Disclaimer: Thought I had the Mouse! But in the scuffle his head fell off, and there was this bewildered young man looking out of this giant Mouse outfit. Was barely able to hide before security got to the scene. The Cat and Mouse are more diabolical than I thought. Will have to be on guard!!
Inaccuracies historical or otherwise have never actually met Bizarro but love his pies
Chapter 48
As they neared Singapore, Teague became more and more lost in his own thoughts.
Rebecca asked him several times what the matter was but never could get a straight answer out of him.
She resigned herself to the fact that there would be times when she would be second in Teague's thoughts.
They had made port now, and like usual, Teague gave all available hands shore leave.
Rebecca went to their cabin to find Teague. She did find him there but it took a minute to understand what he was doing. He was packing her things. He was packing her things?
Why was he packing her things? She wasn't staying; she was only going to be here for a few days while they stocked provisions. WHY WAS HE PACKING HER THINGS??
She was starting to panic, "Why are you packing my things? I'm not staying here; I'm going with you when you leave. I'm not staying here!" this all delivered in a panicky near scream.
Teague looked at her with the saddest eyes she had ever seen. And she saw in those eyes she was staying. He was leaving her behind. He was leaving her.
He dropped his eyes and looked at the floor as he spoke. In a sad quiet voice, one Rebecca had to strain to even hear, he told her, "Darlin where I be goin ye can not follow.
"What do you mean I can't follow?" Rebecca screamed out. "I can follow you anywhere, I'm your wife, I belong……." He looked at her then and the sadness and pain in his eyes took her words away.
"Nay luv, ye can not follow. Where I be goin's too dangerous fer me to have ye at me side."
"You can't leave me here! You can't leave me here. You are my world now! I love you!" Rebecca choked out between the flood of tears.
Taking her in his arms and pulling her to him as close as he could, he whispered in her ear, "I love ye too darlin, that's why ye can't go with me. It's too dangerous, and I'd never fergive meself ifin something were to befall ye cause I selfishly drug ye along."
It dawned on her now what he was talking about. Pirating, he was going off to be a Pirate.
And the answer to her question she had asked herself awhile back. Whether she could still love him and stay with him if he turned pirate was answered in a moment.
She could, but he would not let her. He was leaving her.
"I'll come back luv, ye can count on Old Teague fer that." He said trying hard to sound a little more cheerful, but not really succeeding.
It took all her strength to tear herself away from his embrace. She squared her shoulders, straightened her dress, tried to wipe the tears from her eyes, and picked up one of the suitcases Teague had packed. Looking at him with her tear stained eyes she said, "Pirates don't always come back." She turned and left the cabin, leaving him standing there with tears in his eyes.
She watched from her hillside, with tears streaming down her face, as the Golden Spirit sailed out of the Harbor and most likely her life forever. She sat there until well after dark.
Long after the Golden Spirit was well over the horizon.
She hadn't felt good for the past couple of days. She blamed it on the upset and grief of the events a few days ago. But then she started to be really sick every morning. So sick she couldn't get out of bed. Jannika came in one morning and looking at her in a strange way and asked, "Are you sick again Rebecca? That makes the fourth morning this week."
"I'll feel better later in the day, I don't know what it is, maybe I'm tossing and turning too much during the night."
"Tossing and turning here during the night is not your problem child. No child, tossing and turning when you were on that ship is what has caused this."
Rebecca didn't understand what Jannika was saying, and looked at her puzzled. So Jannika put it in a way she would understand. "You're with child Rebecca."
"No" Rebecca said, "That's not possible, I can't be." But she knew deep down inside Jannika was speaking the truth.
"Don't tell anyone Jannika, not a soul, understand? Not a soul!"
"Won't be me that's telling Rebecca, you will do that yourself soon enough, no doubt about that."
"Well Rebecca you have managed it again haven't you? You have once again managed to get yourself in a situation! No Husband, no Home, and no Father for your baby. The only difference is, this is hundreds of times worse than anything you have done before." She scolded herself as she sat on the patio one afternoon a few days after her talk with Jannika.
"Rebecca come in here." Her Mother's voice came through the patio door. "I have something of great importance to talk to you about."
"What more could possibly go wrong?" Rebecca thought as she got up to go inside. "Surely Jannika hadn't told her Mother about her condition. Oh please Lord don't let that be the case! I don't need her harping at me about worthless Husbands leaving their wives at times like these. Please Lord not that!"
Rebecca found her Mother sitting with a cup of tea and a letter laid out in front of her.
"Rebecca, Your Father has just received a letter from England…" Rebecca had heard this speech numerous times before, and knew exactly what was to follow. At least it appeared her Mother did not know of her "condition". Yet.
"……..He is to return to England for a new posting to be decided in the future. We will be leaving Singapore in one month. You will have to decide if you are coming with us or choosing to stay here. I will expect your answer tomorrow morning, as there are arrangements to be made in either case." And she grandly left the dining room.
Rebecca went back to her hillside to think, and to wish she could see the Golden Spirit sailing into the Harbor. But he wasn't coming back. He said he was, but she had her doubts, she had a lot of doubts. But what if he did and she wasn't here. What if he came back and couldn't find her. She would have to give him more time. If he loved her the way she loved him, he would come back to her. She would stay, at least for a while, and pray every day he came back to her. Her and the child he didn't even know about.
The month had come and gone. Her parents had left for England. She was alone. They insisted on Jannika and Tonya leaving with them. After all her Mother stated with finality, she was a healthy young woman and didn't need someone waiting on her hand and foot. And so she was alone.
She made her trips to the hillside each day, hoping to see the Golden Spirit anchored there.
But it never was.
She was walking to the local market one morning lost in her thoughts. "Excuse me," she said to the man she had just bumped into. They both realized about the same time that they knew each other.
"Mr. Ramirez, how nice to see you again." Rebecca said
"Pleasure be mine, Rebecca it be don't it?" Tony replied.
"Yes your correct. What brings you back here?"
"Jest arrived in port, lookin fer some friends to be spendin some time with." Tony said with a smile.
Then a thought crossed Rebecca's mind. "You wouldn't by any chance know where Captain Teague might be would you?"
"That I do lass." Tony said, and was about to go on when Rebecca interrupted him excitedly, "Have you seen him? Have you talked to him? We were married and he left me here cause he said what he was going to do was too dangerous! And then I found out I was with child, and I want him to come back and get me and his baby!"
"We need to be findin somewheres to sit lass. I'm fraid yer not goin to like what I be sayin." Tony walked her over to a bench and they sat down. Rebecca was starting to go numb. The words Tony said and the look on his face did not bode well.
Before Tony could speak she asked him in a quavering voice, "Is he dead?"
Tony nodded his head, "What I heard was the Golden Spirit had taken a merchant ship, and afore they could make their getaway along comes two o Her Majesty's finest and blows the Golden Spirit and all hands aboard to Davey Jones locker. That be what I heard, now how much truth there be to it I can't tell ye."
She started to cry then. Tony put his arm around her, and held her until she was able to stop. "Kin I walk ye somewheres lass?"
"No I'll be fine, I have to be. I have the only part of him that's left to think about now. His child." And she slowly turned and walked back toward the house.
She went and booked passage on a ship the next morning. She told the driver he would no longer be needed, as she was returning to England, but her Father would see he was well compensated for his service.
And then she packed her things. And cried, and cried, and cried………….
To Be Continued
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