Part 12 (1/2)

I took a deep breath. What did I have to lose by speaking up? ”Governor, it pained me today to hear how the men spoke against you and Manteo. Would you not be justified in punis.h.i.+ng their sedition?”

I heard Ananias's cup hit the table.

”Cate!” The loud whisper of warning came from Eleanor.

Only John White did not seem surprised. ”Everything is new to them, and they are uncertain and afraid,” he said, continuing to draw.

”Then you must rea.s.sure them,” I said. ”All of us look to you to keep us united in our purpose.”

To my surprise, Eleanor said, ”It is Roger Bailey and Ambrose Vickers who lead the malcontents.”

”Silence, wife!” said Ananias.

Eleanor stood up, her needlework falling from her lap. ”I would chain them to the bilboes if I were you, Father!” Then she sat back down and began to rock Virginia's cradle rapidly.

”You might remind them of what you encountered before, and the negotiations that brought you safely through danger,” I suggested.

He seemed to consider my words. ”There are new difficulties I did not expect or even imagine,” he said with a sigh. ”The native inhabitants have changed toward us.” He closed his drawing table and stood up, signaling that the conversation was ended.

At least he did not chastise me for speaking.

The next day the seven a.s.sistants called on the governor. Ananias came down from the roof he was tiling to join them. I retreated outside, lingering by the open window so I could overhear them, as I had often listened at the queen's door.

Roger Bailey was their spokesman. ”Fernandes informs me that he is now prepared to sail,” he said. ”One of us must return to England with him to ensure sufficient supplies are dispatched here, not to Chesapeake, before winter.”

”Excellent,” White said. ”I will draft a letter to that purpose for Fernandes to carry.”

”You misunderstand, Governor,” said Bailey.

There was a long pause. Then White replied, ”Indeed, perhaps we should not trust Fernandes. Roger, you must be the one to convey the letter.”

”John, we have already decided you should undertake this business,” said another of the a.s.sistants.

”But I am the governor here!” White's voice rose. ”I am charged with protecting the queen's subjects. Choose another among yourselves.”

”We have considered the others,” said Bailey. He cleared his throat. ”You are the only one who can be trusted to return here.”

I understood the plan. The a.s.sistants knew how much the governor loved this New World, almost as much as he loved his daughter and granddaughter. So they would use Eleanor and Virginia as hostages to ensure that he would bring the goods to sustain us all. Moreover, while appearing to entrust a vital task to him, they were in fact ousting him.

”Is it so desolate and disagreeable here that none of you would return?” said White in disbelief. Then his tone became scornful. ”I thought my men were made of stronger stuff. Or are you all afraid of Fernandes?”

There was silence. Were the men ashamed? Was even Ananias against his father-in-law?

”You are my councilors only. You may advise me on a course of action, but you may not command me. This decision is mine!” White's voice was trembling with rage. ”I will render it tomorrow. Now I dismiss you all.”

The a.s.sistants, including Ananias, left. After a few minutes I slipped into the house again. John White sat at the table staring at his hands. He knew his men had lost confidence in his leaders.h.i.+p. I could imagine the lowness in his heart.

”I am sorry, Governor,” I said. There was no use pretending I had not overheard their conversation.

”How can I leave them?” he asked, sounding forlorn.

”Someone must go,” I said. ”And no one is more likely than you to move heaven and earth to bring back what we need.”

”My daughter,” he said, his voice faltering.

”I will take care of Eleanor and the baby and see that they come to no harm,” I said. But I wondered how I could keep myself or anyone safe in this unpredictable land.

He nodded gratefully.

”People are fickle,” I said. ”When you return, they will welcome you as a hero. Though some of them may have less reason to celebrate if they are hanged for treason.”

He looked at me with a wry smile. ”You are wise and well spoken for a woman. The queen should regret sending you away. But I think her loss will someday be judged Virginia's gain.”

I warmed at this praise, yet I would have traded every word of it to have John White stay at Fort Ralegh.

The next morning, Governor White called all the colonists together and announced he would sail back to England at once. He demanded an inventory, an accounting of the colony's a.s.sets, and a list of its requirements. He ordered his a.s.sistants to preserve his maps, papers, books, and drawings, as they were of great value to him and to posterity. By a.s.serting his authority in this way, he was trying to conceal that it had already been taken from him.

”Your welfare has been entrusted to me by G.o.d and by England's queen,” he told the a.s.sembly. ”And I promise I shall fulfill my duty to every one of you. It is not my desire to return to England. But I have been persuaded by my a.s.sistants that I am the best man to convince Sir Walter Ralegh to supply our needs.” He paused before resuming his speech. ”There is some urgency, I grant you. And there is danger, for the growing hostility between England and Spain makes sea travel hazardous. Thus I understand why others ... declined to make the voyage.”

The colonists glanced from one a.s.sistant to the next, wondering who had shown fear. Bailey and Ananias looked uncomfortable.

”Know, all of you,” the governor said, ”I will not rest until I return, for my sole purpose will be the relief of this colony.” His voice broke, then gathered strength again. ”I have decreed that in my absence, my seven a.s.sistants will govern with equal voices, and all matters are to be decided by the greater number of them.”

I thought that unlikely. Some voices, like Roger Bailey's, were always louder than others.

”Let there be no dissension, but only a unity of purpose and goodwill among you,” he concluded.

It was a worthy speech. Some of the women dabbed their eyes. I clapped my hands and others joined in. A few people smiled, showing a forced cheerfulness. But the malcontents could not remain silent.

”When will we go to Chesapeake and settle?” called Ambrose Vickers. ”We cannot trust the savages around here.”

John White replied with vehemence. ”I said before, this is not the time. You have only the pinnace, which is too small to carry much. If you divide yourselves to make the journey in stages, or go by land, you increase the danger to everyone. I will return with s.h.i.+ps and men and arms. In the spring we will move to Chesapeake.” He stared down the line of the men standing to his right. ”This is my decision, to which my a.s.sistants have consented.”

But by the warning tone of his voice, I suspected that the men were hardly of one mind.

The governor's household was also divided. Eleanor wept and begged her father not to go, to send another man, and to stand up to the scheming Roger Bailey. John White pleaded with her to be brave, and anyone with a heart would have wept to hear them. I held little Virginia and wiped my tears on her dress. She was not even mine, and still I could not imagine parting from her. Poor John White! When Ananias returned, Eleanor released her fury on him, saying he had betrayed her father and thus was no longer welcome in her bed. He shouted at her but managed to refrain from striking her. Then he left the house to lodge elsewhere.

Retreating to a corner of the tempest-tossed house, I wrote a hasty letter to Sir Walter, my words flowing like water over a broken dam. The time was short, for Fernandes would sail with the morning tide. I gave the letter to John White to deliver and thanked him for his kindness to me. His face was grooved with sadness.

That night three of the a.s.sistants rowed the governor to where the Lion Lion and the flyboat were anch.o.r.ed. Our little household was headless, the colony leaderless. And I was mindful of a suppressed longing my pen had reawakened, the desire for Sir Walter's familiar voice and his touch. and the flyboat were anch.o.r.ed. Our little household was headless, the colony leaderless. And I was mindful of a suppressed longing my pen had reawakened, the desire for Sir Walter's familiar voice and his touch.

Chapter 24.

From the Papers of Sir Walter Ralegh Memorandum 8 August 1587. There is a new favorite at court-the Earl of Ess.e.x, Leicester's stepson. Leicester, grown too old for the queen's love, slips the boy into his place, knowing she will not be able to resist the hot-blooded pup. He is barely able to grow a beard and skilled at nothing but playing cards.