The old man gazed at her for a long while, as if deciding how much to say. Finally, he turned and led the way to his desk. He motioned for her to pull up the folding chair he kept tucked behind a bookcase, then sank wearily into his own chair.
“It’s like this,” he began. “I’ve tried to keep the Harborside going, but… I don’t know how my sister did it. We haven’t had enough sales to keep up with our expenses, and even with the profits from the white tea, well…” he shrugged defeatedly and let his words trail off.
“How much time is there to turn things around?” Katherine asked breathlessly.
“Not much.”
“And…” Katherine hesitated, “And the bank?”
Captain Braddock shook his head. “Stuck in red tape, sadly enough.”
At least there’s one good thing. Katherine thought.
“I know you don’t think I can help,” began Katherine, but the captain interrupted before she could finish.
“You’ve helped already, more than you know, and I know you love this place like I do. Just wish I could do something to keep it afloat.” The two sat in silence for a while, each with a heart too full for words. Finally, Captain Braddock looked over at her with an expression of sudden decision.
“I’m going to show you something,” he said, opening a drawer in the desk.
Katherine drew in a sharp breath. He was pulling out the heavy, old key that unlocked the door at the top of the stairs!
“I’ve been pretty cautious, keepin’ secrets from you and all, but I had to be sure I could trust you.” The Captain stood and led the way to the stairs. Katherine’s heart beat rapidly with anticipation. Halfway up, Captain Braddock stopped and turned towards her.
“Miss Harriet told you about her letter?”
Katherine nodded, and the captain gave a low grunt in reply before proceeding up the stairs. The lock gave a rasping groan before popping open with a click. Katherine held her breath in suspense as the door swung open.
Suddenly, Katherine found herself surrounded by light pouring in from windows in every direction. She blinked, trying to adjust her eyes, which had grown accustomed to the cozy dimness of the shop below. As her vision cleared, she gazed around her in wonder. They were standing in an octagonal turret, with a domed roof. There were large round windows all around, surprisingly clean and free from the cloud of grime that typically accumulated on windows facing the harbor.
Below each window was a heavy wooden sea chest, like the kind Katherine had always imagined pirate’s treasure would be buried in. Captain Braddock watched her face intently, a smile playing around the edges of his mouth. He seemed to be enjoying Katherine’s first glimpse of the Harborside’s most closely guarded secret.
Katherine looked at the captain, wide eyed. “But, how… I went outside one day to try to see…”
Captain Braddock laughed. “That’s the real mystery, now, isn’t it? Come on, I’ll show you.” He turned and walked over to the round window that faced away from the harbor. Katherine saw that it looked out onto the brick façade that had been built on to the building in Victorian times. To her surprise, the captain turned a latch on the window and stepped through.
Katherine followed, feeling this to be the greatest adventure she had ever had.
“See?” the captain said, once they were outside. “This is another piece of Helen’s legacy.”
“Helen. The one who picked out the lamps? Who didn’t want the Harborside to be rebuilt in brick?”
“That’s the one. The tower was her favorite part of the Harborside, and before she died, she made Edward promise to leave it intact, with a view of the harbor. That was important, you see, because the tower was where the Harborside wives and children would watch for the ships to appear on the harbor when they were expected home.”
“Like a widow’s walk?”
“Exactly. Helen loved hearing about the old days, and the excitement when the Anne would be spotted on the horizon, and she somehow convinced her husband it was worth preserving.”
“Oh, good for her!” Katherine said, gazing at the tower.
“Only Edward didn’t want to be seen as a fool, with this old wooden tower rising out of his ‘modern’ Victorian brick, so he hid it on the front by making the façade so tall. The side facing the harbor presented more of a challenge, though, because he had promised to preserve the view. So, he made this terrace around the tower, and took care that it had enough space in front of it so that the tower wasn’t visible from the wharf. Of course, you can see it from away out in the harbor, but no one bothers to look that closely at these hulks of brick.”
Katherine walked to the edge of the terrace and looked down over the edge of the brick parapet. “It’s such a lovely place. Why do you keep it a secret?” she asked, turning to face the captain.
“Well, at the first, Edward insisted on keeping it secret because he was embarrassed to have given in when he wanted to modernize the whole thing. He always told people that the staircase led to more storage areas, which I suppose is technically true, since we do store a few things in the tower. After that, I think it just became one more Harborside tradition, and besides,” he said with a mischievous wink, “it’s kinda fun to have a mysterious secret right there in the middle of the shop.”
Katherine laughed. “I see what you mean.”
Just then, they heard the bell ring faintly over the door below. Captain Braddock began to limp back to the round door, but Katherine quickly passed him.
“I’ll go,” she said. “You just take your time.”
Katherine opened the door slightly and carefully slipped through, closing it quickly behind her. As she turned to descend the staircase, she saw a tall lady, somewhat older than Miss Harriet, with dark hair finely streaked with silver, and dark eyes gazing up at her in surprise.
“You must be Katherine,” she said.
“Yes, I am. Have we met?”
“No,” said the lady, watching Katherine come down the staircase. “But I’ve heard of you.”
“Oh.” Katherine wasn’t sure what to say. “What brings you to the Harborside today? Are you here to order some tea?” Then, looking the woman over briefly, she suggested, “We have some lovely Pu-erh Sheng.”
“I see you’ve been learning,” the woman said with an approving smile. “My name’s—”
“Serena!” Captain Braddock said from the top of the staircase, “Wherever did you come from?”
36 Saving the Harborside
