Chasing Xaris Read Online Free Page A

“underwater archaeology is exploding, thanks to advanced mapping systems and underwater robotics. The sea’s been clutching a myriad of historical secrets over the centuries. Now it’s our turn to reclaim them.”              
    Poor Mr. Whit. He reminded me of a wistful Indiana Jones, an explorer who would rather be on an adventure than teaching in a classroom with motivational posters. He sort of looked the part, too. He was youngish, mid-thirties maybe? And he had the broad shoulders of someone who’d worked on dig sites.
    “Now, let’s continue our reports on shipwrecks. Winifred Rollins,” Mr. Whit announced.
    Winnie’s head snapped up from her note cards. “That’s me.”
    Mr. Whit’s lips twitched, suppressing a grin. “Yes, I know. Are you ready to present?”
    “Yes.” Winnie grabbed a folder and her note cards and hurried from her chair.
    Mr. Whit strode to the back of the room. “Whenever you’re ready , señorita ,” he said.
    Winnie pulled up her report on the front computer and dimmed the lights.
    “I’m going to talk about The Adelle —a shipwreck with a sad story.” Winnie’s voice was low and ominous. Her gaze narrowed on Jordan. “A tragedy riddled with villains.”
    Winnie pointed to the first slide of her report. It had a black-and-white picture of a young couple.
    “Baldric and Adelle Ingram were Philadelphia socialites living at the turn of the twentieth century,” she said. “The Ingram family had made its fortune through railroads and merchant shipping, and the couple was famous for throwing lavish parties that hosted the most renowned artists of their time.”
    Even though Winnie had added overly sinister music to her slideshow, the report itself interested me. Winnie explained that Baldric was a n obsessive husband who was majorly unstable. He would give Adelle diamond earrings but then beat her for not wearing them enough. Then, he’d make amends by giving her an even grander gift, like a vacation home in Atlantic City. He had even named one of his family’s steam ships after her.
    Adelle actually fell in love with the captain of that steamer, a man named Dominic Reynolds. Together, the lovers had set a plan in motion that would free Adelle from her husband. She had secretly joined Dominic on The Adelle ’s next voyage from Philadelphia to Havana, Cuba with a shipment of coal. But The Adelle had encountered a tropical storm off the Florida coast and sunk. A few survivors made it to shore—Adelle and Dominic weren’t among them.
    “And so the lovers met an early death in a watery grave,” Winnie said. She closed her eyes and bowed her head.
    Jordan’s hand shot up in the air. “What happened to the jerk husband?” he asked.
    Winnie’s eyes popped open. “I’m not finished yet. I was taking a moment of silence.”
    “I sort of thought that was your ending.”
    “You sort of thought wrong.”
    “Jordan, let Winifred finish her report,” Mr. Whit said from behind me. “Winifred, please continue.”
    “Thank you, Mr. Whitaker. Interruptions can be so distracting.”
    Winnie cleared her throat and finished the story. According to Winnie, Baldric had been beside himself with grief over Adelle’s death. When his family built another steamer, Baldric had named it My Adelle . He spent much of his life on that ship, surviving a few storms of his own.
    As an old man, Baldric had confessed his ill treatment of Adelle to her sister. He admitted that every time he had voyaged on My Adelle , he’d hoped to meet his death at sea like his wife had met hers.
    “He thought that if he died like Adelle, they would be eternally united,” Winnie said. “But Baldric died in his bed. His last words were of his late wife—and the lost ship that became her coffin.” Winnie bowed her head for several seconds, then looked up with a grim smile. “The end.”
    Jordan sat up straight in his chair and clapped. Loudly.
    Winnie ignored him as the rest of us clapped