Betsy and the Emperor (9781439115879) by Staton Rabin Page A

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    â€œI’m afraid sewing is not my strong suit. Mother was going to show me—”
    â€œNever mind,” Huff said again with a wave of his hand. “You will get better at it as you go along.”
    I sighed, threaded the needle, and began sewing, after a fashion. What irony! Who would have thought I’d ever regret not having taken more sewing lessons!
    â€œOuch!” I pricked my finger. I sucked the metallic-tasting drop of blood from my fingertip. “Wtdsthemprhvtsybtalofths?”
    â€œWhat? Speak plainly, my girl! Don’t talk with your fingers in your mouth.”
    â€œI said, what does the emperor have to say about all of this?”
    â€œAbout escaping in my balloon?” Huff asked. I nodded. “I don’t know.”
    â€œWhat! You mean, you haven’t told him?”
    â€œThere is no need for him to know,” the old man explained, “until the very last moment. And it would be inadvisable to tell him before then.”
    I gave him a puzzled look. He elaborated.
    â€œFirst of all, there are spies everywhere. And it will be difficult to get the emperor alone to tell him.”
    Huff was right about that. I thought of Poppleton and the others who guard the emperor. And what about the meddlesome Gourgaud? I could not imagine that any secret would be safe with him—and surelyhe’d get wind of this one if the emperor knew of it.
    â€œIn any case,” Huff added, “I do not want to give the emperor too much time to think about our plans. As you saw yesterday from his reaction when we spoke of the Montgolfiers, he is not enamored of aeronautics. But he is a man of action and of courage! If we simply present him with the finished product, he will recognize our balloon represents his only hope of freedom—and climb aboard.”
    â€œWell, perhaps you are right,” I said. “Though I really wish you’d let me tell him.”
    â€œNo! It must remain a secret!” Huff said, the tassel of his fez vibrating with his excitement. “And there is no time to waste! We must finish the balloon before he is moved to Longwood. When will that be? Have you heard?”
    I strained to remember what I’d overheard the admiral say to my parents. “Perhaps a month or two, I think.”
    â€œGood!” said Huff, drumming his fingers on the table. “That will give us just enough time.” He stood up slowly and paced the dirt floor of the cave. “At Longwood he will be watched more closely. It would be nearly impossible to effect his escape from there. And around the time he’s transferred toLongwood—no one knows just when—the new governor will arrive. The emperor’s new jailer. I hear Sir Hudson Lowe is not so…flexible a man as our Admiral Cockburn.”
    I wondered what kind of jailer Governor Lowe would be and what sort of life he had in store for the emperor. Huff interrupted my thoughts.
    â€œWe shall need more dresses, Betsy. These are not nearly enough. Can you get more?”
    I shook my head.
    â€œNot from Jane, anyway. I fooled her once. She won’t fall for the same trick again.”
    â€œThis presents us with difficulties.” Huff sighed.
    He rubbed his forehead, thinking. Then he seemed to get an idea. He reached in his long, white robes and produced a few guineas—or what we called “guineas,” since English coins were so scarce on St. Helena that we all used Spanish reals, Dutch “lion dollars,” Venetian ducats, or silver rupees as a substitute.
    â€œHere,” he said, handing me the money. “Go into Jamestown. A supply ship came in shortly before you returned to St. Helena. Perhaps it brought bolts of silk for the ladies. There are shops that sell such things, are there not?”
    â€œI suppose so,” I said.
    â€œBuy as much as you can.”
    I put down my sewing and prepared to go.
    â€œAnd make sure you are not