Chapter 2: Home Again

November 1830

When they boarded the Amelia Anne, they found the arrangements more cramped than on the outward journey. As a matter of fact, Richard and Ellen were the only ones with a private cabin, whilst Col. MacAllister shared an accommodation with Antonio. The other three women shared in a larger quarter, a fact that made Melissa Martin self-conscious.

Due to the cold of late November, the passengers were forced to spend most of their time in the main cabin where a coal basin radiated a modicum of warmth. They mostly sat huddled together under blankets, something the two couples did not mind at all. Colleen MacAllister had huddled with her father for the first day, but then she noticed Melissa sitting alone like the proverbial fifth wheel, and she offered Melissa her free side. Melissa’s face competed with the glowing coals in the basin when she sat close to the young woman.

On the second day, Colleen collected her courage and spoke to Antonio.

“Don Antonio, you may have heard that I aspire to being a writer. I find the story of your shipwreck, your rescue and your reunion with Miss Carter a fascinating tale. Would you allow me to write down your adventures? Not so much for publishing, but I would like to hone my skills and see what I can accomplish.”

Antonio considered this. He had never thought his story would be of interest to anybody but his closest friends and family. He saw Colleen’s eagerness, however, and her sincere interest and nodded slowly. For the next two days, he told her his story again whilst she took notes, her pen flying over the leafs of her notebook.

Eleanor listened with amused interest as the would-be writer asked pointed questions, asked him about his feelings, and tried to gather as much information as he could give her from memory. The kindly captain of the Amelia Anne sat with her and Antonio for another day, reconstructing Antonio’s odyssey on his sea charts and helping Colleen understand the issues of seamanship.

Melissa spent most of that time sketching the people in the main cabin. Her fingers were sooty from the charcoal, and sometimes there were smudges on her cheeks where her fingers had strayed. Yet, she delighted the other passengers and the captain with the portraits, and she basked in the praise she received.

Ellen, for her part, spent most of her time with Richard, as she had hoped. During those four weeks, they were inseparable. Richard spoke freely about his work, and Ellen developed a good understanding of her husband’s responsibilities. Not for the first time, Richard noticed that his wife was blessed not only with good looks, but also with a sharp mind, a phenomenal memory and social skills. She had lost the naivety that been her hallmark during her first year in London and had replaced it with a quiet watchfulness.

He had noticed that, during their stay in Boston, Ellen had been reserved with the people they met, never revealing too much of herself, only opening up once, around Charlene Beckham. When Richard asked her about this, she considered it for a while, before she answered.

“I suppose, it has to do with the Binnings affair. I had to be guarded all the time, and now it has become a second nature. Is this bad?”

Richard laughed then. “You better be guarded. Can you trust me, at least?”, a question she answered with a kiss.

During the nights, they made love, trying to be as quiet as possible. They did not meet with complete success in this, as Eleanor gave them knowing smiles when they met for breakfast in the main cabin. Neither Ellen nor Richard cared, though. They had waited long enough, and soon, Ellen would proceed in her pregnancy to a point where those activities would have to be curbed. Thus, the somewhat uncomfortable crossing was a blessing in disguise for the young couple as it provided them with ample time to consummate their marriage.

Twenty-three days after leaving Boston, the Amelia Anne sighted Ushant, and four days later, they were able to go ashore in London. The Amelia Anne had been sighted hours before, and the small group was met on the pier by Sir Anthony and Lady Harriet Carter and, of course, Doña Maria. They did not spend much time there, the weather being decidedly unfriendly, and Doña Maria left with her son and his fiancée for their house, whilst Richard and Ellen, with their protégé Melissa, were delivered to their own home. Sir Anthony and Harriet Carter stayed for the afternoon whilst Richard and Ellen told them and Lady Lambert of their experiences and small adventures. Lady Lambert greeted the young American woman guardedly at first, but she soon thawed.

Ellen, of course, could not resist showing her family the painting Melissa had done, and it made a strong impression on everyone. Within minutes, Melissa had her next commissions. Harriet Carter wanted to have a painting of herself with her mother and daughters — there was no in-law in her perception of Ellen — and she wanted a painting of her husband, in full admiral’s uniform. Sir Anthony was reluctant and only relented when he saw that his wife was adamant about it.

Melissa was given a room on the second floor, towards the back and the garden, with tall windows and, accordingly, well lit.

When all was said and done and a supper had been eaten, the travellers sank into their beds to enjoy their first night at home.

Come the next morning, Ellen’s first task was to visit Lucy, and she dragged Melissa along with her whilst Richard wanted to go to his office to get an idea of the work accumulated during his absence. Lucy was clearly overjoyed to have her stepdaughter back, and she questioned her meticulously about her pregnancy. Of course, Ellen had no problems. She still felt healthy and strong and, if anything, the expectation buoyed her spirits. She still had almost five months until her delivery date, but Lucy insisted on her seeing a midwife as soon as possible, a midwife she had handpicked, together with Harriet.

Lucy then turned her attention to Melissa.

“So, you are a painter? That must be exciting. I must bring you in contact with Lady Trimble. She is something of a painter herself, and she also has a salon to which she invites her fellow artists. You will find her a most charming person. Just do not expect too many young men in her salon. She is not disposed towards men, one could say.”

Melissa stared disbelievingly at this woman who coolly discussed a woman “of deviant tastes”.

“That should not bother me, Lady Wilkes,” she said, taking the plunge. “I do not feel disposed towards men, either.”

Lucy laughed. “She will eat you alive, then! She even came after me, and I have been married for over twenty years.”

To say Melissa was astonished about this liberal mindset would be an understatement. She soon found out that bigotry was something completely lacking from Lucy Wilkes’ thinking. When Ellen and Melissa left the Wilkes’ house two hours later, Melissa could not help but think how different her life could have been had her mother been only a little like Lucy.

Back at the Lamberts’ residence, they found old Lady Lambert, Lady Carter and Doña Maria planning another New Year’s Eve reception. Ellen was astonished to see how far they already were; they had obviously started right after the departure of the Amelia Anne. Harriet apologised for infringing on Ellen’s rights to the household, but Ellen merely laughed at that. This was just as much Lady Lambert’s household as hers, and to have Eleanor’s engagement celebrated in her home excited her.

Doña Maria had even succeeded in inviting the Spanish Ambassador, who was a cousin several times removed, but kin, nonetheless. Doña Maria still thought herself Spanish, and she hoped to reconcile her son with her home country one day.

Ellen realised that the three elder women had left little for her to do, other than playing the hostess, and one of the most urgent tasks for her was to get a dress that accounted for her changing body. She was entering her fifth month, and on her slender frame, it started to show. Therefore she made an appointment with Elisabeth Wilson for the next morning.

She also dragged Melissa Martin along with her again.

“My dear Melissa, we must get you clothes that compliment you. This is London, not Boston, and people expect you to show how pretty you are. You will find that Elisabeth Wilson is the best person to help you with that.”

Melissa, sitting in the fitting room of Wilson’s Fashion, felt like a child in the proverbial candy store. Watching Ellen be fitted was a treat in itself. Her noticeable bulge combined with growing breasts and more rounded features into the most endearing image of a mother to be.

When it was Melissa’s turn, Elisabeth Wilson had numerous cloth bales hauled from storage to find colours to complement Melissa’s brown hair and eyes, and it was over two hours later when she and Ellen were satisfied. At this point, Melissa felt dizzy and she had no recollection of just how many dresses had been ordered for her. Ellen, on the other hand, was in her element. She remembered her own first days in London, when Harriet and Lucy had taken charge of her, and she enjoyed being on the giving side for once.

On the way home, they stopped at the hotel where Sir Humbert and his daughter Colleen resided during their stay in London. Ellen had put them on the guest list for the engagement reception, seeing how helpful Sir Humbert had been. Sir Humbert was out, but Colleen received them and the invitation. Ellen invited the girl for tea in the next afternoon, and Colleen accepted with a grateful smile.

After a brief lunch at home, Ellen dragged Melissa along to the Carters’ house for tea. Harriet enjoyed the visit and they had tea in her private study. With a malicious gleam in her eyes, she invited the young artist to browse through the collection of prints and water colours that her first husband had left behind.

The Hogarth prints, of course, were something Melissa admired. She was not an engraver herself, but she appreciated the richness of the scenes depicted. When she viewed the contents of the special drawer, however, poor Melissa’s eyes bugged out over the erotic prints and sketches. Never had she even thought about painting a nude person. Ellen had never seen this part of the collection either, and she was moved between excitement and amusement. She decided to ask Richard whether he had ever seen his mother’s treasure trove. Some of those prints even gave her pointers at yet undiscovered ways to find pleasure!

“How did the artist find models for this?” Melissa asked finally.

Harriet shrugged, and Ellen giggled.

“You will have to count me out, I am afraid.”

Melissa blushed. “Please, I did not even think of this, really!” she protested.

Ellen smiled at her. “I know that. I was only jesting.” She looked at a water colour, “The Judgement of Paris”, with a young man who had to chose between the three goddesses, Hera, Artemis and Aphrodite, who were dressed in translucent garments. “Although, for a tasteful painting like that, I would even consider posing. That is, if I owned the picture afterwards.”

Harriet smiled at her daughter-in-law.

“No doubt, you would pose as Aphrodite!” she said drily, causing Ellen to blush, but she rallied.

“And wouldn’t you be the perfect Hera?”

One of the most profound discoveries Melissa made in her first week in London was that she could buy ready made painter’s colours in tin tubes. There would be no grinding of colours and mixing with linseed oil. Now she could just squeeze colour on the palette, ready for painting. She immediately saw the advantages of this for painting landscapes and people out of doors, in oil, rather than in water colours.

An annex to the garden salon of the Lambert home, facing south, was cleared and furnished sparsely as Melissa’s impromptu atelier. Melissa’s first victim was Sir Anthony. Melissa had been unsure about the backdrop for the picture, and she asked him if there was an opportunity for her to make sketches on board a ship of war.

“I would really prefer to have an authentic backdrop, rather than having you pose in your uniform in front of a chair.”