The Revenant Series--The Lost Colony
Chapter Three
Chapter Three
A week later the English colonists convened for the christening of the newborn. They huddled at the bank of the sound, the wash of waves against the shore drowned out by gusts of squall winds surging over the dunes. Each member looked on, their faces divulging a mixture of joy and anxiety. Joy at the miraculous event, the birth itself: the first English child born in America. Anxiety that this demon Wanchese and the Secotans would attack again.
There was also the grim state of their food stores, which already ran short, the bulk having been soaked and spoiled by seawater during their voyage. Winter would soon be upon them, and they had not enough to last. As they stood along the shore, two English ships lay at anchor safely beyond the banks, waiting to take a chosen delegate back to England to enlist support and return with more provisions, more weapons and more gunpowder.
John White read from the Bible, his delicate fingers holding open the book as he spoke directly to the baby, then to Eleanor and Ananias. Eleanor remained pale from her blood loss, but had recovered enough of her strength to attend the christening. White gestured with his other hand toward the sound as wind drove salt spray through the air, dampening the newborn’s florid red cheeks with a glossy sheen and causing her to cry. During a lull between wind blasts White’s voice rose, high and tremulous, and he declared to all, “Because this child is the first Christian born in Virginia, she will be named Virginia, in honor of our Virgin Queen!” With that the governor made the sign of the cross over the girl and held her aloft like a gift to the colony, her face ruddy and roseate. She was living and squirming and crying proof that these planter families could not only survive, but could propagate and flourish in this strange and hostile and faraway place.
Manteo edged closer to view the wailing, red-faced baby. He wondered if indeed this child Virginia Dare symbolized the fate of the colony. To him, she signified a great deal more. He pondered how he might possibly live to watch her grow up, wondered if he would ever be able to tell her the truth—about herself, about himself.
After the christening, John White waved Manteo over as the colonists dispersed and returned to their duties within the fort. The two men stood close, looking out across the wind-cupped bay at the thin crescent of reef beyond. Pelicans glided past, scouring the bay for fish. Manteo could see the faint outline of a ship’s sails on the horizon. White scratched at the sandy soil with a long piece of driftwood, leaning in close to speak as swaying sawgrass snapped in the spiraling gale.
“It has been decided,” he said, “I will return to England.” White motioned toward the water, toward the ship. “Simon Fernandez has granted me passage aboard the Lion, the moment the weather breaks and he can safely enter the inlet in the flyboat.”
Manteo did not speak for a time, absorbing and understanding the information before responding.
“There are others who could go. As governor, surely you are needed here.”
“True,” agreed White. “But I believe I can convince Sir Walter Raleigh of the severity of our needs here … and that my drawings of colony and Indian life here will garner the Queen’s support. It is our best chance.”
Manteo reached out and steadied a wavering cattail, running his palm along its velvety brown spike. “So it is,” he said after a time. “So it must be.”
John White looked directly into Manteo’s cavernous dark eyes and spoke seriously, his words careful and measured. “In my absence, I entrust you to run the colony as governor, Manteo. Your recent baptism into the Church of England and Raleigh’s installing you as Lord of Roanoke point to you as the right choice. You and you alone can serve as liaison between the colony and the tribes, and I would trust no one else to watch over and keep safe my daughter and granddaughter.”
“Not even Ananias?”
“He is a decent husband and father. But as governor, the final choice was mine. Ananias argued, but in the end he had to acquiesce. At any rate, before we set sail Raleigh insisted that if for any reason I were incapacitated or forced to return, you should command the colony. He was quite clear on the matter, and he is the privateer and our patron.”
Manteo held his long arm up in the air, his leathery palm feeling the wind.
“The storm will break soon, then return with fury. You should be ready to go. I will do as you and Sir Walter ask of me. Your family, I will protect them.”
Governor White shook Manteo’s hand firmly, at once thanking him and binding him to their agreement.
“What about this thing, this Wanchese?” White asked as they strode from the beachhead. Manteo stopped at the path leading to the fortifications and the village. “Wanchese will come again. Next time there will be more like him. But I have ways to defend against him, against them.”