In Great Waters by Kit Whitfield

Author:Kit Whitfield [Whitfield, Kit]
Format: epub, pdf
Publisher: Ballantine Books
Published: 2010-01-01T06:57:19+00:00

NINETEEN

ANNE DID NOT KNOW how she lived through the time that followed. Day followed day with nothing but a crushing sense of anticipation, a dread of something unknown. Every morning she woke tight-chested and breathless, the air of her room pressing down on her as if she had dived fathoms too deep. Day after day she presented a limpid face to the court and hid whenever she could, riding her horse by the river and staring into its brown depths, wishing to dive in, shake off her heavy gown and swim away into the sea where no one could find her. But the sea was no refuge. Edward could not accompany Anne and Mary; no deepsmen would follow a king so old and frail. Anne dreamed of joining the deepsmen, of growing long and muscular like them, strong enough to fight for herself, but her small body was no defence against anyone. The next blessing of the waters, Mary and Anne set off together into the deeps while a reduced court sat on the shores, none of the usual retinue but only Edward, Robert Claybrook, Archbishop Summerscales and a few other great men, watching silently as the girls stripped and submerged themselves in the grey surf, ready to swim out. Edward had spoken to them quietly on the way, advised them on how to speak—childish words asking for friendship, for care—and Mary was prepared to begin such a chant, but at the thought, Anne’s heart sank. The deepsmen would not long protect a country with only children at its helm. It was strength they respected, not appeals to their better nature. Anne pinched her mouth tight and gripped Mary’s wrist as they set out, telling her quietly in the underwater language: Be careful. Stay silent. And Mary only nodded, twisting her wrist out of Anne’s grip and reaching to take her hand. To stay in sight of one another was in no way necessary, but Anne held her sister’s hand, grateful for the momentary comfort.

Out in the bay, the deepsmen seemed vast, long-bodied like horses and great-armed like blacksmiths. Mary began by chanting a greeting, but the voices boomed around them: Are you alone? Had they no support, or was it down to them, two young girls in the sea?

Mary’s hand tightened on Anne’s, and Anne steadied herself in the water. There was nothing for it but a bold face.

Click, she said, naming the strongest of the deepsmen. It was guesswork, memory, terrible risk, but if she didn’t dare it now, they were lost. Rattle. The names were untranslatable, but she remembered them from happier times, like the names in a favourite story from childhood. Anne held herself up in the water and named each of them, identifying them. She named each of them in turn, then put on her boldest face. My sister, she said. Me.

There was a moment’s pause and then Click reached for her, a strong arm darting out to grasp her shoulder. Anne dived, swimming down,

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