Chapter Seven

Elizabeth was extra quiet as she stepped into her house. If the Commodore woke up... she didn't know what would happen and she didn't want to think about it. Silently, she crept up the stairs, opening her door slowly. She was lucky he was such a deep sleeper. Elizabeth almost laughed at the thought. It was amazing what she had learned about someone after being married to them.

She lay leisurely down in bed and pulled the quilt up around her. It was a warm night, but she felt a cold chill run down her spin.

Will brought back so many memories, and many questions about the past ten years...and what they had meant to her...had it all been just a lie, or was there actually a deep purpose...was it the way things where supposed to happen? Wiggling deeper down into the covers, she remembered her wedding night...

She was laden in the finest fabrics in all of the Americas. She should have felt like a queen, but all she was feeling was sorrow. For Will...for her wedding...and for the rest of her life. The ceremony was to take place in the Cathedral on the bluff; most of the town was invited.

She looked out the window of her room. There was no noise whatsoever on the streets except for a few children playing on newly laid cobblestone, even they looked to be dressed in their Sunday clothes. There was no doubt they had been sent outside by their parents to get their giggles out before the quiet ceremony.

The palms swayed in the breeze, and the sea...the sea was calm and beautiful today. Only a light wave lapped the shore, the Caribbean was so gorgeous!

Elizabeth saw a boat on the horizon and a part of her wished she could be out on it. Traveling somewhere...far...far away from here. There was a knock on her door, "Elizabeth, your father will meet you downstairs."

"Yes," She responded politely.

Her father had 3 seamstresses and 4 of the homes maids working on her dress, her hair and her makeup. She had felt overwhelmed. Never before had she minded the pampering, but suddenly she did.

Realizing that she couldn't stall much longer, she stepped out the door, just to be greeted by her personal maid. "You look very lovely Miss. Swann"

"Thank You." She had responded doubtfully, but still with a hint of cheer in her voice..

"Congratulations." Her maid said again. "You and the Commodore are the perfect match." There was a slight resent in her voice, yet it was sincere.

Her father smiled approvingly as he watched her walk down the stairs. He didn't say much at all until they were riding down the lane in her carriage.

"Elizabeth, I know this is not your first choice, but you can learn to love him. I know you will."

....Elizabeth had to admit, he wasn't entirely wrong. Yes, she had learned very much about the Commodore over the years and even learned to enjoy his presence. Yes, she had doubted her marriage, even on the day of her wedding. But after Young James was born, she began to feel that this had been the right path. Or at least brainwashed herself into thinking it...

She groaned at the thought. It was all false. Her marriage, her love for the Commodore, even her own son wasn't of her husband's blood! It was all fine until Will came along. She had made her love for him fade as much as she could, but he had brought it back to Port Royal the second that she saw his face.

The Commodore stirred which made Elizabeth jump. She tried to search for something to calm her, listlessly dozing, but never falling asleep. She couldn't get the past ten years out of her mind. She couldn't' stop thinking about her life with the commodore, what had it all been worth? Her thoughts moved to the day Young James was born...

Elizabeth lay in her bed, holding her son in her arms for the first time. The entire staff of maids stood around her, the doctor had left just moments ago and would be back to check on them tomorrow. She gazed into the innocent baby's face. It sparked a feeling of contentment and loyalty to the Commodore, yet also made her feel a warmth of love that she hadn't felt...well...since Will had left her.

The door opened and the commodore had walked in, looking at Elizabeth and then down at his shoes. He looked very nervous, she had never seen him this way before. Almost gullible, and anxious.

"Elizabeth, is it...?" He had asked

"A boy." Elizabeth spoke. She knew the Commodore had wanted a boy since the moment he had found out that she was expecting. Would he have been disappointed if the baby had been a girl? After all, his wife whom he claimed to care for dearly for was a girl herself.

Relief seemed to flood down the commodore's body from his head to his toes in one waving motion. The maids all smiled as he walked over to her. "We'll leave you two...or three...alone." One of them said as she busied the others out the door.

"Elizabeth," The commodore was struck for words.

Elizabeth smiled as she had looked at her son tenderly. For a moment no one spoke and for a split second, Elizabeth thought the hand on her shoulder was Will's, not her husband's. "Will..." She said, but caught herself.

The Commodore's face was expectant, she could tell he was suspecting the truth...that she had just called him by her true love's name. Fortunately, Elizabeth's tensed face eased as she worked through her words.

"...you shut the window, there is a draft." She smiled, it was true, the window was open.

It had been one of those moments. One of those moments that is completely applicable and perfect, until someone says something wrong, and because of that, both she and the Commodore wanted to take it all back.

Elizabeth turned so she was facing the Commodore. He lay still, only his chest rose slowly up and down. He seemed so oblivious, yet she knew he suspected something.

Her thoughts moved again back into a doze and she began to think of Will, his face, his eyes, his hair...slowly she drifted off to sleep.

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