Steamboats and Ghost Crabs: Key to History

By Denise DeVries

- Nine-year-old Olivia Brown doesn't mind spending the summer at Aunt Lila's rural home, but she's tired of her brother Aiden's complaints. Shortly after their arrival at the old house on the Rappahannock River, Aunt Lila gives Olivia a key that will lead her and the Florida cousins to adventure, all without leaving Hull Crossing, Virginia and the nearby Northern Neck.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Denise DeVries
• Release date: May 17, 2021
• ISBN: 9798201013165

Denise DeVries

Denise DeVries is a translator and blogger who lives with her husband, artist Alvaro Ibañez in Virginia, where they are developing a retreat center for the arts. Both of her fictional series, "Hull Crossing Chronicles" and "Key to History" are inspired by the history and rural setting of Virginia's Northern Neck.

Book preview

Steamboats and Ghost Crabs

The Key to History

Acknowledgements:

Thanks to my family and my writer friends in Tempe Arizona and Chesapeake Bay Writers for all the encouragement and support.

To my husband, Alvaro Ibañez, thank you for providing the art in the keyhole, and to our daughter, Delia Ibañez, for designing the covers for the series.

Author’s note:

The Key to History is a companion series to Hull Crossing Chronicles and is intended for people of all ages who dream of visiting the past.

For more information about the research behind the books or to share your own stories, see www.denisedevriesauthor.wordpress.com.

Hull Crossing is a fictional place in a real county, and the people who live there also come from my imagination. I have researched the history of the locations near our home in the Northern Neck, and created fictional characters and situations in those settings.

Chapter One: The Big Shed

My first mistake was closing the shed door. When I turned the key in the lock, the ground seemed to shake a little, the door swung open, and I stumbled through the entrance, slamming the door behind me. I should have known better. Only a sliver of light showed on the floor. I’ll never find the bikes this way, I thought. I felt for the door handle and opened it again. The outside light seemed different somehow, but I paid no attention and turned to look inside. Aunt Lila’s shed was actually more like a barn or a long garage. There were rakes and bushel baskets to the left of the entrance, and a long bench on the right held some tools and jars. A big metal thing blocked the way to the back. It looked an old-fashioned plow, but it was shiny and new. I didn’t remember seeing it here yesterday when Dad was putting the wood away.

I needed a flashlight. As I turned to go back outside, I noticed how new the door looked. Then I stepped into the yard.

Now I saw why the light was different. The trees were shorter and the overgrown holly at the corner of the building had disappeared. The cars that had been in the driveway just minutes ago were gone, and even the house had changed. Where was the back porch? Why was the roof bright red? The house looked completely different. I looked down at the skeleton key in my hand. Before I had put it in the lock, it was tarnished with age. Now it was shiny, and the purple ribbon that held it looked bright and new.

I sat down hard, right where I was. I had gone back in time. I guess closing the door was my second mistake. The first was using Aunt Lila’s key.

Just a day ago, we were driving from our home in Arlington to Hull Crossing. My brother and I weren’t looking forward to spending the summer in an old farmhouse with no internet and spotty phone service, but our parents seemed happy. Of course, they would only be with us for the first week, helping Aunt Lila with some renovations.

Everyone should have an Aunt Lila, my dad said.

Whose aunt is she? I asked.

Actually, I think she’s my mother’s cousin. He leaned into the back seat and rummaged in the cooler on the floor between me and Aiden. A big old farm near the river is the best place for a summer vacation.

Aiden looked up from his game for a moment. Yeah, I know, boredom’s good for us. There should be plenty of that, unless she has a magic wardrobe.

Dad looked at Mom, who was driving. Maybe she does. He switched to Spanish, thinking we wouldn’t understand. Les contamos? I knew that much. He was asking, Should we tell them?

Mom shook her head and said, There could be all kinds of adventures waiting in an old house like that.

Why haven’t we visited her before? I asked.

Dad said, We told you, she’s been living in Europe. Her renters moved out, so now she’s back. He handed us each a juice pouch and asked Mom, Emilia, do you want water or iced tea?

Water please, Mom said. Oh, David, do you think Aunt Lila still has a couple of bikes in the shed?

He turned back around and re-buckled his seatbelt. If not, I know where we can get some.

I put down my book just as the treehouse in the story began to spin. I closed my eyes.

Mom asked, Olivia, are you getting carsick?

You know you shouldn’t read in the car, Aiden said, making a face at me. And you’re going to run out of books.

I leaned my head back and looked straight ahead. I’m ok. How old is Aunt Lila?

Dad said, I think she’s in her 70s, but the house is more than a century old. You’ll learn a lot about history there.

Are there any battlefields? Aiden asked.

No. Not all history is about wars.

Oh, great, we’ll be sure to visit the plow and tractor museum while we’re there.

Mom and Dad both sighed and looked at each other. Dad said, Aiden, you’ve told us how you feel about this trip, but you’re just going to have to make the best of it.

Aiden had been complaining about leaving his friends and civilization ever since our parents told us we’d be spending the summer in Hull Crossing. I didn’t care one way or another. As long as I had something to read, I’d be fine.

Aiden said, I still don’t understand why we have to stay here after you go back.

Mom sighed, but Dad was the one who answered. We’ve talked about this. Your mom, your grandparents and I all have to work. We’re not going to shuttle you from one day camp to another all summer. Vacations are supposed to be restful.

I don’t see why Nelly couldn’t keep taking care of us after she got married, I said. Our nanny had been with us since I was a baby, and I had been the flower girl at her wedding.

We’re too old for a nanny anyway, Aiden said. We would have been fine staying at home alone.

Dad said, That’s not open for discussion.

Mom added, It was kind of Aunt Lila to invite you, and I know you’ll have a wonderful time. I just hope she won’t be sorry she invited all four of you.

Aiden and Olivia will enjoy being with their cousins, and Aunt Lila always enjoyed having a lot of kids around, Dad said. They’ll be like the grandchildren she never had. It was his turn in the driver’s seat now.

Was she ever married? I asked.

Mom said, She was too busy traveling and having adventures. She has a lot of stories to tell.

I had probably seen pictures of Aunt Lila, but I didn’t remember. As we continued driving south, I tried to imagine what she would be like. Did you say she’s an artist?

Mom answered, Yes, she sold some paintings while she was in Europe.

Dad said, She told me she’s planning to convert the shed into a workshop so she can start doing 3-dimensional art.

Aiden perked up. On the computer?

Dad laughed. No, I mean that instead of doing flat art like paintings, she’s going to work with sculpture and other forms.

Like mobiles? I remembered the big one hanging from the ceiling of the art museum in Washington DC.

Possibly. I’m not sure exactly what she has in mind.

Mom said, David, why don’t you stop for a minute after Dunnsville so Olivia can take my place up here.

Aiden glared at me. Sure, let Princess Pukey sit in the front.

Consider the alternative, Dad said.

Aiden pretended to gag, and I had to look away.

Dad said, Don’t worry Olivia, it gets better as you get older. And if not, you can be the driver.

Mom sighed. I hope you two can get along until your cousins Virginia and Jacob arrive from Florida.

Maybe Virginia is too old to play with me now that she’s twelve. And I won’t be ten for another six months. I felt tears coming to my eyes and looked out the window so Aiden wouldn’t notice.

I wouldn’t worry about that, Dad said. When I used to spend summers in Hull Crossing, kids of all ages played together.

We turned onto a two-lane road and I switched places with Mom, who kissed me on the top of the head as we passed each other. Ok, Aiden, Mom said as she slid in next to my brother, it’s quality time for us. That meant he had to put down his game.

As Dad started driving again, we passed a little church, some woods, and a farm. Wow, that corn is tall for this time of year, he said. He glanced over at me. We used to play hide and seek in the cornfield, but I don’t recommend it. There are lots of insects in there.

My mom said, I bought bug spray, but I don’t know if it works against everything.

What kind of bugs are there? Aiden asked.

My parents both spoke at the same time. Chiggers, ticks, mosquitos, flies...

Mom added, And we’ll have to point out the poison ivy so you’ll recognize it.

If this place is so dangerous, maybe we’d be better off back in Arlington, Aiden said.

Nice try, Dad laughed. Listen, why don’t you try counting graveyards to keep your mind off bugs?

Aiden leaned forward as far as he could, his voice blaring into my ear. Wow! Maybe we’ll find some haunted buildings! Maybe Aunt Lila has a few ghosts of her own.

Mom said, I’m glad you’ve finally found something to look forward to. Now sit back, in case your dad has to brake suddenly. Sometimes deer run out into the road, even in broad daylight.

It seemed to take forever to get to Hull Crossing, which was only about three blocks long and looked like something out of a movie. The brick sidewalks were lined with streetlights holding banners and hanging plants.

Dad groaned, Oh no, they’ve gone and turned it into another of those charming little towns with fancy streetlights.

I know, so awful, Mom said. They should have left up the ugly electric wires and shabby old storefronts.

I hope you’re not making fun of me, Dad grinned. I was sort of hoping nothing had changed. He pointed to a big white building with a tower on one side. Look, the old Sears house is a coffee shop, and they even have a Little Free Library.

Who was Sears? I asked.

Actually, it was a store. I guess most of them closed when you were little. Back in the early 1900s, people could order entire houses from the Sears catalogue. They came in pieces like modular homes do now, and they would have them assembled on their land. He turned onto another two-lane road.

Haven’t we been heading back toward the river? Aiden asked. Isn’t there a shorter way?

Mom answered, There’s a big swamp between here and Tappahannock, so we have to go around it, unless we travel by boat.

It’s called Dragon Run swamp, Dad added.

Wow! Are there dragons running around there? I asked.

Dragons don’t exist, Aiden said. Even though I couldn’t see him, I could practically hear him rolling his eyes.

Unfortunately, no dragons have been spotted, but there are egrets, ospreys and herons, Mom said.

It would be nice if they had a ferry along the river, Dad said. There’s one over on the Northern Neck. Remind us to take you while we’re over there.

Why is it called Neck? I asked.

Aiden added, And why do they call it Northern, when we’ve gone so far south from Arlington?

The Northern Neck is one of three peninsulas on this side of the Chesapeake Bay, and the other two are further south. I think they’re called ‘neck’ because of the water, but I’ve never really been sure. We’re in the Middle Peninsula.

I don’t think Olivia knows what a peninsula is, Aiden said.

Yes I do, it’s land surrounded by water on three sides. You probably didn’t know.

Don’t start, please, Mom said, sounding tired.

I haven’t heard anyone counting graveyards yet, Dad added.

By the time we reached Aunt Lila’s house, we had seen at least five graveyards, and only two of them were at churches. I can’t believe people were buried in their yards! Aiden said. That’s disgusting. And then he said, But cool though.

He’s so weird, I whispered to myself.

~~~

Now, sitting on the ground in front of the shed, I realized that thinking about yesterday wouldn’t help my situation today. I held the key up to the sun and looked at it, trying to remember how this kind of magic worked in books. Maybe if I use the key again, it will take me back, I thought. But then I don’t know if I’ll be able to come here again. Should I risk looking around or try to get back?"

Finally, I decided to take a quick walk around the outside of the shed. I took another look at the house. When I opened the shed, it was right after breakfast, a little after eight. I always woke up at seven, even on vacation. If time worked the same way, whoever was inside would probably be up. There was a big garden and a pump where the back porch would be. I went around to the back of the shed and looked toward the woods. They seemed the same, as far as I could tell.

Now what? I thought. Are my parents looking for me? I went back to the open shed door, closed it from the outside and put the key in the lock, holding my breath as I turned it. Nothing happened. I looked behind me and everything was the same. I took a deep breath and opened the door. The plow was still there.

This time, I went in, put the key in the inside lock, and closed the door. Not wanting to stay in the dark for too long, I turned the key quickly. There