Liberty Calling

Chapter 7

"Emmeline! Emmeline!" The screeching voice of my mother awoke me, and I glared at her from beneath the thin quilt that lay covering most of my face.

"What's wrong?"

"Nothing! My dear, England is in sight!"

That certainly pulled me from the sleep that seemed to chain me to my bed. It wasn't twenty minutes before I stood on the upper deck, staring in awe at the distant shore that darkened the horizon.

"I can hardly believe it," Levi said, standing beside me, fidgeting excitedly with his cane. The glint of the sun off the brass handle flashed across his face, though he hardly noticed it. "We're home."

"Yes," I breathed, my stomach suddenly twisting into a million little knots. This did not feel like home. This felt entirely too foreign. And still, excitement crept into my mind, and I wondered what adventures lay ahead of us in the following months. And more than anything, I wanted to leave this ship as far behind as possible. It had been a few weeks since I'd been caught visiting Caleb, and with every day, I grew more conscious of the fact that my young friend starved just below me. I could do nothing for him, and I hated it.

I turned towards the stairs to my right, leading to the great Captain's wheel, and found Seth staring at the land before us. His hands were clasped behind his back, and yet his fingers fidgeting nervously about.

I made my way up the stairs, and smiled as he glanced in my direction. "Are you excited to be returning home?" I asked him.

He turned back to face the shores of England, and the corner of his mouth drew up in what was nearly a smile. "In honesty? I can hardly tell. We'll be only a day's ride away from my parents...the last I saw them, I was a boy."

"You should visit them. Heaven knows when you'll next be in England."

His eyes never left the pale, grey line that would soon grow to an entire country. "Hmm...perhaps."

"And Margaret?"

His head flinched back in surprise for a moment, and he scoffed. "What?"

"Would you ever visit her?" 

He noted the jest in my tone then, and turned to me with a smirk. He watched me for a moment, his eyes drifting to study my face. His eyes, regardless of his expression, were always so curious. He shook his head and turned to face the water once more. "To that, I can reply with a hearty no."

"Are you certain? I bet she's a fine wife now, your Peggy. Did she go by Peggy? I have no doubt she did."

A subtle red blush crept up from his collar, but it disappeared nearly as quickly as it had appeared. "I did call her Peggy, yes."

"Ha! There, I knew it. I've always had a disdain for women called Peggy."

"And for those named Mercy, apparently."

"No, not all," I said, annoyance creeping into my voice. It was odd how merely the mention of her name had that effect on me. "Just the one."

"Why is that?" he asked, turning to face me, and leaning subtly on the edge of the hull. I was so consistently surrounded by men who cared to speak to me only when convenient. Who told me so much of their own lives in the hope to impress, while asking not one question of my own. I was a pretty thing to look at, and a chivalrous ear to unload upon. And many days, I accepted that would be my position as a lady of higher standing. And yet, Seth had such a sincerity about him. He spoke to me not for his own benefit, but for a mutual friendship. But...friendship did not quite seem the right word for it either. James and I acted as friends. But who I was with Seth was entirely different. And it drove me mad that I could not figure out what made me so.