“Have a nice day.” The man said, already out the door.
She watched him jump nimbly into his truck and drive down the street. Then she eyed the stack of boxes. Picking up her rag from the counter, she deliberately turned and walked across the room. She took down the model Anne and began carefully to dust every last intricate piece, focusing her full attention on the task, determined not to give in to her curiosity this time.
* * * *
She had a hard fight, and long, too, for it was nearly an hour before the captain arrived. Katherine breathed a sigh of relief when she finally heard him enter through the back door and drop his keys on the desk.
He didn’t seem in a hurry to ask about the delivery; so Katherine, who was by then full to bursting with curiosity, called over her shoulder in a tone she hoped would sound nonchalant, “The mail’s arrived.”
She heard a creak, then a rustle, and the sound of a drawer being opened and closed again. Then, Captain Braddock entered the room, and with a glance at Katherine, whose back was still turned toward him, he slowly and deliberately walked over to the pile of packages by the front door.
Katherine finally gave in to her curiosity enough to watch the captain over her shoulder as he searched carefully through the boxes until, with a grunt, he picked up what Katherine assumed must be the one he had been looking for.
Katherine whirled around as the captain straightened up, almost in time to evade his quick glance in her direction. In that brief moment she noticed something clutched in one hand, and the box tucked under his arm.
She expected to hear his footsteps receding into his office, but instead, he was crossing the shop towards the shelves, where she was vigorously dusting the remaining few jars. She looked over at the captain, who, to her surprise, had his foot on the first step of the spiral staircase.
Her eyes lit up with a fresh curiosity, but the Captain only gave her a look in return which plainly said, Be about yer business, and nevermind mine. She had heard him say this often enough, with precisely that look, so she was well versed in its meaning.
As she turned to the jars again, she slyly watched the captain out of the corner of her eye. The thing she had seen in his hand was now revealed to be a key; heavy, old, and made of what looked like iron. With a thrill, she realized that the door at the top of the stairs was surely about to be unlocked and opened!
She turned a little, under the pretense of reaching one of the ships on an upper shelf, and looked up just as the Captain opened the door and passed quickly through, closing it heavily behind him. She caught a glimpse of rough beams on the ceiling, and a faint fragrance reached her, even at the bottom of the stairs—a familiar fragrance, but one Katherine couldn’t quite place.
There had been light in the room as the door was opened, so Katherine had surmised that there must be a window of some kind. She began on the last few jars, dusting as slowly as she could, prolonging her task in order to have a reason to remain in her place until the captain came out again.
There was a tantalizing squeak of floorboards above, then she thought she discerned the quick swipe of a box cutter through packing tape, muffled, to be sure, but faintly discernable. She heard the captain’s characteristic grunt, then a scrape and creak. There must be a chair up there… and maybe a desk? Katherine thought to herself. She held as still as possible, straining to catch even the smallest clue to what was happening there.
After a minute or two, there was another grunt, and then a long, moaning creak, as of hinges unused to motion, and the slightest rustle that might have been something like stiff paper, then another moan from the unseen hinges. Katherine could hear the captain nearing the door again, and she looked back at the jar she was dusting, knowing that she dared not be caught watching when he came out.
She heard the door open and sneaked a glance upwards as it closed behind the captain. His broad shoulders blocked her view this time, however, and she turned around again, hoping he hadn’t noticed her curiosity.
“Anything interesting in the mail today?” she asked over her shoulder, trying to sound careless and disinterested. The captain grunted and replied,
“Only this, but it’ll keep till Thursday with the rest.” Katherine turned and stared at the box, which was again tucked beneath the captain’s arm. It had been opened, but the flaps had been folded closed again, and the shipping label had been removed. The captain set it gently on the counter, then returned to his office. Katherine heard the drawer again, and decided he was probably replacing the old key in a drawer of his desk.
“You can take the boxes down to the storeroom now” came the captain’s voice from the other room, now returned to its normal tone.
Katherine set down the last jar, which had by that time been dusted four or five times, and gladly walked over to the counter. She eyed the mysterious box, but seeing no clues to its contents or sender, took it to the storeroom along with the rest of the stack. She saved it for last, however, the captain’s gentle treatment of it inspiring the same in her, and set it almost reverentially on the top of the others. A day and a half, she thought, and I will be opening that box… I wonder what could be inside?
When she left that afternoon, she walked around to the back of the building, gazing up through the gloomy dusk to see if she could spy the window which she knew must exist to let light into the room at the top of the staircase.
Standing as far back as she could, she craned her neck, but all she could see was the brick wall, a roofline, and then more brickwork behind. She stood right at the middle of the building where she knew the staircase to be and stood on tiptoe. But there was no window to be seen in that part of the building, not even in the higher section of the brick wall. So, she turned and walked slowly home, puzzled and impatient.
30 The Mysterious Package
Katherine walked down the empty street, too full of anticipation to savor the morning stillness of the downtown blocks. She was earlier than her usual time but had been too excited to wait out the last ten minutes before it was time for her to leave.
Even this had not allayed her impatience, though, and her pace quickened with every step that carried her nearer to the Harborside. Her heartbeat quickened as well, and the closer she came to the shop, the more intense her desire became to sprint the last few steps and arrive at last.
Katherine always enjoyed Thursdays at the Harborside, but today was to be no ordinary Thursday. Today, the Captain was going to open the mysterious package.
The sun had just begun to light up the grey clouds over the harbor and all the world seemed still, but Katherine’s mind was spinning with speculations and wonderings. The first birds were singing by the time Katherine got to the front door, and the sky was painted with vivid shades of pink and orange, but all she could think of was getting to that box.
As usual, she stopped just inside the door to don her plain canvas apron while calling out a greeting so the captain would know she was there. She quickly stepped behind the counter and pulled out the drawer where the box cutter was kept. Then she flew to the side door of the shop which led to the storeroom, taking a clipboard from its nail on the wall as she opened the door.
Captain Braddock, who had been looking over a ledger at his desk, looked up in surprise and arrested Katherine’s flight by saying in an astonished tone,
“Well, good mornin’ to you. Why the hurry, there, young miss? It’s ten minutes before starting time, and you’re already here, apron on, and bolting out the door. What’s there to rush off to in the storeroom?”
Katherine blushed and turned to meet the captain’s gaze. Hesitating for a moment, she decided to be completely honest.
“It’s just that… well, I’ve been so curious about that extra package. You were so mysterious about it, and I’ve been wondering what it could be.”
Katherine’s honesty brought a smile to the old man’s face and melted the gruffness out of his voice as he replied, “Well, then, why don’t we go see what’s in those boxes?”
He led the way into the storeroom and handed Katherine the box. She sat down on the floor with the clipboard beside her as she usually did while unboxing and slowly lifted the tightly-folded flaps.
Inside the box, she found a loose mass of packing paper, which she lifted, exposing a black wooden box, intricately carved and tied shut with a silky red ribbon. She looked up at the captain in wonder.
“What is it?” she asked, lifting the box carefully out of its nest of paper.
The captain smiled as he reached for the box, then looked it over thoughtfully, turning it over in his hands. Finally, he spoke. “I suppose I could have told you about it Tuesday; I didn’t know it would hold you in such suspense. It’s tea, but special tea. Finish the unpacking, and I’ll tell you all about it.”
