- 6 -
Cecilia sipped her tea, waiting in vain for her brother or daughter to break the silence. So she put the cup down and looked up at them. Marina was sunk in her chair, pale and abashed. Wan Claup acted as if he were having breakfast all alone, staring out the window across the room.
“Would somebody please explain to me what’s going on?” Cecilia asked softly.
Wan Claup turned to her as if he’d just realized she was there. His chin pointed at Marina. “What’s going on is that your daughter sneaks out to meet with boys in the barn in the middle of the night. Oh, and she also dresses up as a man.”
“I see.” Cecilia nodded, as grave as him, and turned to her daughter, sitting opposite her. “I’m glad you didn’t ruin your new dress. Trousers are better for fencing. But I didn’t know there was somebody else with you and Morris.”
The other two didn’t hide their surprise at her words.
“You knew?” asked Wan Claup, taking offense.
Cecilia smiled at him, not the least bit afraid of his frown. “This is my home and Marina is my child. Of course I knew.”
“And you allowed it? How could you!”
Cecilia held his eyes, a rebel spark in hers. She opened her mouth as to speak, but held herself back.
Wan Claup glanced at Marina. “Leave us.”
The girl would’ve given anything to stay and listen what would follow, but she knew how far she could go. So she left the room without a word.
Wan Claup waited to hear the door closing and faced his sister again.
Cecilia took a moment longer to speak, keeping a soft, calm tone.
“You spend little time with us, brother, and I understand you still can’t see it. Or maybe you don’t want to, for it isn’t easy, dealing with the changes when childhood comes to an end. But Marina is no ordinary child. She has our blood and Manuel’s. Such a mix would never conceive a simple, docile child. She has fire in her heart and an inquisitive imagination. She needs much more than her needle and cooking chores. And you can be sure she doesn’t dream of wedding a man fifteen years older than her and spend the rest of her life delivering his children and scrubbing his braies.”
Wan Claup raised only one eyebrow, as if he had suddenly found out his sister had gone mental and he wasn’t sure how safe it was to taunt her.
Cecilia flashed a quick smile. “I saw her bruises and mended her ragged dress after what happened with those little boys. That’s why I got trousers and boots for her. They belonged to Bernabé’s son and she was about to give them away because he’s grown tall for them. I didn’t know who Marina would turn to, but I thought it’d be Morris or Laventry.” She sighed. “I thought Fray Bernard’s lessons would be enough of a distraction. I was wrong.”
“Lessons?” Wan Claup repeated, suspecting the worst.
Cecilia smiled again, foreseeing his reaction. “Fray Bernard taught her to read and write two years ago.”
Wan Claup stiffened. “Marina can read?” he whispered.
“Yes, and since then, she started learning Spanish and English. I think they’re about to start with German, too.” He moved his lips, unable to utter a single word, and Cecilia chuckled softly. “Please, brother. This is Tortuga. Any harbor girl speaks five languages. Why not your niece?”
“Because she will never be a whore!” Wan Claup was outraged.
Cecilia’s sarcastic smile made him look away. “Spoken like the lost son of a duchess,” she said.
“Mother wasn’t a whore!”
“Of course not. But don’t come tell me she fled Nantes before you could even walk, to end up here, sold for a wife to old Wan Claup and his mate Fabrice, just because she couldn’t handle such a nice, wealthy life.”
Wan Claup snorted. “Now you mean to teach me family history?”
“Not teach you, brother. But I’ll remind you of it every time you need it. Remind you that we don’t know which one of them was my father, and you never met yours. But old Wan Claup gave us both his name and raised us as his own. And I would’ve ended up in a harbor tavern if Manuel hadn’t wedded me before I was recruited.”
“And you want your child to end up like that?”
“Of course not.” Cecilia softened her tone and patted his hand to calm him down. “But just like good old Wan Claup taught us both to read, and Fabrice always managed to find books for us, I want Marina to have the same opportunity, because keeping her intelligence in the dark is a true sin. The problem is that studying is just too passive for her restless blood. I’m thinking about hiring a tutor to teach her fencing and horseriding. Maybe you can direct me to somebody we can trust?”
“She’s a girl, Cécile!” Wan Claup cried, not believing his ears. “Horses? Fencing? Even if I let you keep spoiling her, nobody would lower themselves to teach men’s activities to a girl!”
It was Cecilia’s turn to take mortal offense. “Spoil her?” She needed a moment to control her anger.
“Yes! Spoil her! What will become of her if you keep pampering her? Who will marry a woman that can read, write and speak other languages?”
“Manuel never cared I could read. He even asked me to teach him, and taught me Spanish in return. And if I pampered Marina like you say, I’d let her pose as a boy and enroll on any crew that would take her.”
“Enough!”
Wan Claup’s hand landed on the table so hard it made the china jump. He stood up and stalked out of the room.
Cecilia sighed, shaking her head with a sad grimace.
441Please respect copyright.PENANAAV2YnwY0gP
Marina helped Colette and Tomasa in the kitchen when she saw Wan Claup head for the stables, still grunting and swearing under his breath. A moment later he rode away on his horse, his face reflecting his anger. The girl dropped what she was doing to run to her mother.
“I saw my uncle going out, and he looked so angry!” she said. “Is it because of what I did last night?”
Cecilia flashed a sweet smile at her. “No, child. Don’t worry, he’ll get over it. Men find it hard to remember our lives go on while they’re out at sea.” The answer didn’t soothe the girl, and Cecilia took her to the library. “Here,” she said, giving her a book. “Fray Bernard wanted to read it. Now go change, or you’ll be late for your lessons.”
“Going to church? Now? Can’t I go for my uncle, instead? I’m sure I’ll find him at the shipyard. And I could apologize to him.”
“Haven’t you already?”
“Of course, last night. But—”
“Let it ride, Marina.” Cecilia caressed her hair, touched because her daughter was so upset. “Keeping it up would only feed his anger. Give him a chance to calm down.”
The girl sighed, grimacing.
“Come, child. Fray Bernard awaits.”
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