Page 64 of Second Chance Prince
When they had made the journey from Grantham to Dover, Roberta had wondered how Antonia could read in the coach. Now they were aboard the ship, and Antonia was still reading. The cabin set aside for Niki and Roberta was supposed to be one of the larger ones, but it was smaller than the room at the inn where they had spent their wedding night. Antonia scoffed and said that her cabin was even smaller, and she would stay with Roberta, thank you, until Niki came to join her.
“If he does,” Roberta muttered, and then felt ashamed. Niki had promised he would spend as much time with her as he could, that they would ride together. She was looking forward to that.
At least she would have Arrow with her. If Niki could not ride with her, then she would go alone. She had been relieved when Freddie came aboard with them, and when she asked him why, he had said his guard duties were to continue for the time being.
“I am here to watch over you. Well, that is the story anyway. And another pair of eyes cannot hurt when it comes to the prince.”
“As long as you do not report my every word back to Gabriel. I want him to be proud of me.”
He gave her a concerned look. “He is proud of you, Roberta. You must know that.”
Freddie might have spoken more, he had that lecturing expression, but thankfully, the crew began to cast off. The deck became very busy, and Roberta decided she would be safer in her cabin.
Once outside the shelter of land, the fine weather they had been promised turned foul. Sails flapped, ropes snaked about, and water came over the bulwarks and ran down into the bilge. The ship began to duck and dive over the waves, sometimes slamming down over the bigger ones so that every board and rivet in the hull shivered. It felt as if they were about to break up, or sink, or both. Ruth the maid was on her knees, praying to the Almighty. Antonia was reading from her book, speaking some of the Holtswigger words out loud. And Roberta, who had always believed herself an intrepid and unstoppable sort of person, began to feel sick.
Half an hour later, shewassick.
Antonia soothed her and wiped her perspiring face with a damp cloth soaked in lavender water, which at least disguised the awful smell of vomit. At one point, she thought she heard Niki’s voice, but she was too ill to speak to him, and he left her again.
“Your husband says he will give you your privacy,” Antonia said. “I don’t think he is the right person for a sickroom. He went quite green when he saw you. He says he is never sick himself.”
Roberta wanted to laugh but groaned instead. Of course Niki would not get seasick—just her. Even Antonia seemed perfectly fine, but she said Ernest was laid low in his cabin. Selfishly, she was glad there was at least one fellow sufferer.
Eventually, she fell into fitful sleep. During the long hours that followed, she lay on her bunk and wished herself dead. “Soon,” Antonia assured her. “We will be there soon, and you will feel better.” Roberta did not believe her, but then they reached Calais, the vessel rocking gently on its mooring, and she admitted Antonia had been right.
Roberta could hear feet thumping on the deck and voices calling orders. She wasn’t being sick but she still felt quite shaky, her stomach hollowed out, and she wanted nothing more than to find a nice soft bed and lie in it. As for ever sailing again, well, that would be ano.
Antonia burst in, smiling, and her brilliant eyes found Roberta. She immediately assumed a sympathetic expression. “How are you?” she asked gently. “You look a little better.”
“I am alittlebetter.” Roberta was still feeling very sorry for herself.
“You will be pleased to hear that Niki has arranged for us to stay in an inn tonight. We will start out tomorrow for Holtswig.”
“One night to recover.” Roberta felt even sorrier for herself.
“Come on, up you get,” her heartless sister ordered. “It isn’t far, and there is so much to see!”
With Antonia on one side of Roberta and Freddie on her other, they made their way along the quay and in through a doorway over which a sign swung. Les Trois Cygnes, it said, although why three and why swans, Roberta had no idea.
“I think the owner is from Holtswig,” Freddie said when she spoke her thoughts aloud. “Swans are their national emblem.”
“Oh, I didn’t know that.” She tried out a smile. “There is a great deal I don’t know. Freddie, I am glad you are coming with me.”
Freddie patted her hand as if she was eighty. “I’m glad I can be of service.”
Roberta’s smile wobbled. “You and Antonia are the only people I know in this whole world.”
It sounded a little pathetic, but she told herself she was still recovering from her seasickness. Antonia and Freddie exchanged a look as they helped her up the stairs.
“You know Ernest,” Antonia retorted, “and Countess Matilda, and her daughters, and her horrible son. And you know Niki.”
“Yes,” Roberta had to admit. “I just…I did not think I would get seasick. I am not that sort of person. I pretended to be a pirate when we were children,” she added for Freddie’s benefit. “We sailed on the pond at Grantham and sang sea shanties.”
Antonia lifted her brows skeptically. “We tied some pieces of wood together, pushed them out onto the pond, and stood on them. And you pretended to be Blackbeard—you had an old wig you found somewhere and tied it to your chin. And you made up the songs.”
Roberta laughed a shaky laugh. “I thought I would make a very good pirate, but now I know differently.”
“I’m sure pirates get seasick too,” Freddie said stoutly.
