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stuff together, like hiking and swimming and playing golf.
Sheila even went to the gym with her mom to do weight
training. No wonder she was so good at sports.
If only Katie s own parents had been content with
just one child &
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& ten &
The Diary
October 13, 1862
There is nothing to do in this wretched country. It
has rained for three days and three nights. Everything
is wet.
Victoria is a horrid little town with streets of knee-
deep mud. It is clogged with ragged, dirty prospectors
who have returned from the gold fields up north in
the Cariboo, most of them poorer than when they
left. All around the town, they live in wretched tents,
too poor to book passage south to San Francisco or
return to their homes. The men intend to spend the
winter here where the weather is mild. Come spring
they will return by pack train or wagon to the newly
discovered gold fields in Richfield and Barkerville,
where they will try their luck again.
The few British ladies who have settled here are
& 89 &
more boring than their poor husbands, many of whom
are under contract to work for the Hudson s Bay
Company. If they were looking for a better life, they
have been bitterly disappointed. I may as well be in
England for all the excitement I have found here.
I have decided to write a diary as something to pass
the time. I shall begin by telling of my trip over to this
little colony.
We traveled across the Atlantic in a comfortable
steamship. The trip was pleasant enough, and at first our
fellow passengers were good company. However, only
a few days out, we were beset by storms. The constant
rocking of the ship kept most of them from the table.
Charles was among those stricken. He kept to our
cabin and took on a rather greenish hue. I brought
him dry biscuits and weak tea, which he sometimes
was able to swallow.
I never once felt seasick. Surely I was born to spend
my life upon the sea! I love it all: the creaking of the
ship as she climbs over mountainous waves; the end-
less horizons of gray water flecked with white foam;
the salt-laden wind and the cool spray upon my face.
I felt alive as never before.
The captain and I enjoyed many meals alone. The
other passengers and crew were either too sick or
too busy to join us. He entertained me with exciting
stories of high adventure on the seas. He told me of
visits to colorful ports both large and small all around
the world. These places I can only long to visit.
Such folly to have been born a woman!
We disembarked in the heat of a tropical sun at
& 90 &
Colon. There we climbed aboard a funny little train
that chugged though the jungle, carrying us overland
to Panama City and the Pacific Ocean.
The inescapable heat, the mosquitoes which con-
stantly fly in one s eyes and whine in one s ears, the
unfamiliar food, and the sickly brown water combined
to make many travelers ill.
Charles was one of the worst. I had great trouble
being sympathetic toward him while he moaned and
complained as if he were a spoiled child. Yet I had to
care for him as patiently as a mother, putting my own
feelings aside. His clothes hung loose around his mid-
dle by that time, and the lovely ruby ring I gave him
as a wedding gift slipped easily off his finger. Even so,
he remained a portly man.
The rain has finally stopped! The sun is breaking
through the clouds and making the sea sparkle. I am
going to take a walk on the beach.
Katie placed the diary face down on her stomach. She
was propped up comfortably against pillows and now
put her head back to think. She felt sorry for Elizabeth
Matthews. Katie couldn t imagine leaving her family
behind and setting off for a new, primitive world where
she would be stuck in a lonely mansion with a husband
she didn t love.
Picking up the diary, she read on eagerly.
October 17, 1862
I have not found time to write for several days because
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Charles invited guests who recently arrived from
England. Of course I had to entertain them with cards
and silly games and senseless conversation. I also had to
supervise the preparation of meals. Speaking of which,
Charles eats enough for any three people and has
developed a great, fat belly. His fingers are so plump
now, his ruby ring digs deeply into the flesh.
There appears to be some small problem in the
kitchen. The cook, the houseboy, and a maid all re-
ported hearing strange noises from underneath the
floor. They were frightened and threatened to leave
but were eventually soothed by our wonderful butler,
Carlson. He told them a wild story of the tragic deaths
of many Spanish seamen along with two old Indian
men. Then he explained that the story was most likely
untrue and so they should not believe it. Even if it were
true, he said, no one should worry about ghosts, as he
did not believe in them.
The maid was quite charmed by his manner. He is a
dark, good-looking man who could pass as a Spaniard
himself. He has a devastating smile which reveals a row
of very white teeth and an enchanting dimple in his
right cheek. The Chinese cook and houseboy also chose
to ignore the foolish tales of tortured spirits haunting the
ground beneath our house. However, it seems to me
that if Carlson had not told them of it, there would have
been no need to charm them into disbelieving it.
Nevertheless, everything is settled now. The serv-
ants stayed on and the guests have at last continued on
their way. Now I can continue my tale.
We spent almost a week in Panama City, during
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which time Charles made up for all the meals he had
missed. Then we boarded a steamship that would carry
us up the Pacific Coast. This one was smaller and much
less comfortable than the first. It was overcrowded
with men arriving from all parts of the world, hoping
to make their fortunes in gold. I expect they too will
be living in tents before long. Now is not the time to
continue north to the Cariboo, where the snow will
soon be falling and the ground freezing over.
The Pacific Ocean did not live up to its name, as we
did not have one calm day on the entire journey. All
the passengers, save myself, were very ill. I felt sorry
for Charles. If only he would not carry on so!
We changed ships at San Francisco, where even
more men came aboard, seeking riches beyond im-
agining. California s own gold rush ended some years
ago, which left many prospectors searching for a new
hope of becoming rich.
At last we arrived at Esquimalt Harbor on Sep-
tember 15, a warm and sunny day. I longed to let
Charles disembark alone. Unfortunately, this was
not possible.
God save us! Charles has just now arrived home
and discovered some sort of disturbance in the kitchen.
I must go and intervene before he causes all our serv-
ants to quit.
If only Charles were more like Carlson!
Katie skimmed through several pages of boring notes
and observations. She discovered more and more references
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to noises scaring the staff. The entry for November 23rd
caught her interest:
Most of the servants have left us now. Carlson stays and
continues to be very kind. I do not know how I would
have managed these last months without him. He is
much more than a butler he is a good friend.
I have sent a letter to my sister telling her of the
exciting discovery I made on the beach yesterday. Just
at dusk, as I was returning from my walk, I bent to
pick up a brightly colored shell. The wind was gusting
when I happened to glance up toward the bank where
a broom bush was swaying in the breeze. Behind it, I
caught a brief glimpse of movement a small animal,
perhaps, or a bird.
I moved closer to investigate. Working my way
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