the Dog. People born in this year are loyal and sincere. If a dog should happen to visit your home, it’s considered good luck.”
“What about the year you were born? What animal do you share characteristics with?”
I have no need to look it up. I know my zodiac year by heart. “My birth date is May fifth, 1810. I was born in the Year of the Horse.”
“I see!” He looks delighted. “Can you do mine?”
I place my empty glass on the floor. “When is your birth date? If you were born before February, then you might be the sign of the year ahead of you.”
“You have to vow that you will not reveal to anyonehow old I truly am,” he says with a smile. “The year was 1770. The date … May fifth.”
I turn to the page that has his birth date and read his qualities aloud. “You were born in the Year of the Tiger. You are lively and engaging and incredibly brave. You are a good strategist and tactician. Horses and Dogs make good friends, but beware of Monkeys.”
“And?” He waits with an amused smile upon his face.
I glance down at the page again.
May fifth …
“We share the same birth date!”
Grand-père nods. “A fine celebration we shall have this year. Two birthdays instead of one.”
Glancing down at the book, I trace the worn spine. “It’s sad that Mother will miss it. She would have been so pleased. This was the last thing she gave me before she passed.”
“It was her book?”
“Yes. She carried it everywhere with her. The missionaries we lived with thought it was foolish to believe in such superstitions, but she always said that the world is a very large place and it would be foolish not to believe in a little bit of everything.”
“If I may ask, how did you end up in Siam?”
“By way of England. We lived there with Mother’s great-aunt Isobel until I was six years old. When Aunt Isobel passed, the house was sold and we had nowhere to go. Mother approached the local parish and begged them for a job, but they had nothing. They told us we could travel to Siam with the missionaries and work for our provisions there.”
“Were it not for her letter, I’m not sure I would have found you.”
“She wrote to you?”
“To your father. She told him she was gravely ill, and she asked if you could live here should anything happen to her. I answered the letter and booked passage right away for both of you to come to Philadelphia.”
I frown.
That’s not what Mother told me
. She said a letter had come from my father in America, requesting that I go live with him. Since she was sick, she begged me to consider the request for her sake.
Why would she tell me something so different?
“I’m sorry, Annabel.” Grand-père’s voice is filled with regret. “Had I known where you were, I would have rescued you from that life. I spent years looking for you.”
“Looking for me? Mother did not speak of Fatheroften, but I thought he was aware of our circumstances. When I was younger, I used to make up stories that he was a war hero who had gone off to battle and would one day return to sweep us away to live in a grand castle. After Mother told me about the letter, I thought the day had finally come. That he was ready to know me. All this time … did Father
not
know where we were?”
Grand-père glances down at his glass. “I cannot answer that.”
“It was
you
who wanted me to come live here,” I realize. “Not him. That’s why he didn’t meet me at the ship. Why he has been bothered by my very presence.”
Grand-père shakes his head. “Please, my dear, do not think badly of him. He is just distracted by his illness. We are both truly happy to have you here with us.”
The look in Grand-père’s eyes is so sad that it makes my heart hurt. I do not wish to cause him distress. “Regardless of who answered Mother’s letter, I’m happy to be here with you and Father. Thank you for everything you have done for me, Grand-père. You have shown me great kindness.”
His
“What about the year you were born? What animal do you share characteristics with?”
I have no need to look it up. I know my zodiac year by heart. “My birth date is May fifth, 1810. I was born in the Year of the Horse.”
“I see!” He looks delighted. “Can you do mine?”
I place my empty glass on the floor. “When is your birth date? If you were born before February, then you might be the sign of the year ahead of you.”
“You have to vow that you will not reveal to anyonehow old I truly am,” he says with a smile. “The year was 1770. The date … May fifth.”
I turn to the page that has his birth date and read his qualities aloud. “You were born in the Year of the Tiger. You are lively and engaging and incredibly brave. You are a good strategist and tactician. Horses and Dogs make good friends, but beware of Monkeys.”
“And?” He waits with an amused smile upon his face.
I glance down at the page again.
May fifth …
“We share the same birth date!”
Grand-père nods. “A fine celebration we shall have this year. Two birthdays instead of one.”
Glancing down at the book, I trace the worn spine. “It’s sad that Mother will miss it. She would have been so pleased. This was the last thing she gave me before she passed.”
“It was her book?”
“Yes. She carried it everywhere with her. The missionaries we lived with thought it was foolish to believe in such superstitions, but she always said that the world is a very large place and it would be foolish not to believe in a little bit of everything.”
“If I may ask, how did you end up in Siam?”
“By way of England. We lived there with Mother’s great-aunt Isobel until I was six years old. When Aunt Isobel passed, the house was sold and we had nowhere to go. Mother approached the local parish and begged them for a job, but they had nothing. They told us we could travel to Siam with the missionaries and work for our provisions there.”
“Were it not for her letter, I’m not sure I would have found you.”
“She wrote to you?”
“To your father. She told him she was gravely ill, and she asked if you could live here should anything happen to her. I answered the letter and booked passage right away for both of you to come to Philadelphia.”
I frown.
That’s not what Mother told me
. She said a letter had come from my father in America, requesting that I go live with him. Since she was sick, she begged me to consider the request for her sake.
Why would she tell me something so different?
“I’m sorry, Annabel.” Grand-père’s voice is filled with regret. “Had I known where you were, I would have rescued you from that life. I spent years looking for you.”
“Looking for me? Mother did not speak of Fatheroften, but I thought he was aware of our circumstances. When I was younger, I used to make up stories that he was a war hero who had gone off to battle and would one day return to sweep us away to live in a grand castle. After Mother told me about the letter, I thought the day had finally come. That he was ready to know me. All this time … did Father
not
know where we were?”
Grand-père glances down at his glass. “I cannot answer that.”
“It was
you
who wanted me to come live here,” I realize. “Not him. That’s why he didn’t meet me at the ship. Why he has been bothered by my very presence.”
Grand-père shakes his head. “Please, my dear, do not think badly of him. He is just distracted by his illness. We are both truly happy to have you here with us.”
The look in Grand-père’s eyes is so sad that it makes my heart hurt. I do not wish to cause him distress. “Regardless of who answered Mother’s letter, I’m happy to be here with you and Father. Thank you for everything you have done for me, Grand-père. You have shown me great kindness.”
His
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