Read Online The Captain's Daughter by Minnie Simpson - Free Book Online Page B

very
emphatically and it must have worked.
    The stranger gently told her that
his name was ‘Pierre’ and that he was Ben’s secretary and Ben is away attending
to business matters. But Amy was puzzled. If Pierre is Ben’s secretary who was
the other man dressed in a scholarly fashion. She asked Pierre who the other
man was. Pierre after a long pause where he appeared uncertain what to say,
finally told her the man was one of Ben’s clerks.
    Amy was aware that her questions
were very much out of place because she had no right to ask these things, but
her innate and burning curiosity drove her to go where angels fear to tread.
    She told him she didn’t know Ben
had a clerk, or for that matter needed a clerk. She realized that she had
Pierre at somewhat of a disadvantage. He didn’t know who she was and because of
her bold and really impertinent boldness he didn’t know if she had the right to
ask these things. He was clearly uncomfortable and tried to excuse himself.
    “I must go now. I have work I must
do for Sir Benjamin.”
    As he turned towards the door of
the house, he seemed to be trying to make up his mind about something.
Abruptly, he turned back to Amy.
    “Mademoiselle, I cannot explain
this right now but I would much appreciate it if you would not tell anyone of
our meeting.”
    Immediately after he spoke he
seemed to have doubts if his request was a wise one. Amy watched him enter
Hillfield House. She returned to the trap completely mystified. She summoned
Emma who was hunting down some hapless lifeform in the bushes, and left for
home. They could feel drops of moisture gently alighting on their faces.
    By the time they reach home, it was
beginning to rain, albeit lightly. Amy helped Emma unload her precious
telescope and then she took the trap around to the stable. Old Hubert who had
suspended his weeding in deference to the rain, looked up at her approach.
    “There be someone to see you.”
    “Who?” she asked puzzled.
    “He be a man in what looked like
sailor’s clothing, but old and worn. I sent him to Mrs. Pemberton cuz he was
not rightly attired for the front door of a respectable house.”
     
    Amy found Mrs. Pemberton in her
domain where she ruled.
    “Is there someone her to see me she
asked the cook?”
    “An old man came a while ago. He
had a package for you. But he had to leave to catch the coach back to London.”
    “Why did he want to see me?”
    “I don’t rightly know if he wanted
to see you. He had a package he wanted to give you. Or, the way he put it, he
was told to deliver it to you in person.”
    “Do you know who he was?”
    “He wouldn’t tell us. All he would
say it must be put into your hand. We had to assure him that we would
unfailingly deliver it to you before he was willing to leave it.”
    “Who could possibly be sending me a
package?”
    “Effie, get Lady Amy’s package,”
she instructed. “I put it away for safekeeping,” she told Amy.
    Effie quickly produced the package
which was wrapped in an old piece of rough cloth. When Amy unwrapped it, she
found an old dingy looking leather pouch. On the pouch as if scrawled by a
sharp object was one word in large letters: Amaryllis .
    Clutching the pouch, Amy sat down
at the large kitchen table. She carefully examined it turning it over. She was
almost hesitant to open it. This old worn pouch had come out of nowhere, and
yet her name was scrawled on it in large letters. It was her name and yet it
gave no evidence of being freshly or recently carved into the leather. The
writing wasn’t soiled but it still did not look of recent origin.
    After hesitating for a minute, she
knew she must look inside. Amy carefully opened the pouch, and after looking at
the contents for a few moments, she slid them out gently onto the table.
    The pouch’s contents consisted of
three items, an old yellowed newspaper, a folded sheet of paper, and a small
tarnished locket. She looked over the newspaper with its front page which
consisted