Chapter 15:
Elizabeth held Emily in her arms as Will held Jessie on his hip. They stood outside Harriet's home waiting for someone to open the door and invite them in. The day of the execution Will was released and since then the Turner family had returned to their home. After hearing what had happened after the rescue they had come over to Harriet's household to check on Katerina Benikins; the only crew member of the Black Pearl to be marooned under their own will. It had been two days since she had rescued Jack, and not once has she ventured outside her room. Except for the rare occasion to get food. She explained that she was in mourning, but she was not going to starve herself.
Robert, Harriet's husband, opened the doors for the Turners and let them in. Will set Jessie on the ground and watched as he took off to look for little Olivia. Robert smiled at Will and ushered them into the bigger living room. Harriet stood by the window and looked out at the dock where the new 'Interceptor' was being loaded for a new voyage. Timothy had told her that it was to be a perfect honeymoon for him and Kat. She would be able to explore the world with him.
"She doesn't want the world," Harriet muttered and chewed on her thumbnail in thought.
"Harriet, we have guests," Robert said politely leading the other two adults and baby into the room.
Harriet turned around and smiled when she saw the friendly faces of the couple. She walked up to Elizabeth and gave her a hug, careful not to disturb the sleeping Emily. Will leaned over and gave her a peck on the cheek.
"It's nice to see some people as concerned for her as Robert and I are," she said looking from Will to Elizabeth.
"How is she fairing?" Elizabeth asked and sat down across from Harriet.
"She got out of bed yesterday to come to the kitchen to fetch a glass of water and a croissant," Harriet looked up at the stairs, "Dena has been cooking her favorite foods to see if she would eat more, but nothing has given her appetite back. I have yet to check on her today. Dena has been keeping an eye on her for me. The poor dear is getting less sleep than Katerina."
"Has she said anything?" Will asked and leaned on the mantle piece.
"Nothing that we have heard," Robert replied from the doorway. He didn't look at the others, but kept his eyes on his daughter and young Jessie playing together. Olivia wore what looked like an old, blue rag on her head and had a large spoon in her hand as if it was a sword. Jessie used his hand like a pistol and began to 'shoot' at Olivia.
"She only mumbles how it was her fault that they were to be hung," Harriet murmured and shook her head, "How she at least got to save them."
Elizabeth rocked Emily, "Jack didn't want to leave. There is a chance that he may come back for her. Steal her away. Pirates are known for doing that."
"She is sure he will not come back," Harriet lowered her head, "Timothy will make sure that he is shot on sight or the Black Pearl blown to bits if they come close to Port Royal before the wedding. He promised that he would not pursue them, but he has no problem in killing trespassing pirates on our shores."
Everyone sat in silence for a few moments, but soon enough the silence was broken with the two three year olds rushed into the room. Olivia waved her spoon as Jessie dodged behind Will's legs and pretended to shoot at Olivia.
"You can't get me, Cattewine!" Olivia shouted, "I'm Jack Spawow!"
"I will get ye!" Jessie shouted in his best pirate voice. They played out the scene that Kat had told Olivia before she left for the execution that day. Olivia almost didn't let her out of the house when it was time to go. She wanted to hear more.
"Olivia," Robert touched the top of her head stopping her momentarily.
"Me not Olivia! Me Jack Spawow!" she smiled up at her father.
"Can you go into the other room to fight the evil captain, please?"
"Kay, matey!" she turned to Jessie, "Come and get me Catterwine!"
The two children ran out of the room and all the adults looked at each other.
"She really looks up to Jack, doesn't she?" Elizabeth asked.
"Ever since she laid eyes on him," Harriet said slightly distracted.
"What I don't understand," Will started to pace the room, "..is that he said that he loved her. That he would die for her, and then this."
"Wouldn't it better to push the one you love away, knowing that they would be out of immediate danger, than to try and run with them only to have them killed right before your eyes?" Robert reasoned.
Will lowered his eyes and nodded his head, "True . . . I guess I was still thinking of the old Jack I used to know. The one who didn't – or should I say couldn't- attach himself to one woman and one woman only."
"So what are we going to do?" Elizabeth spoke up. The rest of the room went into deep thought about what was to happen next.
Robert got up from the arm of the chair where his wife was sitting, "I think we all could use some good tea. We will be here quite a while."
The next day the Turners didn't come back to discuss the next step. They hadn't come up with anything in the past three days, and the Turners decided to take a break on the plan for a day, and decided to use the day to spend with their children.
Harriet stood at the railing of the staircase in the early morning. The sun still hadn't made it's appearance and neither had Katerina. Harriet was very worried that her cousin would start to waste away if she did not do something with herself soon. Olivia began to think that she wasn't even with them any longer. She barely even knew that one of her favorite people was only a few doors down from her bedroom.
Dena walked the length of the hallway and looked up at Harriet as she carried a tray of barely eaten food from Kat's room. Their eyes met momentarily, but then Dena shook her head and walked down the stairs to begin breakfast for the household.
Harriet suddenly heard a door behind her open and turned to see Kat out of bed and walking along the side of the window. A small reassuring smile appeared on Harriet's face and walked over to her cousin, "Well, I've never seen you up before the sun."
"Well, how many times have you been up before the sun?" Kat asked looking out the East facing windows. She stared out and watched the horizon with such intensity, as if she was waiting for something to happen.
She didn't look like a person that was trapped in her room for three days without any communication with others. Her eyes were not bloodshot as Harriet thought they would be. She was getting sleep, and her body still held her healthy form. For all Harriet knew, she was normal. As if she was just starting another day, maybe another life.
"You are right. This is my first time that I have been awake this early," Harriet said watching the face of her cousin search the bay, "But what about you?"
"I have done this every morning since I was on the Black Pearl."
"Done what?"
"Watch the sun burn the sky with the colors of the legendary phoenix and give birth to a whole new day," Kat turned her head to her cousin and nodded to the windows, trying to get her to watch also, "Just bring me that horizon."
Harriet followed her lead and watched as the golden orb of the sun brought to the sky more colors than she ever thought possible. The dark sky lit up with oranges, reds and light lavenders. The colors danced with each other with such majesty that Harriet could not believe her eyes.
"You got to see this every morning?" she asked Kat with awe reigning through out her voice.
"If the night before didn't tire me out too hard."
"How did you know to watch it?" Harriet couldn't turn her head away from the sight unfolding before her.
"Jack showed me," Kat said above a whisper as the stars began to fade.
Harriet now turned to her cousin to see if she had involuntarily brought back more harmful memories. She watched the reds and purples cross Kat's features, waiting for the shining trails of tears to cover her cheeks. After a few minutes Harriet's face went to confusion when no tears or signs of mourning were visible. Was she perhaps over the misfortune? Was she better? Before she could ask Kat began to explain.
"I cannot cry any longer," Kat turned away from the window, seeing the sun projecting the shadows of the hung pirates out of the port, "No matter how I try the tears will not come."
"Perhaps you have done all your crying," Harriet offered an explanation of her own.
"No. I have realized that not one human body could possibly cry all the tears that I want- or need to," she and Harriet walked back to her room and sat on the chairs beside the bed. She fumbled with her hands, trying to get her body to react, yet no emotion could be seen in her face or her once exuberant eyes.
"What is wrong?" Harriet asked placing her hand on both of Kat's.
"What is wrong!?" Kat jumped up from the small chair, "I cannot cry and I want to! I want to show the pain that is in my heart! I want to mourn properly! I want to be able to sit out by the table with you and your family and not shut myself away in this room! I want to walk the streets and smile at strangers as I used to do! Tears will not come to these eyes! Pain will not show in my face! My eyes are slowly growing to a dull color no more recognizable than my father's! Don't you see, Harriet? I am turning into the person whom I hate the most. My father."
"Katerina . . . don-"
"But I don't care anymore," Kat whispered, looking out the open window of her bedroom that looked over another part of the bay.
"What?"
"I'm giving up. Nothing is in my hands. My future is set," Kat laid down on the bed, "It does not matter any longer. I am dead on the inside. They can do what they wish with my shell."
"It does too matter!" she stepped up to the bed, making sure her cousin could see her, "You are to marry Belstrude, when you know he is not the one you love."
"Because the one I love is free!" Kat screamed, "I would make that deal a thousand times over if it meant that he would remain that way. Free and alive!"
Harriet paused and let out a breath of frustration. She was usually the one to give up and Kat the voice of reason. She was definitely not used to this role switch, "When I went to tell Jack about the alleyway . . . I saw something in him that I have never seen before or since. He loves you. If you are dying like you say you are, then what is he doing? What did you really save him from?"
"So I should have let him die?" Kat said.
"No, you should fight."
"That is something that I cannot do," Kat shook her head, "I have made an accord- an agreement. Soon enough my time will come where I will have to fulfill my end of it."
"He saved you because he loved you before he even knew he did. And you returned the favor for nothing but the fact that you loved him back," Harriet sat on Kat's bed, "Listen Kat, are you willing to marry Belstrude and forget about the love that left to sea, which you will not even follow?"
"That's the problem! I cannot follow!" she sat up straight on the bed, "I am Belstrude's completely. That was the agreement."
"I never thought I would see the day that I'd see you in such a pitiful state," Harriet shook her head and got off the bed, "You are a true idiot if you do not see it."
"See what?"
"Are you a pirate or not?" Harriet asked while she watched Kat think and then shake her head, "Think about that, Kat. How many pirates keep their word?"
"All of them if they are worth their salt!" Kat frowned, "They are bound by their word, Harriet. As I am bound by mine."
"You really expect me to believe that my cousin, the fireball that she is, the daughter and spitting image of Cecilia, promised to throw her life away? That she didn't have some back up plan in her agreement? Some kind of loophole?" she looked at Kat to see a small glint of hope flowing back into Kat's eyes, "You're the smartest person I know, Kat. I know that you are bound by your word, but I also know that pirates are notorious for finding a way around an unfavorable outcome... if they are worth their salt, that is."
Kat stared at her cousin in astonishment. She had never seen her like this before.
Harriet sighed and slid off the bed, "Give it some thought. Hopefully you will give my daughter the pleasure of seeing one of her favorite people today. I hope you understand that she admires you . . . both you and Jack."
Kat laid back into her pillow and turned to Harriet when she opened the door to leave, "Harriet . . ."
"Yes?"
"Tell Olivia that I will try- no, that I will see her at breakfast today," Kat whispered and Harriet nodded as she closed the door.
Later that morning at breakfast, the whole family sat at the table, trying to keep Olivia in her seat. Her mother kept pushing her down while Robert just looked on with an amused smile.
"You're much help, Robert," Harriet smiled pushing Olivia down for the tenth time.
"But you are doing such a good job of entertaining me," he chuckled and kissed her lovingly on the cheek.
"Maybe I can tame the little rascal," Kat stood at the doorway of the kitchen.
"Kat!" Olivia popped up from her seat and turned to see Kat.
"Now what have I told you about listening to your mother?" Kat tickled the little girl in her seat which earned her a squeal of laughter, "You always listen to your mother. She is a very wise woman."
Kat and Harriet smiled at each other and nodded their heads.
"I see that the dead do arise," Robert commented, scooting out a chair for Kat, "And right on time . . . three days."
"Very funny, Robert," Kat commented piling food upon her plate and took medium sized bites, "Oh my favorite! Dena is cooking again, I see."
"How is the day treating you?" Harriet asked after Kat finished her meal.
"Better than yesterday," Kat said before drinking the rest of her milk.
"Find out anything interesting?" Harriet asked and spooned some more eggs onto Kat's plate.
"Not yet, but I am close," Kat nodded and shoveled another spoonful of eggs into her mouth. She never noticed how hungry she really was.
Dena came into the room, her hands folded in front of her and cleared her throat. She looked down, "Captain Belstrude is here and is requesting an audience with his fiancee."
Every eye turned to Kat, who nodded, patted her mouth with her napkin and excused herself from the table. She walked into the sitting room and found him by the fireplace. He was enthralled with a painting of Harriet with a much younger Olivia and Robert right behind them.
"It's something that I always wanted," Belstrude said without turning around. He took a deep breath and looked back at Kat, "A family."
"It seems like you are soon to get one," Kat responded and walked to one of the seats in the room. She sat on it and folded her hands over her lap as she was always taught.
Belstrude saw her cold actions and sat across from her, "Am I that much of a punishment, Katerina?"
"You weren't at one time," she began and thought back, "I was almost content with the possibility of you as my husband. I truly believe that if my father didn't push it too far, I may have found a way to agree on my own terms."
"Your father wasn't the one who was pushing, Katerina," he shook his head, "It was me. It was always me. I have wanted you since we were kids. You were always my future wife."
"Timothy," Kat sighed and shook her head, "Love doesn't work that way. You can't claim someone and know that it will be as you like. Life isn't like that."
"Oh, and sailing around the open sea with a crew of ruffians is life?" he scoffed and began to pace, "He brainwashed you, Katerina. He turned you against everyone here and you let him."
"I didn't let him do anything to me," she growled at little and tried to keep her composure, "I found myself out on the ocean and he happened to be there. He showed me a side of myself that I didn't think possible. Did you know I can mend sails?"
"What does that have to do with anything?"
"I can navigate too," she smiled and looked at her hands, still callous from her time up in the rigging, "I can untangle lines and clean a galley all by myself. I can shoot a cannon, can you imagine?"
"Katerina, you are talking nonsense," he sighed and pinched his nose to redirect his headache, "These tasks are not made for you. You are to know needlepoint and child rearing. There is no need for you to climb into rigging."
"But I can," Katerina repeated, "I couldn't before. I am stronger and a different person than what I was. I was so set on doing what my father wanted from me, I didn't know that there were different options. That I had a choice."
"Was I a choice that you would have chosen if given a chance?" he asked and sat next to her.
"You were always a choice," Kat nodded and looked at him in the eyes.
"There is some hesitation."
"Do you really think that I am suited to you and you to me?" Kat asked him, "And I want you to be honest with me."
"You are a bit brash at times, always have been," he shrugged and looked up at the ceiling, "You are stubborn to a fault and so opinionated. But it's nothing that we can't work on together."
"Work on?" Kat leaned away from him and looked at him as if he grew a new head, "What does that mean and entail, exactly?"
"Well, I would be making all the decisions in the household, of course. You would learn to quiet your tongue and keep opinions to yourself. I would be the one bringing in the money and you raising our children. I was thinking of three or four to start with."
"Children?"
"No more than six I think," he nodded.
"Timothy, you do realize that a marriage is an agreement between two people who care about one another and work together?"
"Well, yes," he nodded, "I mean, I will be sure to include you in our choice of home and décor. It would be your specialty."
Kat's mind began to whirl with the information. He wanted her to care for the kids and keep house. He didn't want her as a companion or as even a lover. He didn't want a wife- he wanted an ornament!
"Timothy, I am not a woman to be left on her own at your whim," she said and eyed him, "I am to be treated with respect I deserve and equal power in the relationship. That's how it works, or it is no marriage at all."
Timothy looked her over and stood from his seat next to her. He began to laugh at her statement and suddenly stopped. He grabbed her by the hair and then struck the back of his hand across her face. Her head snapped to the side from the strike, but she didn't fall to the floor. She caught herself and held the side of her face that he had hit. He reached for her again, but she pushed his hands away from her. He eventually grabbed both of her wrists in his hands and pulled her from the couch.
"You told me that you would be mine, completely," he whispered to her, "There was nothing about you dictating the terms of our marriage."
"There was nothing about hitting your spouse either," she spat and tried to pull her arms free, "So, this is what it is like to be Mrs. Belstrude, is it?"
"You better get used to it," he pushed her back into her seat, "It's the rest of your life, darling."
Dena came into the room with some refreshments and looked between the two of them. She frowned and put the tray on the table, somewhat able to put herself between Kat and Belstrude. He looked down at Dena, but then chuckled to himself.
"I think that our talk was enlightening," he shrugged and looked over Dena's shoulder to Kat, "I will see you tomorrow at the ceremony, love."
"Don't you dare call me that," she growled which only earned a laugh in response. Belstrude quickly turned and left the home.
"Katerina, are you all right?" Dena turned around and checked her cheek, "He hit you."
"It's okay, I'm all right," Kat nodded and looked at the doorway that he just left through, "I think that I just found my loophole."
"What was that?" Dena asked and tilted her head in confusion.
"I need to go," Kat stood up and gestured for Dena to follow her, "As much as I do not want to, I have to go home. I need a few of my effects."
Kat approached her old home unsure if she was doing the right thing.
"It's okay, I'm here," Harriet held on to Kat's hand as they stood outside of the large doors.
Dena stood right behind the two of them, "We both are."
"This is the first time I have stood here thinking that this wasn't my home," Kat said and knocked at the door.
"Are you sure about this?" Harriet asked again.
"This is my only shot, Harriet," she swallowed any fear and held her head up, "I will not lose it because of the cowardice of that man."
One of the footmen answered the door and was a bit surprised to see her on the front stoop.
"I need to come in and grab a few of my effects for the wedding tomorrow," Kat explained and the footman stood to the side to let her and the other two ladies in.
"I will tell the master that you are here," the footman reported and then pointed his hand to the stairs, "Your dress and all accessories are laid out in your room for you to fit. I am sure that he will be with you shortly."
"Tell him he can take his time," Kat nodded to the man and then made her way up the stairs quickly with Harriet and Dena in tow.
The three made it to her bedroom, shut the door and Kat was tempted to lock it. Her father would more than likely suspect something of a locked door, so she left it be for the moment.
"What are we looking for?" Harriet asked and saw the large, heavy looking gown on her bed.
"My hope chest," Kat answered and ran to the side of her bed where a chest sat on the floor. She opened the lid and dug through some linen and hand stitched embroidery from the Benikins side of the family. Toward the bottom of the chest she found a folded piece of paper and pulled it out. She breathed in relief, "Here it is."
"What is it?" Harriet asked and took the piece of paper from her hand.
"Read it."
Harriet nodded and with Dena looking over her shoulder opened the folds to see a hand written letter with a signature at the bottom, "It's from Timothy."
"It's his proposal," Kat chuckled and shook her head, "I read it a few times since he never voiced any of it. It's what I agreed to."
Harriet took a moment to read the words to herself and then began to recite some of them, "'I promise to respect and cherish you as an equal. I promise that you will want for nothing and that I will be there for you and our future children. We will show them the world, hand in hand...' Kat, this is what you agreed to?"
"I agreed to his proposal, fully and completely," she nodded, "I remember every word that is written on that paper. None of that was said today when he paid me that visit."
"The accord..."
"The accord," Kat nodded and lifted her eyebrows at her cousin.
"Hello, daughter," Arthur Benikins walked through the door and into her room, not surprised that she made her way back to the estate. He nodded his head toward the other women in the room with little thought, "Harriet. Maid."
"Uncle," Harriet nodded back and hid the note carefully in the folds of Kat's dress before he saw it while Dena only lowered her head.
"You're going through your chest," he said in an obvious tone.
"Might as well as tomorrow I will be wed," Kat looked at the floor.
"Better to be wed than hung," he answered, "I know your rebellious nature, Katerina. You try to run tomorrow, and I will have you tried for piracy. Just keep that in the back of your mind."
"I thought as much," she muttered, "But I am prepared for whatever fate has in store for me."
"Indeed," he hummed and sneered at the locket around her neck, "You better wear something more appropriate at the wedding tomorrow to go with your dress."
"Well, I see that I don't even get to pick my dress or wedding date. Might as well let my jewelry be chosen for me as well," she commented and stood at the end of her bed, "Are all my decisions to be made for me from now on?"
"They should with your aptitude of making wrong ones," he laughed lightly to himself, "I would try it on at least once before you walk down the aisle. You want the day to be perfect, don't you?"
"I assume it will be," she nodded and watched her father carefully.
"What is that on your face?" he asked and touched the side that Timothy hit. She turned her head away with a hiss from the bruising that would surely come from it.
"Nothing but a love tap from my fiance," she murmured with a sneer, "He seems to have a temper when you disagree with him."
"Next time, make sure it's not the face," her father commented. Kat's face went slack as she thought that she had heard incorrectly, but no. This man knew who Belstrude really was and still gave his daughter to him. He took a breath and looked around the room before he turned for the door, "We will have to get you a thicker veil to cover that for tomorrow. Let the servants know if you need anything."
The door shut and the room was deathly still.
"He didn't even care," Harriet growled.
"I still don't know why you find that so surprising," Kat turned from the door and waited until she heard his footsteps fade before she spoke again. She ran to the door and popped her head out to look up and down the hallway before she came back into the room and locked the door, "I have my loophole. Now, how to execute my escape?"
Harriet thought of a few ideas, but was coming up with more and more dead ends. One idea had her running from the actual ceremony, but that would probably end with a public hanging if her Uncle had anything to say about it.
Dena looked at the dress and its many layers and then at Kat's form. She touched the miles of lace and stitching of the beautiful, yet heavy looking gown. It was quite stunning, and nothing that she could ever hope to wear in her lifetime. She tilted her head at an idea and turned back to Kat and Harriet, "If I might be so bold, I think I may have an thought."
"Then speak your mind," Kat looked at the dress and then at her childhood friend, "Color me intrigued."
The wedding was the largest seen since Elizabeth Swann's marriage to the local blacksmith. Streams of white and red material hung from the tallest points of the fort. White and red roses decorated every aisle, table and space they were able to fit. A small band played off to the side of the main aisle, between the ceremony and the eventual reception. The aisle for the wedding party was lined with a red carpet that was rolled out from the entry hall all the way to the middle courtyard where it ended at a small stage.
The guests were already seated, all men and women of stature at least a hundred strong on each side were in attendance. The ladies fanned themselves and watched the men take their places at the front. Timothy Belstrude took his place next to the podium and adjusted his uniform to make sure that it was perfect for his perfect day. Arthur Benikins stood to the far side and waited for his daughter to arrive. He wasn't waiting to walk her down the aisle, but to make sure that all of her points of escape were covered.
All at once the musicians began to play the wedding march and everyone stood up to the tune. At the end of the aisle stood a lone bride. She held tightly to her bouquet, unsure yet determined in her march down the carpet. Her dress was heavy and quite cumbersome now that she had it on. Nothing that she could run in should the opportunity present itself, that's for sure. The thick veil that they had chosen covered her line of sight so well that she worried she would fall into some of the attendees. A tight corset made it hard enough to breath, she wondered how other women did it. She tried her best to look out of the veil to the side where she saw Harriet and Robert. They both gave her a sad, understanding smile and nodded to her with furrowed brows. She nodded subtly as well and walked the rest of the way to the stage where she stopped in front of Timothy Belstrude.
The priest's voice rang and echoed through the courtyard as he welcomed everyone to the joyous occasion of marriage. The bride took a moment and looked in the direction where her father stood. He only narrowed his eyes and nodded his head for her to continue. Her hands slipped into Timothy's as he began his vows.
Then, it was her turn.
"Katerina Benikins, do you take Timothy Belstrude to be your lawfully wedded husband? To have and to hold in sickness and in health until death do you part?" the priest recited and waited for her answer.
Everyone held their breath as a silence followed the question. All eyes landed on the bride who stood completely still and muted.
"Katerina?" Timothy squeezed her hands tight in his to give her a warning.
One dainty hand slipped from his and pushed back the veil. Under the thick lace was not Katerina, but a common housemaid.
"Sorry, sir, I cannot answer for her," Dena bowed her head and handed a letter to the stunned groom, "She expects that the contract is null and void. She agreed to what you wrote and promised her- not to what you tried to impose. Thus, the accord is broken on your actions."
"What?!" he roared and nearly tore open the letter. His face turned red in fury and he grabbed Dena by the arm, "Where is she?!"
"Please, sir, you're hurting me," Dena frowned and tried to pull her arm from him.
"Kindly let go of my housemaid," Harriet stepped to the front to rescue her friend.
"Harriet! Did you put her up to this?" Arthur now stepped in and shoved a finger at Dena.
"I don't know what you are talking about, Uncle," Harriet carefully pried Dena away from Timothy's grasp and held her to her side, "Really, all I am is a woman. What do I know of well thought out plans and trickery?"
Arthur frowned and nodded toward Dena, "What is she doing in Katerina's wedding dress?"
"What happened, Dena?" Harriet asked gently.
"Miss Katerina told me to take her place, to march up and hand the letter to Captain Belstrude, Ma'am," Dena nodded toward him, "I wouldn't dare disagree with her or disobey her. With her time on a pirate ship and all. No tellin' what she would do."
"There you have it, gentleman," Harriet held Dena in a hug of protection at her side, "She was doing as was told, under some stressful circumstances as it was."
"You had this planned!" Arthur yelled in Harriet's face.
"How could I? I've been under your careful eye this entire day to make sure that I behaved," Harriet answered.
"I can make her talk," Timothy began to raise his hand to the two ladies, but it was caught in the air by Robert.
"You touch my wife, there will be more than Hell to pay, Captain," Robert warned him and threw his arm away from his wife, "You dared to lay a hand on someone in my home, it will not happen again. That's a promise."
Timothy rubbed at his wrist where Robert had caught him and looked from Harriet and Robert to the rest of the guests who sat shocked. A military man raised a hand to a lady who had done nothing to merit such action was a scandal. Timothy turned on his heel and walked off the stage and toward his office. He shouted orders as he went.
"She couldn't have gone far, men!" he yelled for his company, "I want every ship, boat and crate in this port searched and locked down!"
Harriet and Robert looked at one another with slight worry etched on their faces. Guards ran around the port, looking everywhere they could, stopping every ship and boat ready to set sail. They wouldn't find her. She was already gone. Katerina was on a ship and out to sea hours before the wedding even took place. Both Harriet and Dena had to say goodbye to her the night before for it to work completely, but it was worth it. It worked.
Dena looked out to the sea, unable to see the sails of the ship that carried her friend away to another adventure and a new life of her choosing.
"I will miss her terribly," Harriet said.
"It defiantly will be a little less busy around here without her."
"I hope she finds him," Dena smiled and sighed as she turned back to her mistress and friend, " . . . I really do."
The sun was setting when Kat lost sight of Port Royal. She hugged her bag into her chest and heard something start to crinkle. She opened the bag and took out a rolled up piece of paper. She unrolled it to see an illustration of Jack staring back at her. It was the wanted poster she hid in her bottom drawer.
"I swear Harriet, nothing is hidden from you," Kat shook her head and her brow suddenly furrowed when she saw a handkerchief. Wrapped inside was a few bars of soap with a scrawled hurried note that read 'Just in case'. Kat chuckled a little at her cousin and re-wrapped the bars as she would find a way to use them.
There were a few things that she was able to confiscate from the manor that will prove useful in the coming weeks. There was a silver lining to Arthur's fondness of the finer things in life. At least she can trade a few of the gold and silver trinkets for some lodging and safe passage.
She watched the sun sink into the sea and found a sense of calmness come with it. She wasn't afraid. She wasn't confused. She didn't feel lost. She knew exactly where she was going and who she was out to find. She wouldn't be stopped unless she found him or death claimed her first.
