“One moment and I will try to explain,” he directs to me.
I watch in silence as Lyra helps scrub the color off Lennox’s hair while he leans forward over another bucket. After the rinse, he rubs it with a towel, the ends standing up wildly from the motion. Lyra scrubs her hands with lye soap and rinses them clean before slipping into her dress. As she heads toward the door, Lennox stops her.
“Lyra, wait. I think it’s time to share some things with…,” he pauses before saying my assumed name, and I give the smallest shake of my head in response. I am not ready to share my true name with anyone else yet. “Andromeda.”
Lyra turns, returning to sit beside the Captain. He gestures for me to join them at the table. As I sit, he seems to reconsider the nature of our impending conversation and rises to retrieve the decanter of brandy from his desk, grabbing three glasses for us to share a drink.
“So…,” I prod, taking a small sip of the burning liquid.
“So,” he sighs, “it seems several more secrets will be revealed today. First, yes, I dye my hair to darken it. I have an image to uphold, and an identity to protect. The dark hair helps on those fronts, plus it keeps me looking a bit different at each port as it fades, so no one has a true portrait of me. Keeps up the mystery.” He pauses to take a sip, then thinks better of it, and drains his glass before continuing.
“Secondly, you do not have to keep rushing through doors worrying about Lyra. At least worrying about me harming her. She is… ”
I lean forward involuntarily at the confession, waiting for his explanation.
“She is my niece. None of the men will harm her; they all know she is my family, and that their punishment would be death. I have no idea what to do with poor Charlie. She’s clearly in love.”
At this deduction Lyra blushes up to her eyebrows; it seems the feelings are mutual. I sit frozen in my seat.
“Your… niece?” My eyes shift between the two of them while my mind hurries to catch up to this new information.
Lyra only smiles, her smooth skin dewy and tan with youthful, feminine beauty, a mass of tight, dark brown curls framing her lovely face. In contrast, Lennox is serious, angular, and all masculinity, minus the dripping darkened strands of hair hanging across his forehead at the moment. They look nothing alike.
“I don’t understand, you bought her. I heard you talking to Celeste.”
“Ah, yes. Well, if Lyra is my niece, you must then realize that Celeste is my sister. Apparently, unnatural hair color preferences are hereditary,” he explains.
Lyra stifles a giggle at the statement, the memory of her mother’s bright red hair assuredly popping into her mind, but I begin to feel unwell.
“I had to be sure the image of buying young women was upheld. I couldn’t very well announce her true relationship to me, not without putting Celeste in danger, or undermining authority the next time I’m in Artemisia.”
“So, you’re saying, you only bought me?” I rise from my seat, anger replacing my earlier confusion. “To be a companion and nursemaid to your niece, and somewhere warm for your cock when you seek entertainment.”
After so many years, shame fills me to have allowed myself to think I was anything more than a chase for him; a vixen escaping a hound until she tired and relented to capture. I curse my imprudent heart for softening for the first man who touched me with kindness and finish my glass of brandy in one deep drink.
Lennox holds his hand up to stop my flight, but I turn my back to the two, embarrassed at being deceived by them both. I stomp to the door without a backward glance, ignoring any protests they may have prepared.
Charlie still waits outside the great cabin, but I pass her by without a word and continue to my room. Once secure inside, I bolt the door and let my angry tears fall.
My back still rests against the rough wood of the door, my tears having run dry long ago, when I hear the softest knock. Lyra’s gentle voice reaches my ears through the wood. “Andromeda, I’m so sorry. May I please come in?”
I relent, unbolting the door to let her enter. This isn’t her fault. I’m sure, between her mother and uncle, she has been warned to not trust me with their secrets — I’m just a whore, after all — but the lies still sting. She cautiously enters our cabin and takes a seat next to me on my bed, gently taking my hand in between both of hers before speaking.
“Mother and Uncle told me to wait until they were sure you were trustworthy.” Her words confirm my earlier thoughts. “They thought you would be, but one can never be too cautious. Please don’t be mad. You’ve been such a lovely friend and I feel so terrible,” she says softly, keeping her eyes cast downward.
She is so young and trusting that it breaks my heart. I remember when I still felt like there was good in the world, and that people were trustworthy. I lost that faith long ago.
“Uncle sent this note to you. Please don’t hate him either.”
I take the folded note from her hand and open it, despite wanting to tear it into pieces out of spite.
N-
Now that our secrets have been spilled, it’s time to be our true selves. The moon is full tomorrow, please join us on deck for a ceremony. I think you have the proper attire. You and Lyra can join the crew and me for celebrations afterward. –B
My breath catches as I read his words, the anger at his deception softening as I review the note a second time. We have been at sea long enough that the moon is already full again, but I have been so preoccupied with the Captain and my surgery that I haven’t paid attention. My hands tremble with nervous anticipation at the thought of donning my robe for the first time in so many years. I fold the note and bite the inside of my cheek in thought.
I don’t know how many moments pass before I stand from the bed and go to my trunk, kneeling to carefully remove the silver robe and gold jewelry from the case. I pull the gold dust from the smaller compartment, placing it on the table. Lyra watches, a look of awe on her face as I lay out my garb and run my hands over the silky fabric.