Secondhand Charm (14 page)

Chapter 29

“Weren’t they captivating?”

Princess Annalise hadn’t ceased exclaiming over the circus the entire carriage ride back to the palace.

“Captivating,” King Leopold concurred for the third time, drawing his arm tighter around her shoulders. He looked as though he’d rather be discussing other subjects with Annalise than the circus. He also looked as though he wished I weren’t present in the coach at just that particular moment. But he kept up his manners bravely.

“Wouldn’t it be delightful, darling, if they accompanied us on our honeymoon voyage?”

I was busy with my own thoughts about the circus. The man who juggled and swallowed flames was the scarred man from the coach. His lady companion was the dagger mistress. The monkey man sailed on
The White Dragon
, and I treated his snakebite. His lithe companion was the lady acrobat. All four seemed like completely different people when they performed.

But the strangest part of all, the thing that would haunt my dreams, I was sure, was what happened when the Circus Phantasmagoria was taking its bows. The little monkey loped all around the room, holding out his cap for coins. Whenever someone paid, he shook his or her hand, which delighted most guests, if not all. I had no coin for him, and I shrank back. But the little monkey shook my hand anyway. When he finished, there in my hand rested my gypsy charm. A vertebra on a dirty brown string. The snakebite charm I’d given to his master.

How had he recognized me? And why did he give it back?

And what if … but that was impossible.

What if it was not the man, but the monkey who recognized me and returned my charm? What if the charm had a mind of its own?

What nonsense. I slipped the charm over my head and felt oddly relieved to have it back.

“I had rather hoped,” King Leopold was saying, “that our honeymoon would be a secluded affair.”

Princess Annalise planted a kiss on the king’s nose. “Darling,” she said, “your vessel could accommodate the royal orchestra and half of Parliament, and we’d still have all the privacy in the world. But we
should
bring musicians, dancers, actors aboard. It’s a month at sea. Won’t you want some amusement in the evenings?”

He kissed Annalise’s forehead. “You’re all the amusement I plan to need.”

“Darling!” Annalise cried in a shocked voice. “Consider Marie, if you please.”

“Oh, don’t mind me,” I said.

A carriage is far too small a space in which to be confined with two lovebirds. I didn’t know how they even had the energy to carry on. The clock had read two o’clock in the morning as we left the duchess’s home. I doubted I’d ever been up so late before. I could settle down to sleep for the night right in the carriage … 

The next thing I remembered was Annalise waking me up and dragging me across the courtyard and into the castle. I stumbled up the flight of steps and followed her to her room. I was dimly aware of the king lingering to kiss Annalise goodnight, but my main intent was to crawl into the bed she’d laid out for me on a couch near her fire. Dorothy, the serving girl, was already asleep in the other couch, playing chaperone to the unmarried princess. I kicked off my shoes and lay down, dress, jewels, corset, powder, and all. I let my leviathan loose from his pouch, and he curled himself up in a nest of hair right next to my ear, but out of sight if Dorothy should wake. Together, we went to sleep.

It was still dark when Annalise woke me. The fire had burned out, and the air in her chambers was cold.

“Evelyn!” She shook my shoulder. “Evelyn, it’s time to get up.”

At first I didn’t know where I was, or why. I turned onto my side and moaned. “Why? It’s still dark. And it’s cold. What do we need to get up for?”

“Shh.” She pointed across the room. “Don’t wake Dorothy. Put this on.”

She handed me some sort of clothing.

“Let me help you out of your things,” she said, and I turned so she could unbutton my gown and untie my corset.

“What are we doing?” I asked.

“We’re going for a swim,” she said. “It’s time for your initiation.”

When I was finally released from my oppressive clothing, Annalise disappeared behind her partition, leaving me too astonished to do anything but comply and put on the new things. There were two pieces of clothing. One was silky and thin, made of a smooth knit fabric, pale in color, though what color, I couldn’t quite tell. It had straps for my shoulders, and it ended in two leg openings instead of a skirt. It was so loose and slippery-smooth that it slid over my skin, which felt delicious. After the hellish corset, my flesh was now in heaven. The second piece was a rough coat or cloak with sleeves and a hood, and a deep pocket in front for warming one’s hands. It reminded me of the humble clothing worn by friars and novitiate priests, who sometimes visited Maundley’s parish church.

There was a pair of clogs for me at the foot of the sofa, and I slipped them on. “No stockings,” she whispered from across the room, so I obliged and removed my garters and hose. I tucked my sleepy leviathan into my pocket.

When I was ready, she snuffed her candle and tiptoed to the door. She opened it slowly and peered down the hall, first left, then right, then, tugging at my sleeve, she beckoned for me to follow. She was dressed like I was. Her raven hair hung loose down her back.

“I can’t swim, you know,” I whispered.

“Yes, you can.”

There was no use arguing. I followed on, holding a corner of her sleeve to stay in step with her. Our leather-clad feet made scarcely any sound on the stone floors. A single lamp lit the stairwell, thank goodness, but the light couldn’t even reach the far walls, making the grand entryway feel like an endless cave. Instead of leading me to the doors, Annalise turned to the right and made her way down the long hall leading to the kitchens. Here it was less quiet, fragrant with woodsmoke and the scent of baking bread. Annalise pulled me aside into a root cellar that smelled of earth and potatoes. A narrow door led outside. It creaked as she opened it.

Moonlight made the castle’s kitchen gardens feel magical. Annalise hurried toward the park, where perfect rows of tall, majestic trees still clung to their autumn leaves. We kept close to the trees instead of cutting across the open expanse of lawn, lest someone see us.

Breezes off the water blew right through my cloak and made my skin prickle.

Ocean, Mistress
, my leviathan sang.
I smell the ocean!

At least he was glad for this excursion.

We reached the headlands. Annalise’s head disappeared from view as she clambered down the rugged slope that led to the water. I ventured much more cautiously. It was a long stretch of rocky, scrubby bracken between the slope and the stretch of smooth sand.

And there it was. The ocean, once again. All my resistance faded as I watched the waves, crested with moonlight, reach toward the sand, then pull away again.

Annalise pulled Bijou from her pocket and kissed his horned head, then flung him far out over the water. I feared he’d be injured. But he twisted in midair, growing larger, finally entering the waves in a graceful dive, and resurfacing a huge, shining, amber gold leviathan.

My leviathan wriggled inside my pocket. I pulled him out and made ready to toss him in.

“Kiss him first,” Annalise instructed.

I hesitated, then kissed his head behind his horns. He nuzzled me in reply. The tip of his tail quivered. I flung him out over the sea. I meant to toss him gently, but he flew from my hand like a cannonball, writhing and expanding as he sailed. He dove into the water, reared up, leaped out and in again, growing each time, and began cavorting with Bijou.

Annalise kicked off her shoes and unbuttoned her cloak, letting it slip and fall off her body. The wind tossed her hair over her shoulders where it fluttered like a living thing. Her eyes shone in the moonlight as she reached for both my hands.

“Welcome to your home, Evelyn Pomeroy,” she said. “The ocean belongs to you. You are a queen here. Come and see.”

Chapter 30

There was nothing else in the world then but the roar of the ocean, the limitless stretch of dark beach, and Annalise standing before me, no longer a society princess but a wild creature, her hair afloat, her skin washed silver in the moonlight. The wind ruffled her garment, and it seemed to swim over her body. The wind swept over me, too, but I was no longer cold.

“Come with me, Evelyn,” she repeated. “You are a serpentina, the daughter of a proud and ancient family, and heir to powers unknown among men. It is time to claim what is yours.”

“But what kind of powers?” I asked, feeling once again like the schoolgirl, face-to-face with a goddess.

“You will see.” Annalise took a step toward the water.

I wasn’t ready to let go of solid earth yet.

“What is that around your neck, Annalise?”

She smiled and showed me the ornament she wore. “It’s an unopened oyster,” she said. “Inside is an exquisite pearl of unequaled size and beauty.”

“How do you know, if it was never opened?”

“I know,” she said. “The ocean keeps no secrets from me. Nor will it from you.”

“Why do you wear it?”

She bent and scooped up a handful of sand, which she let filter through her fingers. “Each serpentina, as she approaches the age of womanhood, fashions herself a talisman. It symbolizes the gift she has inherited, and what she hopes it will make of her.”

“Is that when she becomes a serpentina?” I asked.

“That is when she becomes a woman,” Annalise said. “She is a serpentina born.”

“Does the talisman … do anything?”

Annalise shrugged. “Perhaps. People do tell their strange stories. But I would rather think of it as the serpentina who does something.”

“Do I need to make one?”

“I think, instead,” she said, “you bought yours from gypsies.” She parted the collar of my cloak with one hand. “There’s another one, now,” she said, looking puzzled. “What is this?”

I placed my hand over the bone charm. “It wards against snakebite.”

Annalise threw back her head and laughed. “Snakebite? You bought that?”

I didn’t see why this was so amusing. “Yes.” I was glad she hadn’t seen my love charm.

“You sweet child,” she said, “don’t you know that no snake alive can harm you? Serpentinas are completely protected from snake venom. Snakes on land or sea will adore you.”

I thought of the little snake in Grandfather’s apple tree. And then, I thought of Grandfather. Who was I? Lem Pomeroy’s granddaughter from Maundley, or the lost daughter of an alien clan of snake women from over the sea? How could I be both?

“We waste time talking,” Annalise said. “Come into the water, sister serpentina, and swim as you were born to do.” And without a further word she turned and ran toward the water, neither hesitating as she neared the waves nor pausing to shiver as she entered them. As soon as the water reached her waist she dove under its surface.

I watched and waited. Far out in the deep sea, flashes of silver and gold showed me the leviathans at play. But where was Annalise?

I hurried toward the edge to watch for her, dreading to see her drowned body drift to the surface. I was back on the beach by the sunken
White Dragon
all over again, and drowning in my own fear.

“Evelyn!”

I scanned the whole wide beach, looking for the source of her voice. A hundred yards or more away her wet head appeared, and her long white arm waved to me.

She swam that entire distance without coming up for a breath!

She dove under again, aiming back toward shore, and soon rose dripping from the water. Even soaking wet, her poise and grace were undiminished. She stood knee deep, holding out her hand to me.

“Join me in the water, cousin,” she cried. “This is your initiation.”

“A bath in the sea is my initiation?” I called back to her over the waves.

“Knowledge is your initiation,” she cried. “Knowledge of what you can do, and showing the courage and faith to do it. Throw yourself into the water.”

“But I can’t swim!”

“Yes, you can.”

My leviathan raised his whiskered head from the waves.

It’s true, Mistress
,
he said.
You can swim as well as I can.

But I nearly drowned before
,
I told him.

You didn’t know before. I will be here to help you, but you won’t need my help.

I don’t want to be a serpentina, I thought, looking at the inky black water and at Annalise’s outstretched hand. I don’t want to swim, and I don’t want to spend my life alone, cast out from society. Nor do I want to spend life trying to hide my secret. I don’t want to be a strange woman with strange powers. Once upon a time, a thousand years ago, all I wanted was to be a doctor and healer.

You
are
a healer. Because you’re a serpentina.

I looked up, surprised. My leviathan, it seemed, could hear more of my thoughts than I realized. His emerald-cut head tilted to one side, and his jewel green eyes watched me without blinking. Wise eyes. Loving eyes.

You are magnificent
,
I told him,
even if this was not what I wanted.

You are magnificent, Mistress
, he said.
Swim with me. And, please. Give me a name.

I took a deep breath, and placed one foot in the surf. It was cold, but soon I didn’t feel it. I placed another foot farther in.

A name. What kind of name did one give a mighty sea serpent? Names like John and Harold didn’t seem to fit.

I took another step in. Water reached the legs of my garment.

I reached Annalise and took her hand.

“If we were on Merlia, your initiation would include a swim at sunrise with the entire sisterhood of living serpentinas,” she said. “What a thrill that would be for you. But for serpentina girls on Merlia, the initiation is mostly ceremonial. They swim before they can walk. They name their leviathan as soon as they can speak. They know their powers from an early age by watching their mothers. But for you, today, this is a true initiation. You face your fears, you claim your identity, you leap into the sea. It’s an honor to share this moment with you.”

Well, Evie, I told myself, you can either stand here with wet ankles or you can take the plunge. My leviathan, watching me, did a sudden sideways roll, coming up dripping. I envied him his freedom in the water, his complete power and confidence. And suddenly I was sick of standing on the shore.

I let go of Annalise’s hand, counted to three, and then to four for good measure, and finally launched myself out into the water. My dive wasn’t graceful like Annalise’s. I more or less fell forward. But the water received me softly. I rose up with my hair plastered over my face, and sputtered out water.

“Take a deep breath, love,” Annalise said, “and go under.”

“I need to breathe, do I?” I said. “I thought perhaps I’d sprout gills.”

Annalise laughed. “Your leviathan needs to come to the surface to breathe too,” she said. “But watch and see what you and he can do.”

My leviathan slid over the surface of the water to me and rubbed against my legs.

Ride my back, Mistress
,
he said.
Let me show you the ocean.

“But what happens when I need to breathe?” I insisted.

When you do, I’ll bring you up.

I threw one leg over his back and leaned forward, wrapping my arms around him.

I’m trusting you, leviathan.

I know.