Kay's Story pt 16 - Ferdinand

Opening her eyes, she gazed out sullenly over the turbulent blue waters.  The sky shifted and bubbled above her in greys and blacks.  So numb was she to her surroundings that, though she heard footsteps approaching, for once they did not faze her or cause her to break from her somber reverie. 

            “Now what on board this ship could’ve caused such a lowery expression to befall your face?” asked the voice of Ferdinand as he sidled up next to Elianna by the railing.

            “Lowery?” Elianna asked dully, continuing to stare out across the sea listlessly.  

            “Dark and glooming, like the sky right now.  Let me guess, your temper and aspect are inextricably intertwined with the weather.  It has for the most part been cheery and bright on the passage—or what I have seen of it, which isn’t overly much considering how ill I’ve been.  And so your visage has been merry and vibrant.  Now a storm looms in the skies and, if I am correct—” Ferdinand leaned forward over the rail to see Elianna’s face straight on—“and I am, it reflects itself in your eyes.”

            Elianna turned to face Ferdinand’s tall, broad form and tiredly responded, “I beg your pardon, Ferdinand, but I am in no mood to try to decipher your present mood. I just came out here to have a few moments alone.”

            She looked up into his green eyes wearily and was startled to see a gaze of keen sympathy staring back at her.  She was so used to appraising his expression as disinterested and frankly arrogant that such a shift rattled her numbness to life once again.

            “Is there any way that I can be of help?” he asked, not removing his eyes from hers.  Elianna turned back to the sea, uncomfortable and embarrassed by his obvious, though surprising, concern. 

            “No,” she said with a faint smile, “I’m fine.  I suppose you will be arriving home tomorrow, departing with the Middletons.”

            “Is it already tomorrow that we arrive in London?”

            Elianna nodded.

            “Well.  I wish I could say I’ve enjoyed the voyage.  Of course, it was not all bad,” he said, looking at her again.

            “You’ve known the Middletons for some time, hm?”

            “Indeed, I know them well and see all of their scallywag children often.”

            She looked up at him again, considering his profile, wondering what his relationship could possibly be with Meagan and her siblings.  His jaw flexed and she thought she caught a hint of waggish gleam in his eyes before he added, “It would seem that I shall be meeting you again in Edinburgh not too long from now.”

            Elianna drew her arms around herself, just now noticing the ripping cold out there on the deck.  “That’s what Susanna told me, yes.  It’s where I will be working and staying.”

            “And do you know anybody in Edinburgh?”

            Elianna grimaced slightly.  “I suppose.”

            “Anybody other than this Sylvia?”

            Elianna turned to him, confused.

            “Susanna mentioned her name,” he explained.  “She said you could use a friend.”

            What else had Susanna told Ferdinand about Sylvia and the rest of the situation?  How had the conversation come up and when?  She’d dined with the Middletons the past few days and Ferdinand had not even shown his face. 

            “I hope you might be obliged to show me around once you’ve settled in and once I arrive,” he continued.

            Elianna shook her head slightly over how confounding this man was.  The accumulation of all their brief exchanges left her with an impression of him that didn’t make sense in the least.  Add to that the befuddling effect his handsomeness had on her and all at once Elianna was quite maddeningly without words again.

            Ferdinand raised his eyebrows waiting for a response.  Elianna swallowed and begged God to give her something to say.

            “I’d—be—,” she blinked rapidly a few times, “delighted to,” she concluded.

            A throaty chuckle rustled quietly from Ferdinand’s mouth.  “Wonderful.  Now, Elianna Key, you must get yourself inside before you catch cold.  Don’t you American girls have coats?  And…” he paused such that she was forced to look up at him again to see what he’d stopped for.  The dark edges that smoked around the green of his eyes took on their penetrating, concerned look again.  “I shall pray for the clouds to rain down their load and be done with it so that the sun might return once more and with it your bright smile.  I will see you in Edinburgh.”

            He left her there, dazed for a few moments before she heeded his advice and returned to her quarters to ready herself for supper.  The utterly perplexing nature of his personality held Elianna’s mind for the rest of the evening and so, for a short time, she was saved from bitterness over the situation that was David and Sylvia.