The Brightest Star in the North

by Meredith Rusu

  “You tell me,” Carina said smartly. “Can you read it?”

  The woman smiled. On her face, it was a dangerous expression.

  “Our parents will come looking for us,” James, next to Carina, piped up. “They’ll be here soon.”

  At that, the men laughed.

  “You think we are afraid of your parents, boy?” the short man said. “We did not travel across the sea and back, facing storms and soldiers, to be scared away by your mummy and daddy.”

  “You’re pirates, then?” Carina guessed.

  “We are wanderers,” the woman said simply. “Who is your father, child?”

  Without really thinking, Carina responded smoothly, “Galileo Galilei.”

  She watched the woman’s expression. It didn’t change. That meant she didn’t know who Galileo Galilei was.

  “And your father taught you of the map?” the woman asked.

  “He taught me of many,” Carina lied.

  The woman frowned. “The legend speaks of only one.”

  “Are you sure?” Carina countered.

  As she spoke, Carina’s mind raced. She had absolutely no idea what the woman was talking about. But making it seem like she did was likely the only thing keeping them alive.

  Think! Carina urged herself. The men want the jewel, but the woman wants the book, because she thinks it’s…legendary? Magic? The man said it’s in devil language. They must all be superstitious. Very superstitious…

  Just then, something moved in the trees. It was large enough to make the branches shake. They all turned their heads at the noise.

  “We are wasting time,” one of the men said nervously. “There are strange creatures in these woods. Let’s take the jewel and leave these brats here to their fate.”

  “He’s right,” said James. “There are wild animals in this forest. The kee—I mean, my parents told me so.”

  “I am sure you will see the animals soon enough,” the short man quipped. That made everyone laugh—even the monkey.

  “I can read the book,” Carina blurted out suddenly.

  Everyone turned to look at her.

  “The child can read the devil’s language?” one of the men whispered to another.

  “It’s not the devil’s language,” said James. “It’s—”

  Carina elbowed him.

  “Yes, I can,” Carina said. “Let me read it, and you will see.”

  THE MEN SHUFFLED NERVOUSLY. They didn’t seem to like the idea of Carina’s reading from the book.

  But the woman looked intrigued. She studied Carina for a long moment. Then she knelt down and opened the diary in front of Carina.

  “Speak, child,” she said. “We are listening.”

  “This is not good,” one of the men whispered to the short man. “Your seer—she is bringing dark magic upon us.”

  The monkey hissed.

  “You are all fools,” the dark-haired woman said. “You worry about a ruby when I offer you the path to untold fortune—the Map No Man Can Read.”

  “Dark magic!” the man whispered again, more urgently.

  Picking up on all this, Carina pretended to read from the book. But she did so like she was incanting something sinister.

  “Quando gli uccelli voleran fin sopra le stelle e le nuvole saran basse nel cielo, allora vedrete arcobaleni.”

  Only Carina knew what she had really said in her beginner’s Italian: “When birds fly over the stars, and the clouds are low in the sky, then you will see rainbows.”

  The rustling in the branches grew more violent. Carina felt Sarah move beside her.

  “I do not like this,” the nervous man said. He snatched the ruby from the monkey, and the tiny creature snapped its teeth angrily. “We have what we came for,” insisted the man. “Let’s let this witch have her servant and get out of here.”

  Carina continued to chant louder and louder. She even began swaying for effect.

  “La tempesta sta arrivando, e non potete fare nulla per fermarla. Vi bagnerete tutti!”

  This time she said, “The storm is coming, and there is nothing you can do to stop it. You will get wet!”

  That was when she saw a spark from a fiery stick Sarah was holding in her hands, which were now unbound. Sarah flung the stick at the man holding the ruby. His pants began to smolder.

  “Do you smell something?” one of the rogues asked.

  “Probably the monkey,” another replied. “That thing is covered in flies.”

  Angry, the monkey jumped on the head of the man who had insulted him.

  That was when the man holding the ruby noticed his burning pants.

  “Yeeeeeeeoooooooooow!” he cried, trying to snuff out the flame. “That witch child has set me on fire!”

  “A fuoco! State andando a fuoco! Presto sarete tutti in fiamme!” Carina chanted as though possessed. The men had no way of knowing she was saying, “You are on fire! You are on fire! You will soon all be on fire!” But they were thoroughly unnerved anyway. Even the dark-haired woman was starting to look unsettled.

  Sarah flicked another well-aimed piece of lit kindling.

  Then the short man’s jacket caught fire.

  “This is the devil’s work! What have you brought upon us?” he demanded of the dark-haired woman. “What should we do?”

  The branches shook and swayed behind them. Carina let out a piercing scream. Then, abruptly, she stopped, staring upward, mouth gaping, eyes unfocused.

  “I think you should run,” James said simply.

  The men all looked at one another. And they ran. The man whose pants were on fire dropped the ruby so he could smack at his burning behind with every awkward step.

  The dark-haired woman glared at Carina—before tossing Galileo’s diary into the fire and tuning to run as well.

  “No!” yelled Carina, breaking from her fake trance. She dove for the book, desperate to knock it away from the flames. Her hands were still bound behind her, so she used her feet, her skirt brushing the edge of the flames.

  “Carina, stop!” yelled Sarah. “You’ll set yourself on fire!” She pulled her friend away with one hand, then snatched the book from the fire with the other. To Carina’s relief, only the back cover of the book was a bit charred.

  Carina stared at Sarah’s unbound hands. “How did you get free?”

  Sarah smiled. “I noticed the ropes were pretty loose when I came to. They must not have thought I was much of a threat,” she said.

  “That was incredible!” James exclaimed as Sarah helped both of them undo the rope from their wrists. “Carina, where did you learn to say all that stuff?”

  Carina shrugged. “I was making most of it up, really. When I can’t remember something the master asks me to say in my lessons, I make up something that sounds good. He is always very cross when I do that. But it came in handy here. Those men were clearly superstitious, so I thought we could use their silly talk of dark magic against them.”

  “I’ll say,” replied James, laughing. “It saved our skins!”

  “Thanks to you.” Carina looked at Sarah meaningfully.

  Sarah smiled more widely than she had in months.

  “And the branches!” James suddenly exclaimed. “How did you make those shake?”

  “Uhhhhhhh…” said Carina. “I didn’t….”

  Slowly, the friends turned to the branches that had been moving violently moments before. They continued to rustle and sway.

  “Carina…” James said nervously.

  The branches shook. Something scratched the tree trunk. And then…

  Out popped three squirrels! They chased one another around the clearing before scurrying back up a tree into the darkness.

  The friends released their breath and looked at one another.

  “Well, that was lucky,” James finally said.

  Carina and Sarah laughed as they helped each other to their feet.

  “It was indeed,” said Carina.

  * * *

  That night, safely
back at the children’s home, Carina crouched next to an open window in one of the common areas, cradling Galileo’s diary in her lap. Just as she had predicted, the keepers hadn’t even noticed they were missing. There had been too much revelry at Miss Esther’s wedding, and all the keepers had returned in various states of sobriety.

  They never even realized we were gone, Carina thought smugly. Then she felt a tiny pang. James had been right: no one had noticed. Not even one.

  Shaking away the thought, Carina gingerly studied the charred diary cover. It wasn’t burned too badly, though she would need to be extra careful with it from then on.

  Suddenly, the wind picked up, and a strong breeze blew through the window. The pages of the diary turned on their own, opening to a drawing Carina had seen many times before.

  A cluster of five stars was centered among a sea of black and white inked dots. Beneath it was a depiction of the ocean, with large sea creatures swimming through the depths. And at the bottom of the ocean floor was an object. Carina had never been able to figure out what it was. But it looked kind of like a spear with three prongs.

  Carina gazed at the five stars burning bright on the page, turned back to the book’s cover, and then turned to the drawing again.

  “That woman spoke of the five stars,” she murmured. “She said they were the symbol of ‘the map.’”

  Carina looked up from the drawing and out the children’s home window, toward the stars.

  “Tutte le verità saranno comprese quando le stesse si saranno derectus,” she whispered. “All truths will be understood once the stars align. This must be what the woman was talking about! Maybe it’s the Map No Man Can Read. The one that leads to a great treasure.” She could almost feel the cogs turning in her brain. “This is why my father wanted me to have the diary! He wanted me to study the stars so I can seek the treasure. That is my birthright!”

  Carina grinned widely.

  No matter what, no matter how long it took, she was going to read the map.

  She promised herself that.

  FIVE YEARS LATER, fourteen-year-old Carina Smyth studied herself in the mirror.

  She didn’t think she looked much different. Taller, yes, and perhaps her face was a bit thinner.

  But her whole world was changing, and she didn’t like it.

  “Do I have to go?” she asked Mrs. Altwood.

  The old woman helped Carina into a patched traveling cloak handed down by one of the local village girls. “You know as well as I do, child, there is nothing more for you here.”

  Carina noted the deep wrinkles that crossed Mrs. Altwood’s face. The past five years had taken a toll on the woman, and she looked worse for the wear. Carina felt bad that some—most?—of the wrinkles might have been caused by her.

  “But will there be anything for me there?” Carina asked pointedly. “I have been working so hard to read Galileo’s diary and study the stars the way my father intended me to, all to be sent off as a servant in some dusty, forgotten hall.”

  Mrs. Altwood tsked. “Carina Smyth, will you ever learn to curb your tongue?” It was not really a question, but more of a beleaguered observation.

  “I do not think so.” Carina gave a wry half smile. “But I blame you. You should have whipped me when there was still a chance to knock some sense into me.”

  That made the old woman chuckle.

  “Yes, I suppose I should have,” Mrs. Altwood said. “You do realize, child, how fortunate an opportunity this is for you? Lord Willoughby has taken a particular interest in your future. He has placed you at a hall where he thinks you will be a good fit. You will be cared for—safe. Surely your father would have wanted that?”

  Carina nodded. “I appreciate all that Lord Willoughby has done for me. Truly I do. Yet still…” She placed a hand on Galileo’s diary, which lay on the bed. “The more I learn from this, the more I can’t shake the feeling my father wanted something bigger for me. Something greater. Something…extraordinary.”

  “Your head is in the stars again, child,” Mrs. Altwood chided. “It is time to come back down to Earth. If your father was truly a man of science, he would have been practical. He would have wanted safety and security for you. This placement offers you that.”

  Carina looked at herself in the mirror again. Her hair was pulled back into a braided twist like Sarah’s had been a few years prior. The girls had managed to rebuild their friendship, at least enough that they were sad to part when Sarah was sent to work as a servant in the couple of years following their adventure in the woods. James, meanwhile, had been apprenticed out to a carpenter in the village, largely thanks to Carina’s efforts. She had noticed a sign announcing that the master carpenter was searching for an apprentice, and Carina had encouraged James to make his case to the keepers. That had been one year earlier. Carina and James had kept in touch in the beginning, but the master carpenter had moved to London and taken James with him. Since then, Carina had not heard from her friends—either of them.

  “Do you know anything more of where I am being sent?” Carina asked. “Anything at all?”

  “I’m afraid not,” Mrs. Altwood said. “Lady Devonshire of Hanover Hall requires a housemaid. Lord Willoughby has met Her Ladyship and seemed to think that the placement would be keenly suited to you. I believe I have read the name Devonshire before, in the society pages. She must be a woman of great stature. I am certain you will get on there.” She leaned forward, smiling warmly at Carina. “And you will make friends.”

  Carina frowned. “I am not so certain.” She hoisted the satchel with Galileo’s diary over her head and across her shoulder. “Something tells me an estate called Hanover Hall does not take kindly to servants with uncurbed tongues.”

  “I daresay not.” Mrs. Altwood nodded. “Yet I doubt that will deter you?”

  Carina smiled. “I daresay not.”

  She took the old woman’s hands.

  “Will you pass along any letters to me that arrive here?” Carina asked.

  “Of course,” Mrs. Altwood promised. “Have you had any word from Sarah or James?”

  “No,” Carina admitted. “I would have thought they would write. At least to me.”

  “Not many of the children write once they leave,” Mrs. Altwood said. “It’s the way things are. They move on.”

  “I will write to you,” Carina promised.

  “I would like that very much,” Mrs. Altwood replied.

  * * *

  The carriage rumbled along the bumpy road. Carina sat in the back, a worn travel bag resting in her lap and her satchel tucked safely at her side. The driver sent by Lady Devonshire’s estate had been surprised when he saw the girl had no more luggage than a carpetbag.

  “Are you not joining Hanover Hall’s employ indefinitely?” the driver had asked, raising an eyebrow.

  “I am,” Carina had replied simply. Then she had mumbled under her breath, “I suppose Lady Devonshire is not in the habit of hiring orphans.”

  Carina had watched the gray landscape tumble by for several hours. Barren moors dotted with sparse trees and rocks came and went. On the horizon, a collection of dark clouds indicated an approaching storm.

  “Driver, how long until we reach the hall?” Carina called up from the window.

  “Not long now, miss,” he replied. “We are almost there.”

  Carina looked out again at the bleak landscape. Perched on a solitary tree several yards away, a large crow cawed.

  That did not bode well.

  Finally, some overgrown landscaping and shrubs broke the empty road. The carriage turned a bend, and ahead loomed a stately stone manor.

  “Welcome to Hanover Hall,” the driver said.

  Carina leaned out the window and caught her breath. The estate was massive—far larger than any building she had seen in her life. It was three stories high, with tall windows that lined the outside marking each level. Towers resembling castle turrets anchored the building’s four corners. And a large circular fountain o
n the front grounds reflected the sinking sun.

  “It’s enormous,” Carina breathed. Then she panicked. “Am I to service the entire estate?”

  “Of course,” the driver replied lightly. Seeing the stricken look that crossed Carina’s face, he backtracked. “Only joking, miss. You will be one of many servants at Hanover.”

  Carina sighed and looked back at the hall. One of the corner towers had a window open at the very top. Something in the window glinted—a silver tube? Carina craned her neck to get a better look.

  “We’re here.” The driver pulled to an abrupt halt in front of the hall and hopped down. “If you’ll follow me, miss…”

  Carina trudged after the man to the looming wooden doors of the estate. He pounded the large knocker, and a middle-aged servant answered.

  “I’ve brought the new hire,” the driver announced. “Miss…”

  “Carina Smyth,” Carina said.

  “Yes, of course.” The servant looked dull and sullen. “Right this way.”

  Carina followed the woman inside and gave a last fleeting look out the doors before the driver shut them securely.

  “I am Mrs. Rossi,” the servant said.

  “Carina Smyth,” Carina said, introducing herself again brightly. “Pleased to meet you.”

  Mrs. Rossi seemed neither pleased nor concerned with further pleasantries. “Follow me,” she said, turning away.

  Carina raised an eyebrow. “A pleasure, I’m sure,” she mumbled.

  Mrs. Rossi immediately began a tour of the estate. Carina hurried to keep up while still balancing her bag and satchel as the woman bustled from room to room.

  “This is the sitting room.” Mrs. Rossi gestured to an elegant parlor with several ornate chairs. Each one was framed in wood with a symbol of the sun and moon carved at the top. “Lady Devonshire receives her guests in here. You will be responsible for morning tea and keeping the fires going. You are not to enter the room when Her Ladyship is there. Ever. Is that understood?”

  “Yes,” Carina said, a little bewildered. “May I ask why?”

  Mrs. Rossi stopped abruptly and looked Carina up and down, as if seeing her for the first time. She eyed Carina’s worn carpetbag and cloak.