Chapter 7. One month later Angelica was holding on to Hamilton’s arm as they pushed their way through the laughing

O ne month later Angelica was holding on to Hamilton’s arm as they pushed their way through the laughing, celebrating crowd. “Wait for me! My shoe is caught in a plank!” Liza called.

Angelica called impatiently back to her cousin. “Hurry! We don’t want to miss Aunt Lavinia!”

“And I want to get a good look at this paddlewheel boat!” Hamilton declared.

Liza managed to get her shoe free from the dock and moved quickly to her cousin, holding up the hem of her long gray dress.

“Do you see Aunt Lavinia?” Angelica asked. “There are so many people here to see the boat off, it looks like Mardi Gras all over again!”

As they moved closer to the boat, Angelica could see that a red carpet had been spread down the gangplank. Smiling passengers, their arms loaded with farewell presents, stopped on deck to wave goodbye to friends and family on shore.

A brass band played march music beside the gangplank. White and yellow streamers had been strung along the top of the pier. Horse-drawn taxis pulled up to let off more passengers.

“There she is!” Liza exclaimed. “Aunt Lee! Aunt Lee!”

Angelica and Hamilton pushed past a man pulling an enormous black steamer trunk and hurried up to greet Angelica’s aunt Lavinia.

“Why, there you are!” Aunt Lavinia cried happily. “My goodness. I thought I missed you!”

Angelica’s aunt was a large, robust-looking woman. Her blue traveling bonnet matched the blue of her eyes. Her round cheeks were flushed with excitement. She had traveled to New Orleans for Mardi Gras, but now was returning home to Memphis.

There were hugs all around. Angelica introduced Hamilton, who said something, but his words were drowned out by an ear-shattering blast from the boat whistle.

“Oh, my, I had better be boarding!” Aunt Lavinia exclaimed. “It was so nice of you to see an old aunt off!”

More hugs. Then Angelica’s aunt gathered her belongings in her arms and started toward the gangplank.

“She is a dear,” Liza said, waving to her aunt.

“This boat will make it upriver to Memphis in no time,” Hamilton remarked. “Look. It has two paddle wheels. That should double its speed.”

Another blast of the whistle made Angelica cover her ears. She tugged on Hamilton’s arm. “There is no one on that pier,” she said, pointing. “Come on. We can get a better view when the boat pulls away. We shall be right on the water.”

Liza hesitated. “That pier is roped off, Angelica. I do not think they want us to stand there.”

“We can stand there if we want,” Hamilton said. “Come on. I want to be as close as I can when the boat starts to move.”

With Hamilton in the lead, the three of them ducked under the rope and stepped out to the edge of the pier. Below them the water lapped against the wooden pilings, the water green and golden, shimmering in the bright afternoon sunlight.

“I can see fish down there. Look. A whole school of them,” Hamilton said, bending over the edge of the pier and pointing into the gently rocking water.

“I—I don’t think we should be here;” Liza stammered. She glanced around uncomfortably.

“No one cares if we watch from here,” Angelica told her cousin.

The last passenger had boarded. Angelica saw. The gangplank had been pulled on board. Two young sailors in white suits were rolling up the red carpet. The band started braying out another march.

Angelica shielded her eyes with one hand and searched the deck for her aunt. She felt a tap on her shoulder. “Turn around,” Liza instructed in a hushed voice. “Look who is here.”

Confused, Angelica followed her cousin’s gaze. To her surprise, Simon Fear was standing at the edge of the crowd. He had a hat pulled down over his forehead. His hands were stuffed into the pockets of a gray coat.

How strange, Angelica thought, staring intently at him. Why is Simon here? He doesn’t appear to be seeing anyone off.

With two short blasts of its whistle, the paddle boat began to pull away from the dock, its wheels spinning slowly, churning the water.

Peering back toward the crowd, Angelica saw Simon pull something from his coat pocket. The silvery object caught the light of the sun. Simon raised the object high.

Angelica shook her head, then turned to watch the boat depart. What a strange young man he is, she thought, an amused smile spreading across her face.

Another blast of the whistle. The boat began to pick up speed. Behind Angelica the crowd waved and cheered.

Angelica watched the twin paddle wheels turn, creating two frothy waterfalls as the boat pulled away. She glanced back. Simon hadn’t moved. He still held the silvery object high in one hand.

“Hamilton, this is exciting, isn’t it?” she asked. “Hamilton? Hamilton?”

He had been standing by her side at the edge of the pier.

Where had he disappeared to?

“Liza, have you seen Ham—” Angelica started.

But her voice caught in her throat as she glanced back at the boat.

And then she started to scream.

Дата добавления: 2015-07-20