The Mermaid

“I’m sure she’s the most beautiful creature in all the world.” Caroline sighed.

Levi noticed a little spasm on Charity’s face. Caroline’s worship of Amelia had been hard on Charity. The girl was headstrong to begin with, and since Amelia’s arrival, no one was as interesting, wonderful, or worthy of attention as the mermaid.

“I’m not beautiful,” Amelia said.

Levi looked up at her, ready to contradict her, to declare just how lovely she was, but she wasn’t talking to him. She was talking to Caroline.

The little girl released his hand and went to Amelia. “You’re not?”

Amelia shook her head. “I don’t resemble the pictures. Mr. Lyman told you that. When I am in the water, I’m not half human, half fish. It’s a mistake to think that I am.”

“What are you?” Caroline asked, her eyes wide.

“A creature of the sea,” Amelia said. “Don’t be afraid of me, for though I may look very different, I am still the Amelia you know.”

Caroline glanced back at Levi. “Is she scary?”

“A little,” Levi admitted. “She has quite long claws. And sharp teeth.”

Caroline gazed up at Amelia’s somber face. “Is this true?”

Amelia nodded.

Caroline squared her shoulders and lifted her chin. “I can be brave. I’ll know it’s still you because you told me so. You’re still Amelia inside.”

Amelia held out her hand to the small girl. “Come and see me, then.”

Charity watched all of this with the expression of slight bemusement that she always had around Amelia. Levi was worried what Charity would think when she saw Amelia change. Barnum’s wife had been holding on hard to the idea that Amelia was nothing but a humbug. Levi had never seen a person so insistent that something real was actually a trick.

When they reached the sixth saloon, Caroline was inclined to ooh and ahh over the various pieces of the exhibit. She wanted to read all about how Dr. Griffin had met the mermaid in the waters of Fiji.

“You know all this is not true, don’t you, Caroline?” Amelia said.

The little girl ignored her, peering into the glass case at the sketch of Amelia in the diary.

“Is this what you look like?” she asked. Her eyes were rounder than Levi had ever seen them.

“Yes,” Amelia said. “Mr. Lyman did a very good job.”

“You are scary,” Caroline said. “But now I know what to expect, and so I won’t be afraid.”

They wound through the maze of the exhibit until they reached the tank. The guards were not present yet, nor were any of the museum attendants or other performers. It was still quite early. No one moved in the museum except the four of them.

Amelia went to the back of the tank where the ladder leaned against the glass. Because there was no way to block her naked body from view, it had been agreed that Amelia would enter the empty saloon in the morning and be in the water when the first visitors arrived.

At the time of her first break, the saloon would be cleared and then Amelia would climb out of the tank, change into her clothes, and rest behind a curtained area that Barnum had established a few feet behind the tank. Levi had put in a comfortable chaise and a tray with bread and cheese and cold meat for her to eat.

Amelia climbed out of her dress, which was much more complicated than it had been onstage. Then she always dressed simply, but now she had to struggle out of several layers of undergarments as well as her gown.

Charity gasped when she realized what Amelia was doing. “Turn around, Levi Lyman. And Caroline, you too.”

Levi obligingly spun on his heel and the little girl copied him. He heard the quick ringing of Charity’s heels as she went to Amelia and the rustling and murmuring as she helped Amelia out of her clothing.

He remembered Amelia on the beach under the moonlight, her skin glowing like a pearl. He remembered, too, her shining silver tail silhouetted against the horizon. Yes, he thought she was beautiful in all her forms and all her ways, but she would never believe him if he told her so.

Charity’s steps approached them again, and the ladder squeaked as Amelia climbed it. Levi peeked over his shoulder and saw her at the top—her black hair flowing over the small pink buds of her breasts and down to her delicate waist. Then she dove into the water.

At the splash Caroline turned around and ran toward the tank. She ducked underneath the rope meant to keep guests out (better tell Barnum that other children might do that, Levi thought) and squashed her face against the glass.

Amelia floated there, her tail curled just under and back, her hair swirling all about her head. She watched them with her grave eyes, but Levi noticed that she wasn’t really looking at Caroline or himself. She was watching Charity.

Charity stood frozen, both her hands clasped over her mouth. Silent tears poured from her eyes, dripping on her fingers and over them to the floor.

“Charity,” Levi said, touching her arm.

She dropped her hands and spoke, but she could not tear her eyes away from Amelia.

“It’s true,” she said. “It’s true. It’s not a trick at all. She really is a mermaid. It’s true. It’s true.”

“Of course it’s true, Mama,” Caroline said, waving at Amelia inside the tank. Amelia waved back, and Caroline gave an excited little gasp at the sight of Amelia’s claws. “She told you it was, and Amelia doesn’t lie.”

“But your father does,” Charity said, so low that Levi almost wasn’t certain he’d heard her say it. “He lies like he breathes, so how could I possibly believe in a mermaid?”

Levi wanted to say, But I told you it was true, and then he realized it didn’t matter. Charity had been raised to believe that her husband was the arbiter of all things, and it had been a bitter draught for her to discover that this authority was full of humbugs. Still, she wanted to believe him, to do what she thought was right, and that wanting always bumped up against who Barnum really was.

It couldn’t have mattered to Charity if Levi had told her that Amelia truly was a mermaid, because Barnum had said it was true and therefore it must be false.

Now she was faced with the truth—that mermaids were real and one had been sitting in her parlor drinking her tea for several weeks. Levi felt sorrier for Charity than he ever had, and he felt sorry for her most of the time.

Caroline giggled, and Levi saw that Amelia was swimming in circles so that her face passed closely where Caroline’s pressed against the glass. Amelia turned upside down and flapped her tail against the surface of the water, and Caroline clapped her hands in delight.

Levi had never seen Amelia having fun in the water like this. In fact, he wasn’t certain that he’d ever seen her so light and loose and easy as she was now, on land or otherwise.

Barnum strode into the hallway. “That’s enough of that, now. We can’t have Lady Amelia tiring herself out before she sees the public.”

“But, Papa,” Caroline said. “This is the first time I’ve ever seen a mermaid.”

“It won’t be the last,” Barnum said. “She’s under contract.”

As soon as he arrived, Amelia’s head broke the surface of the water. She stared at him with the bland look she seemed to reserve expressly for Barnum—a neutrality that concealed her dislike. Any joy she had felt was wiped clean by Barnum’s presence.

“What’s the matter with you?” he asked Charity brusquely. Then, without waiting for an answer, he said to Levi, “Take them back to the apartment, will you? I’d like to have a word with Mrs. Douglas.”