A Preacher and His Wife

Chapter Three

When I woke Grace was gone. I sat up and saw that her waistcoat and petticoat and boots were not where she had left them the evening before. Her father's letters were also gone. This brought up many questions within myself about marriage and whether or not I thought that Grace should need to ask me to go somewhere, especially considering how many men were on board and how few women there were to draw their attention. Perhaps she had only gone to the privy? Surely she should not need to ask me to do that.

I dressed quickly and came out onto the deck. The sun was only beginning to rise and everything was blue. I found Grace easily for there were only a handful of people awake so early. Grace, the Catholic woman, and several of her younger children. Grace stood when I approached.

"Good morning."

"Good morning," I repeated.

"Will you be taking tea?"

I did not want tea, but I agreed to have some because I didn't know what else to do. Grace went back to the cabin to fetch a teacup for me, leaving me alone with the Catholic woman for a few uncomfortable moments. I took a seat at the supper table, just to have something to do.

"How long have you been married?" the woman asked. I did not know if such a question was normal or not. Did people often ask married men of this?

"Not long," I answered. "This is our third day."

The woman was surprised and laughed a little before becoming softer. "How are you finding it?"

Her tone was caring, but this too seemed to be an unusual question and I was not able to think of an adequate answer before Grace returned. She made the tea and the three of us sat and sipped and as the sun rose. Grace introduced me as, "Mr. Moore, my husband," which felt odd but pleasant. The Catholic woman's name was Moira Murphy, though Grace called her Mrs. Murphy and several times Moira corrected her.

"I am older than you, it is true, but we are both married women and so on par with one another. Call me Moira."

Grace meant to take the direction I believe but by habit continued to call the Catholic Mrs. Murphy. I wondered if I should also correct Grace. Surely she should not call me Mr. Moore? She had said my first name only once before, during our wedding. I remember her reaction to the phrase she was meant to repeat. She had not known my first name until then. "I take thee Callum..." I was not that much older than her and also we were married, surely she should call me by my given name.

Grace had also learned all of the children's names and when one of them wandered too far away she would call to them sweetly. Never ordering them to return but asking them to come and take a look at something causing them to run back to us with excitement. I liked seeing her do this and found that I could not keep my eyes from her, even when Moira was speaking and I should have been looking at her for politeness' sake.

Finally, Moira's husband called to her from beneath the deck in an angry and sullen tone and the woman was up and rounding up the children. She went to clean up the tea but Grace insisted she would do it and so Moira or Mrs. Murphy or whatever I should call her, left us.

Once again it grew quiet and uncomfortable. "Did you sleep well?" I managed.

She nodded. "Surprisingly so."

This bothered me. I felt that she was implying that she did not expect to sleep well next to me. She sensed this and explained.

"I had not expected rest at sea to come so easily, but I found the motion of the ship... soothing."

I needed to think of something else to say. "Do you often wake so early?"

She nodded.

Silence.