Triplets in Love
By: Raven in Red
The Gardener triplets are divided once more as they each pursue a different path in their lives. But as their relationships go through difficult times, they come to discover that their bonds of sisterhood are stronger than any other facet of their lives. Long story, told in three parts, please R&R
Part Three: Sisters Forever
Chapter Thirty-Seven: The Great Divide
After an uneasy night, Lily and Jasmine decided to take a carriage back to Port Royal to pay a visit to Holly. For the sake of convenience, they had left Victoria and Mary Rose back at Jasmine's farmhouse. In order to keep Beckett from becoming suspicious when she didn't return home, Lily had sent a messenger to say that she wasn't feeling well and would be staying at Jasmine's house for a couple days until she recovered. Ultimately, Lily and Jasmine wanted all three sisters to have equal awareness of their quite risky plan.
"Now," Lily began once all three women were comfortably seated in Holly's sitting room, "before we get down to business, I want some news about you and your baby."
"Oh." Holly seemed stunned. "I was hoping it wouldn't come at me so bluntly."
"Is the news pleasant?" asked Jasmine.
"You know you can tell us anything," said Lily.
"I know," said Holly. "And I really don't know how the baby is doing."
"Have you bled again?" asked Jasmine.
"No," said Holly. "And I've still been quite nauseous lately."
Lily's face immediately brightened up. "Then, I would wager that you have nothing to worry about."
"Cheer up!" said Jasmine. "You and your baby are going to be just fine."
"Maybe you'll even have mini versions of us in the form of triplets," Lily joked.
"Well, wouldn't that be something!" Holly couldn't hide the massive smile on her face. "But now I would like to discuss this plan of yours. From the looks on your faces when you arrived, it doesn't appear to be tremendously pleasant."
"Well… it's not," Jasmine admitted after sharing a knowing glance with Lily.
"What do you mean?" Out of a true mother's instinct, Holly folded her hands over her still-flat belly.
"Do you remember Lionel Williams?" Jasmine asked.
"I remember hearing of him, but I never formally met him," said Holly. "Wasn't he the man that saved you from Reeve?"
"The very same," said Jasmine. She then looked to Lily to continue.
"Not even a week ago, he was brought under my husband's custody for charges of piracy," said Lily. "And I went to visit him two nights ago."
"And…?" Holly coaxed, not yet able to form an opinion.
"He is surely due for the gallows if we do not act soon," said Lily.
"So you're suggesting that…?" Holly's eyes had widened.
"We are going to set him free," Lily declared boldly.
Holly had to take a moment to breathe. "Oh, dear Lord," she said finally. "I surely wasn't expecting that."
"We know it's going to be dangerous," said Jasmine. "Believe me; the two of us have thought everything over."
"Are you asking for my help?" asked Holly.
"We are asking for your support as our sister," said Lily. "We want to know that we can trust you with these details."
"It just sounds so risky," said Holly, not making eye contact with either of her sisters. "And I'm pregnant. I can't be running around risking my life when we've just barely gotten home in one piece."
Lily and Jasmine exchanged a knowing look. Both were well aware that they were mothers and could be risking not only their lives but the lives and welfare of their husbands and children. Holly did have a point. "And… there's one other thing we must ask of you," Jasmine warned.
"Yes?" said Holly.
"You don't have to be directly involved, but you must not inform James of our motives," said Lily.
"And why not?" Holly had gone iron-hard defensive in a matter of seconds. "In case you haven't forgotten, that absolutely wonderful man is my husband."
"We know," Lily said gently, "but, at the end of the day, he is still an officer of His Majesty's Royal Navy, and he is honor- and duty-bound to inform his superiors, who will then arrest us, throw us into prison, and quite possibly send us to the gallows!"
"Are you going to help us or not?" Jasmine challenged.
Holly took one single deep breath. "No," she breathed in one short syllable.
"Fine," Lily said, standing up with Jasmine not far behind her. "We will go through with this on our own."
"You may or may not see us again, seeing as how you're probably going to inform James," said Jasmine.
"Lily, Jasmine, wait," Holly begged.
Lily gave her sister her hardest of glares. "It has been a pleasure to see you today, Mrs. Norrington."
"I can't believe Holly isn't helping us," Jasmine said bitterly. She and Lily were back at Jasmine's farmhouse, having a late cup of tea before going to bed.
"We'll just have to make do without her," said Lily. She was also holding Victoria nervously in her lap.
"The three of us have always done everything together," said Jasmine. "I can't believe she would just abandon us like that! Does she care at all?"
"I'm sure that, deep down, she still cares for us. She's probably just confused after very nearly losing her baby," said Lily. "She has a child to live for now."
"You and I both know that we managed the high seas just fine while we were pregnant," Jasmine snapped.
"I really don't want to fight over this," said Lily. "We just have to stick together no matter what."
"I guess you're right," Jasmine sighed, bringing a sleep Mary Rose closer to her chest.
"So, we're going to get Lionel out tomorrow night," said Lily.
"Absolutely," said Jasmine, her face brightening into a smile. "But we have to do it as quickly and as perfectly as possible before Holly tells James about it."
"Lionel really is aching to see you," said Lily. "When I went to talk to him, probably the first question he asked was how you have been doing since the two of you parted ways way back in Tortuga. He's been so worried that all his efforts had been in vain."
"I can't thank that man enough for what he did for me," said Jasmine. "I want him to be able to taste the beautiful sweet taste of freedom again. It's the least we can do."
"It's because of him that we got our baby sister back," Lily said, reaching out and giving Jasmine's hand a joyful squeeze. "That's all because of him."
Holly was uneasy the entire afternoon after Lily and Jasmine left. She was guilty about betraying their trust, she was unsure about whether or not to tell her husband, and she had to balance her wave of emotions around her first trimester morning sickness. Ultimately, she felt hurt, confused, lonely, and nauseous. Ideally, she wanted to keep the worst topics away from her husband's ears, but he was so good at reading her emotions that it wouldn't be long before he caught the scent.
"And how is my lovely lady doing this evening?" Norrington announced himself when he arrived in the sitting room after work. He bent over the back of the couch she had been sitting in and gave her rosy cheek a small kiss.
"She is doing just fine," Holly said joyfully, standing up and giving her husband a hug.
"How's the baby?" asked Norrington. He placed an excited hand over her womb.
"The baby is going to be just fine, as you very well know," said Holly. The couple had been to see the doctor just a few days before, and he confirmed that the baby was most likely going to be perfectly healthy and that Holly had just had a random episode of bleeding.
"I'm just so happy that everything is working out so well," said James. He guided Holly back down onto the couch and took a seat next to her.
"I have to admit that I was quite jealous of Lily and Jasmine with their pregnancies," Holly said, blushing just a little. "Victoria and Mary Rose are probably the most beautiful little girls in all the known world. I couldn't have been happier when they were brought into the world, and it immediately made me want to start a family of my own."
"You are going to be a wonderful mother, my dear," said Norrington, before pausing to kiss his wife on the forehead. Then, Holly's uneasy thoughts were brought out onto the stage. "Now, I can see in those pretty eyes of yours that something is bothering you."
"You're right," Holly said with a sharp sigh. "Something has been bothering me for most of the day now."
"Would you care to share it with me?" Norrington asked. Holly was faced with a difficult decision: either she told her husband, who would then tell his superiors, and possibly risk losing both of her precious sisters to the gallows, or she kept everything to herself and let herself suffer with a vicious secret for the rest of her life.
"Lily and Jasmine came to visit today," said Holly.
"Why would that upset you?" Norrington looked puzzled.
Holly took a deep breath and continued. "It's just that every time I see them, I get jealous." Her statement was not entirely true, but she knew it would be a good cover until she found a way to tell her husband the truth. "Every time I see them, I think about how happy they are with their little girls, and it makes me jealous because I have so much more time left before I have my own baby to dote over."
"My dear, is that all that's bothering you?" Norrington's lips broadened into a smile.
"I know, it's silly," said Holly. "It's probably just my pregnancy starting to take effect."
"Sweetheart, we are going to have such a wonderful child that he or she will be well worth the wait," Norrington said, pulling Holly into a tight, joyful hug. "Just wait and see."
Author's Note: So… is our beloved Holly going to tell our beloved Norrington about her sisters' motives… or will she do the right thing and let an innocent man be set free? Well, we'll just have to wait and see!