’t compare to London. So keep your head, miss, and don’t spend all your money in one place.”
My fist was tight. I knew the value of a shilling and a guilder quite well, but I had to bring pieces of this world back to Dominica.
The coach stopped, and we were handed down. “What is this building, Kitty?”
“This is a warehouse, but not for tools and roofing unless you consider boning for corsets construction material.” She adjusted her cream-colored shawl. “We need to get you a coat, a heavy one.”
Too excited to feel chilly, I studied this big place, this structure made of limestone. Here wood must only be used for ships.
Waving, I let Kitty proceed me into the warehouse. I stopped at the window glass, admiring a pair of gloves and thick-heeled shoes.
The buckles sparkled. Whether the yellow things would fit or not, I should buy them for the decorations.
“Come along, Dorothy.” She gripped my hand. “It’s better inside.”
She was right.
The fabrics on the shelves were a rainbow, but none as bright in color as my banana-yellow gown.
The inked prints—diamond shapes and scrolling—on the cotton rolls would amaze Mamaí. I pictured my girls wearing these patterns for new gowns.
My lungs stung. It had been more than two months since I last hugged any of them. Eliza and Frances and Edward—did they miss me as much as I missed them?
Or did they hate me for leaving?
Did my children sit at the window waiting for me to return?
I grabbed Mrs. Kitty’s arm. “I have to go home. It’s time to go.”
“Dorothy, you’ve just made it to these shores. You haven’t seen London.”
“I need to go, Kitty.”
She grasped my shoulders. “Have you given consideration to moving to London and becoming the prince’s mistress?”
Not sure my ears were working. “What?”
“Dorothy, it is possible. Every time the prince is out of favor, his pockets are pinched. A wealthy woman could help balance his finances. He will seek one out. Why not you? You could be that woman.”
There was a certain appeal in imagining a prince, a man of the world, might need me. But I didn’t build my fhortún to trap a prince. I didn’t leave my life and my family to take up with a man of power who had money issues. Shaking my head like it would fall away, I said no. “Kitty, be serious. He brought me here, but I may never see Prince William again.”
“You will. A man who throws a ball on a warship for you will find you. He can’t help himself.”
Part of me wanted to protest. The decorations and music, all the pomp, was for his pa, the king. But my lover’s heart knew. William and I fit together, but deep in my soul I understood the ties between us would be cleaved. Time and circumstances always carried hatchets.