Hoist the Colors
Chapter 1:
Expectations
Leaning against the cobbled stone pillar, Madeleine tried to block the afternoon sun from blinding her by angling her book in just the right position. If she sat perfectly still, her head cocked to the side, she gave off the appearance of reading. The succession of royalty through the last three hundred years wasn’t interesting enough to merit more than a quick glance and this wasn’t her first time perusing the worn pages. Although, to admit the truth, she couldn’t imagine a day when reading it would be fun.
Sighing, Madeleine felt a small stab of guilt. Not all girls had the opportunity for an education, although she secretly wished she could go to a proper school like her brother. She imagined learning useful things like mathematics, politics, and philosophy, to debate law and science. Yet that would always be a dream to her.
It was a woman’s duty to learn just enough to attract and interest a prospective suitor, and wealthy if possible. Inside the parlor, Madeleine’s mother watched, waiting for the slightest hint of daydreaming. For a few seconds, Madeleine thought she was successful until she heard the familiar tapping on the window.
In her mother’s opinion, a girl of her position shouldn’t be so lazy. Madeleine Victoria Valmont was the daughter of Jean Valmont, governor of Port Royal, Jamaica. George I had just succeeded the throne from Queen Anne in the glorious year of their Lord, seventeen-hundred-and-fifteen.
According to decorum, girls of noble birth had no business loitering about uselessly. Only street urchins and prostitutes lounged about with nothing better to do and right then, Madeleine wished she wasn’t the daughter of a governor. How lovely it sounded to be an ordinary person instead of being stuck indoors waiting all prim and proper for something to happen, for life to begin.
With an irritated grunt, Madeleine moved the book front of her like an obedient child. Although, diversion soon caught her attention as a warm breeze made the sweat on her face feel deliciously cool. Closing her eyes, her fingers brushed against the thin gold cross around her neck.
She never considered herself beautiful for she had inherited her mother’s round face and her father’s straight nose but her bright periwinkle eyes were all her own, paler than the early morning sky. Wisps of golden hair flew about her like fireflies, trying to free themselves and she filled her lungs with the strong aroma of the sea. Madeleine could almost imagine herself running in the waves, lifting her skirt dangerously high to let the water pulsate around her naked ankles. From where she sat, she could barely see the white froth cresting the ocean waves.
