Read Online Miss Ellerby and the Ferryman by Charlotte E. English - Free Book Online Page B

drifting dreamily
upon the soft currents of air. The Ferryman rested his head against
the side of the boat, face tipped up to watch the strange progress
of his hat.
    ‘Once,’ he began, ‘far back in the mists o’ time — ye know how
this part goes in a tale — there was freer passage betwixt an’
between yer own world an’ mine. Such marriages as ye describe were
not so uncommon, in those days. Many folk travelled back an’ forth,
an’ there were many ways t’ make the crossin’. This ferry was but
one o’ many, sailin’ travellers from England an’ Scotland an’ the
rest into Aylfenhame.
    ‘Some
folk, though, are never ‘appy with what they ‘ave. Ye’ll ‘ave
noticed that fer yer own self, I’ll wager. An’ one such was a lanky
type, name o’… well in fact, no one alive remembers what ‘is true
name was. We remember ‘im as Kostigern, which means somethin’ like
traitor in an old tongue. Betrayer. Ye get the idea.
    ‘Naught would do fer this paragon o’ virtue but t’ reign over
every last bit of Aylfenhame. Ye’ll recognise that well enough; yer
own world’s ‘ad its share o’ such fine folk, ‘as it
not?’
    Thinking of Bonaparte, Isabel nodded her assent to this
point.
    ‘I
won’t bore ye with all the long, long tale. ‘Tis sufficient to tell
ye that Kostigern was overthrown an’ destroyed. Some say he came
out o’ your world, an’ perhaps that’s why the borders between our
two lands were closed. Whatever the reason fer that, they were
closed, an’ most o’ the routes between were closed likewise. Now,
gates only open on the solstices, an’ ‘tis said there is but one
ferry left. Ye’re on it.’
    The
Ferryman paused, eyes upon Isabel, expression considering. She
coloured, and looked away. His close scrutiny made her
uncomfortable, and she could not account for it. None of his
thoughts were ever visible to her.
    ‘I do
understand the difficulty of travel,’ Isabel offered. ‘Sophy
departed for Grenlowe a year ago, or more, and I have been able to
visit her but rarely in that time.’ Her parents’ disapprobation for
the idea had also been an obstacle, but there could be no cause to
mention that. ‘I do not ever remember hearing of a
ferry.’
    ‘There’s sense enough in that, on account o’ there not bein’
one.’
    Isabel blinked. ‘I cannot understand you.’
    ‘Many
long years ‘ave passed since that time, an’ travel ‘as only become
more difficult. Well, in Aylfenhame, those things which nobody
wants or needs can… fade. An’ that’s what ‘appened to the
ferry.’
    He
said this with an air of finality, as though it concluded the tale.
Isabel frowned, questions awhirl in her mind. ‘The ferry was gone?’
she said.
    He
nodded. ‘Fer many years.’
    ‘Why
has it returned?’
    The
Ferryman shrugged. ‘Somethin’… called me back. An’ before ye ask, I
‘ave no notion as t’ what that was. I found meself awake, I resumed
my duty, an’ that is that. Though near as I can tell, of the lot of
us remainin’ ‘tis jest me that’s awoken. Mayhap that will
change.’
    ‘Us?’
    He
nodded once. ‘The ferries all ‘ad a guide. More than a navigator —
their souls an’ will were bound up with the boats. ‘Tis powerful
magic t’ bring such a thing from one world t’another, on any day o’
the year, an’ at any time. ‘Tis a voluntary post.’ His mouth
twisted and he added, ‘Most of the time.’
    ‘You
are the last Ferry-guide, then?’
    ‘I
believe I am, but I cannot be certain.’
    ‘But
where were you, when the ferry was lost?’
    ‘Don’t ask me where I was, for I know naught of it. I only
know I woke as from a long slumber, an’ there I was, ferry an’ all,
an’ with passengers t’ convey. An’ off we went again.’ He ran a
hand gently over the boat’s silvery, misty wood and smiled. ‘She is
called Mirisane, if ye were wonderin’.’
    ‘She
is beautiful,’ said Isabel sincerely.
    He
nodded, but said