It was still well before dawn when Evan rolled out from under the covers, stood up, stretched and then padded over to the window. He peered through the leaded glass panes towards the smithy across the street as he ran his fingers through his auburn hair. It was still too dark to see much of anything – not that he expected to, but it never hurt to check. He still had no idea who the woman was he had seen in the courtyard the night before. There had been footprints in the dirt around the stable and near the well for several weeks now. Evan had just attributed them to children playing around the abandoned business, but perhaps he was wrong. Was the obviously pregnant woman he had seen living there – with children? It was difficult for him to fathom such an idea, but stranger things had happened.
As he turned back to the bed and began to strip the linens from it he made a mental note to tell Elizabeth about their apparently uninvited guest - or guests as the case may be. He froze for a second as he remembered that concerns about the smithy might no longer be any of Elizabeth's business. If everything had gone according to plan, the still, as yet, unseen Will Turner might now be in charge of affairs such as this. Technically speaking, the smithy did belong to him. Elizabeth's father had bought out the former owner as a wedding gift to the young couple. From what Evan knew of Will, it hadn't surprised him to learn that Will had intended to support his wife by himself, but he had never been given that chance. He wasn't even sure if Will even knew the smithy had ever belonged to him – much less the trouble his wife had gone through to ensure that the property, once again, did. It was common knowledge that all goods, properties and possessions that had been due Elizabeth as her inheritance, and the lone property deeded to Will had been forfeited to the East India Trading Company after they were charged with piracy. Granted, much of that had been resolved, but how could Will possibly know of it?
Evan tugged the last sheet off the bed and smirked at the thought of Mercedes half-hearted complaints about having extra laundry to do and her demand that he take care of the additional work load himself – if she only knew what she was in for when she too, returned to the Turner household today. While it was entirely possible that Evan's work load would decrease with another able bodied male now living there, Mercedes would surely act as if an entire troupe of gypsies had moved in and demanded that she wait on them hand and foot. Evan had long since decided that her lackluster grousing was nothing more than a bad, albeit it somewhat odd, habit. If the truth be told, she was quite efficient at what she did- just as long as someone could keep her focused. Saying that she was easily distracted was a bit of an understatement. As much as he hated to admit it, it was part of her charm.
Evan has spent the past two nights in the master bedroom in the house formerly owned by Mr. Brown, the blacksmith who had, along with his wife, raised Will Turner from the time he arrived in Port Royal, as the presumably orphaned, sole survivor of a pirate attack until he reached his majority. Under normal circumstances no one lived in the house, but since Evan had nowhere else to go he had taken advantage of the fact that it was available. He was sure Elizabeth wouldn't mind. Besides, the house was always maintained in a state of readiness (it was indeed, one of Evan's – and Mercedes' responsibilities) to accommodate some of Elizabeth's less savory visitors. It would never do for a well respected lady of society to host known pirates in her own home – no matter that the lady in question was, in fact, the Pirate King.
Wednesday had been spent alternately reading books borrowed from Elizabeth's expansive library and wandering about Port Royal hoping to pick up on any gossip about a ghostly ship that had suddenly appeared in the area, and quite possibly vanished again under equally mysterious circumstances - but to no avail. Neither did he pick up on any tales of Mrs. Turner appearing in the company of an unidentified man. As curious as the townsfolk tended to be surely someone would have said something had they seen her with Will. Perhaps that meant that the Turner family had not even left the house yesterday, but how had she gotten Will there with no one noticing? Evan felt a sudden surge of uncertainty as he considered the possibility that things had not gone as planned. Elizabeth certainly had held up her end of the bargain and had never once wavered in her belief that Will would return as planned – but what if something had gone wrong? What if they had been wrong about the curse's ability to be broken? What would happen now? Elizabeth had once confided in Evan that neither she, nor Will was sure what would happen at the end of the ten years. All that either Turner knew was that they had to maintain their faith in each other, their love, and the ability to survive the separation. Evan shuddered at the thought and quickly decided that his only options were to stay here and worry about it or return home and hope for the best. Obviously, avoiding the situation wasn't going to solve anything, so his choice was clear.
Evan folded up the used linens into a neat bundle, gathered up his few belongings and headed back to the house on Carmen Street. Visions of one of Mrs. Lansford's breakfasts made his mouth to begin to water and put a new sense of urgency in his step. Knowing her attention to detail and her work ethic, he was sure she was already at work, inventorying the pantry, cooking, baking and most importantly, keeping Mercedes busy in the hours before her regular duties started. Mary Lansford had to be one of the most industrious women he had ever known. He couldn't imagine her even stopping to think twice about any extra work another person in the household might cause. If something needed to be done, she just did it. Mercedes could do worse than to follow her example.
Evan was half-way home before it occurred to him that he should have checked around the smithy. He couldn't imagine why someone might be living in there, but surely Mrs. Turner would want to know. Considering what else might be on her mind today maybe it would be best if he came back later and check things out. There was no sense in worrying her over nothing. It wasn't as if there was anything she could do about it now. Besides, if there really was a family living there it wasn't like Elizabeth to kick them out. She was simply one of the most compassionate people he had ever known. Hadn't she given both him and Mercedes a home when they had nowhere else to go?
In no time, Evan was at the garden gate entrance to the Turner property. He could already smell the smoke from the kitchen fireplace and oven. It wasn't Mrs. Lansford's normal day to do any baking, but since she had been given an unscheduled day off he assumed she was just trying to catch up with her normal routine. Evan glanced up at the upstairs windows before opening the gate. The draperies were all still tightly closed, but considering the early hour that was no surprise. His managed to hold his anxiety in check as he again wondered if Will Turner had returned home – to stay.
"Good morning, Brigand," Evan greeted the enormous black dog blocking the path as he reached down to scratch him behind the ears.
Brigand merely thumped his tail on the flag stones a few times in reply and continued to gnaw on what appeared to be a ham bone. Evan stepped over the dog and continued on his way to the outdoor kitchen all the while wondering where the dog could have possibly gotten such a large bone. Everyone in the Turner household knew not to put anything even remotely edible where the dog could get to it. When it came to food, Brigand had no self-control. The other thing Brigand didn't have was a mean bone in his body. The dog was in all actuality about as docile as they come. However, his sheer size combined with a well timed growl or bark kept all but the most serious intruders at bay. Fortunately, they had never had any serious intruders to press the issue. The dog's presence pretty much made the Turner house completely pirate proof. Unless you counted the occasional appearance by Captain Sparrow and all he ever did was growl right back at the dog.
"Good morning, Mrs. Lansford, Mercedes," Evan said cheerfully as he stepped into the kitchen and dropped his bundle of laundry just inside the door. "Did you notice the dog has what looks like a leftover ham?"
"And a good morning to you too, Evan!" Mrs. Lansford responded as she looked up from the mass of dough she was kneading. "I believe you're right about the ham, there is one missing. I would be surprised if Will didn't know something about it," she said as she pushed a strand of hair out of her face with her elbow leaving a white streak of flour across her forehead. "I don't think there is any mischief that boy and the dog haven't gotten in to, but no matter, it's market day – it can be replaced."
Evan turned to Mercedes who was studiously ignoring him as she chopped vegetables and dropped them in a pot. "And how might you be today, señorita?"
Mercedes sighed heavily as she picked up another carrot to slice. "How do you think I am? I'm never up this early and even if I did have an extra day off that just means there's more work for me to do today." Her eyes drifted towards the bundle of linens lying by the door. "And now there's more laundry to do."
"Well aren't you just a sparkling ray of sunshine today?" Evan commented as he stole an as yet unsliced carrot and began munching on it. Mercedes retaliated by slapping his hand with the flat of her knife. Mrs. Lansford arched an eyebrow in Mercedes' direction. The girl dropped her gaze and went back to her assigned task.
"We all have extra tasks today," Evan added as he grinned at the dark-haired girl while quickly snatching his hand back out of harm's way. "Even William, I mean Will…..no, William has double lessons today. We'll all pitch in and help just like we always to. It's not that bad."
"Leave the girl be, Evan. She's just upset because I mentioned I might have to do the marketing today instead of her. I have a few special things I want to get and it's just something I would rather do myself this time. Mercedes, Evan is right, we'll all help and maybe you will be able to come with me, although why you enjoy going to the market I will never understand –it always was my least favorite chore." Mrs. Lansford plopped the now well kneaded dough onto a board to begin shaping it into a loaf.
"She only likes to go because she likes all the attention from the boys," Evan teased.
"I do NOT!" Mercedes snapped –stabbing the knife upright in cutting board as she finished up the last of the carrots. Evan started at the anger in her voice.
"That's enough you two!" As ever, Mrs. Lansford was the voice of reason in the household, for everyone else seemed to have a temper to rival that of Mrs. Turner. "Mercedes, take Evan's laundry and go get started. It's not going to wash itself. And while you're at it, you might want to start heating the water for the tub. I would hazard a guess that Mrs. Turner might be wanting a bath today. You know how she is about personal hygiene and all that." She flipped a clean towel over the newly molded loaf and started on another.
"I'm helping you. Can't he do it?"
"I need to talk to him - alone - before Will wakes up."
Mercedes gracefully stood up from the table, walked around it and retrieved the bundle Evan had dropped by the door without once taking her eyes off of him. Her nearly black eyes flashed with such annoyance that anyone could tell she was only begrudgingly doing what had been asked of her. As she crossed the room again to head towards the wash house and bath house she stopped and turned back to the pair remaining in the kitchen. "William, before William wakes up. Am I the only one who's noticed that's what she calls him now?" she asked gesturing towards the house with her head. With that, she turned and headed out the door.
Mrs. Lansford watched Evan as he crossed the room also to watch Mercedes' retreat. She knew what he was doing – everyone in the household knew how Evan truly felt about the girl – everyone except Mercedes. She was too busy trying to make him pay attention to her that she hadn't noticed that he was.
"You're right, you know."
"Pardon?" Evan asked somewhat confused.
"She does like to go to the market for the attention. She thinks if the other boys pay attention to her then perhaps that will inspire you to do the same. She's trying to make you jealous, Mr. Ross." Mrs. Lansford sprinkled more flour on the current lump of bread dough she was torturing.
Evan snorted with laughter. "She doesn't want to have anything to do with me."
Mrs. Lansford closed her eyes and shook her head in disbelief. "I surrender; you two will have to work it out on your own. But that's not what I wanted to talk to you about."
"No?"
Mrs. Lansford took a deep breath and looked towards the main house. "He's back isn't he?"
"Who?"
"Will."
"He never left, I'm sure he's upstairs asleep even as we speak." Evan said as his eyes narrowed in a desperate attempt to cover his panic with a look of confusion.
"Don't play games with me, boy. I've been around long enough that I've learned to notice things and then keep them to myself when need be too."
"I still don't understand what you're asking."
"Will Turner, Mr. Turner, Captain Turner, Will the elder, Elizabeth's husband, Will's father, whatever you want to call him. He's back now, isn't he?" She punched the dough hard. "And quit pretending you don't know who I'm talking about."
Evan watched the older woman for a few minutes before he answered her.
"Did you know him?" Evan asked as he took the seat recently vacated by Mercedes.
"You didn't answer my question." More flour, another punch.
"You didn't answer mine."
Mrs. Lansford looked up, but not at Evan, and smiled.
"Yes, I remember when he came here. He was such a scrawny boy, but that was to be expected after all he'd been through. He was always so polite and such hard worker, but he had the saddest eyes I've ever known. After Mrs. Brown died I kept an extra eye on him what with him already being an orphan and Mr. Brown taking to the bottle."
"I didn't know. I've never met him myself. I've seen him though – from a distance."
"Evan Ross, in case you haven't noticed I'm a bit advanced in my years. My children and many of my grandchildren are grown and gone. My husband and I live comfortably. You don't think I took this job because I needed it did you? When I heard she was back I made it my mission to get hired on here."
"She?"
Mrs. Lansford began shaping her second loaf of bread.
"Mrs. Turner." The cook shot Evan a look warning that clearly warned him that she was not going to play his game. "I knew the second I saw her boy whose son he was. He looks just like his father. It was such a relief to see them – alive. I always wanted to believe that they had survived their ordeal and managed to marry each other. I do believe he has been in love with her since the first moment he lay eyes on her." Mrs. Lansford moved the second loaf to the side to let it rise and wiped her hands on her apron. "Now I think you owe me an answer?"
"Yes and yes, or at least, I think so. He's supposed to be back. I don't know how much I can tell you about where he's been, just that he was supposed to be back Tuesday evening, but I don't know if it worked or not." Evan toyed nervously with the knife Mercedes had embedded in the cutting board.
"Watch what you say if there be something I don't need to be knowing."
Evan rested his chin on his hand and continued. "I've been with her since the day he left. His coming home has been her main focus for ten years now – other than William, of course. I don't know what she'll do if he can't stay."
"So what they say is true, eh?" Mrs. Lansford swept the leftover flour from her workspace and got her own cutting board.
"It depends on what you're heard them say I suppose." Evan rolled his head to rest his cheek in his hand instead so he could see the family's cook and her reactions.
"The ten years part. If you think he's back, then obviously he's not dead, now is he?" She walked over to the pantry and gathered up several crocks filled with dried fruit to take back to where she was working. "Does he know about the boy?"
"Yes, but he seldom had a chance to see him. I don't think William even remembers ever having seen him."
"Then all we can do is wait – and pray. We should have our answer soon enough. Now why don't you go help out your young lady and I continue with what I have to do."
"Yes, ma'am," he said as he stood up and headed towards the rear door. He stopped just shy of the threshold and turned back to the cook. "If he's not back, I'll be glad of someone else who knows what's wrong. It's been a hard secret to keep for this long."
"You're a fine young man, Evan Ross. Now go let that girl see it."
Evan smiled shyly as he left – thinking to himself what a relief it was to share at least a small part of the burden. He wondered what Mrs. Lansford would think if she knew all the secrets he had been charged with. Some of them were bound to come out – at least to the family's small staff, but it wasn't his place to tell them. If what Elizabeth had told him was correct, then all that needed to be done was for her to be waiting for Will at the designated spot and everything would be taken care of. She had been so confident about that for all these years.
The only issues remaining were a plausible explanation for where Will had been and the rather unusual fact that his heart was safely locked in a chest upstairs. The where he had been part would be easy. Sailors tended to be gone for long periods of time at a stretch and it wasn't as if anybody could just look at Will and see that his heart was missing. No matter what happened next, Evan was determined to stick it out with the Turner family. Sadly, they were the only family he had or had ever really known. He knew Mercedes was in pretty much the same situation, but would she be willing to face whatever came next with equal determination?
The door to the wash house was standing open, as expected for the tiny room could be unbearable with the fires burning. What was not expected was that the room was devoid of life. Mercedes was not there. She obviously had been there – the fires were lit, the giant wash pot filled with laundry and water, even the extra vat used to heat bath water was filled and slowly warming, but where could she be? Evan turned around and scanned the large open area behind the main house. They all referred to it as the lawn, but truthfully it was more than that. The Turner household was more of a compound than just a home. If they had wanted they could have functioned quite well without ever having to leave. The downside was that Mercedes could be anywhere.
Evan looked around for a few minutes before deciding to go back to the kitchen. Perhaps they had just missed each other while he was searching for her? Evan stuck his head through the doorway of the kitchen and looked around. Mrs. Lansford was still there – hard at work as always. This time putting an assortment of dried fruits she had just finished chopping into some bowl of liquid. Evan couldn't tell what it was, but it distinctly smelled of rum.
"Did she run you off?"
Evan jumped back. He hadn't realized that she had heard him come in. He made a mental note to himself to be far more cautious around her. Considering what she had revealed earlier, she was much more observant than anyone gave her credit for.
"She wasn't there. I thought she might have come back here"
"Did she do like I asked?"
"Yes, she has the laundry started and bath water heating already."
"Then maybe she though better of complaining about how much work she had and decided to face it head on. It's not going to go away."
"I guess that's possible," Evan replied sounding vaguely unsure of himself. Some detail was gnawing at the back of his brain, but he just couldn't quite remember what it was.
Mrs. Lansford glanced out the window for a moment. "It's getting close to time for everybody to start waking up. Maybe she's taking the wash pitchers upstairs."
"I guess that would make sense." Evan stepped over to the table to examine the contents of the bowl – it was rum covering the fruit. Whatever Mrs. Lansford was making she was certainly going to quite a bit of trouble.
"Oh, dear."
"Did you forget to add something?" Evan asked, his knowledge of cooking was seriously lacking – his knowledge of baking was worse. Only Elizabeth was less adept in the kitchen than he was.
"Oh no, this can't be good," Mrs. Lansford said to herself as she quickly wiped off her hands and headed towards the house.
The reason for Mrs. Lansford's concern with where Mercedes was and what she was doing entered Evan's mind simultaneously with the blood curdling scream that filled his ears. He moved as quickly as he could to get around the cook and into the house, but as with any situation when time was of the essence everything seemed to be moving in slow motion.
Will was lying on his left side facing the bedroom door with his arms wrapped tightly around his wife. Elizabeth was lying facing him with both of her hands pulled up resting against his chest. They were both hard fast asleep – or at least they were until the screaming started.
Will sat bolt upright in the bed, pulling Elizabeth closer to him with one arm while reaching for a sword that was not there with the other. Elizabeth lay perfectly still, but he could tell that she was awake. He did not recognize the olive skinned young girl standing in the doorway now chanting in a language he did not understand, crossing herself, while standing amidst pottery shards and a rapidly expanding puddle of water. Some vague memory of something William had mentioned only the day before tickled the edge of his awareness. She lives here. William said that. What is her name?
The sound of footsteps charging up the stairs distracted Will from his question. An auburn haired young man of slightly below average height appeared in the doorway next. From the sound of it, there was still at least one more person coming. This was not how Will had anticipated being awakened in his own home. He suddenly became aware of Elizabeth starting to tremble.
"I beg your pardon, sir. She didn't know. One of us will clean up the mess…..later," Evan squeaked out as his took Mercedes by the hand and led the still stunned girl out of the room. This was not exactly how he had imagined his introduction to the Captain would go, but there was no undoing it now. Why didn't I remember this and tell Mercedes to wait?
Evan smiled apologetically at Will as he quietly closed the bedroom door. Will had yet to say a word – his attention was torn between what was wrong with Elizabeth and the strangers who had come uninvited into their bedroom – for the second time since he'd come home.
"Elizabeth? Are you all right?" he asked quietly as he gently stoked her hair.
Elizabeth tilted her tear streaked face up towards her husband – and began to giggle uncontrollably. She couldn't stop. The harder she laughed the more tears that streamed from her eyes.
Will narrowed his eyes at his wife and chewed his lower lip in an effort to control his own sudden urge to laugh too. "What were you thinking? Why didn't you lock the door?"
"I'm so sorry. I should have told Evan to not have Mercedes wake me up today. I knew I forgot something," she answered sheepishly. "And there is no lock. Port Royal seems to be short a blacksmith and well…..I never got around to having one made elsewhere. It's not like I needed it or anything."
Will closed his eyes and shook his head in disbelief before finally giving in to the silliness of it all. "Will she, Mercedes, be all right? I couldn't understand a word she was saying."
Elizabeth wiped her eyes. "English isn't her first language, when she's scared or angry, she reverts to Spanish. And just in case you were wondering, she was praying.
"Praying?"
"Maybe she thought she saw a ghost or something. She is overly superstitious." Elizabeth began to laugh again.
"That's not funny."
"Yes, it is and you know it," she said as she flattened her palms out on Will's chest and pushed him over onto his back. "Now, I'm still sleepy so you can just stay right here for now," she ordered him as she nestled back into the crook of his arm and flung one of hers across his chest.
"Is life around here always this much of an adventure?"
"Pretty much. You might as well get used to it. Now, hush. You're keeping me awake."
"Aye, aye, Captain" he said mockingly as he draped his arm across hers and kissed the top of her head. "But I am going to put a lock on that door."
The commotion was quickly forgotten as husband and wife quickly fell back asleep.
Meanwhile, things downstairs were not quite so amusing or calm.