My Darling Love
Chapter 52 – It's a Jolly Holiday With Mary
"Blessed is the season which engages the whole world in the conspiracy of love."
-Hamilton Wright Mabie
Dearest George,
You cannot imagine how overjoyed I was to receive your invitation to Christmas dinner. I must tell you, you are correct in your assumption that times for me have been awful. I too feel as though God and his good servants have punished me for my crimes enough. I have been staying at the church mission as I have, rightfully so, fallen on the hardest times. I am poor and destitute, diagnosed with syphilis and suffering immeasurably. I am sorry but I cannot in good faith accept your offer to stay in your home over the holiday, but I must admit I have been by to visit recently. I could not find the courage to ring the bell, although I did peek in the kitchen window and saw your happy home full of children once again, and as always where you were concerned, love. I took notice of the greenhouse in your yard, and that will do fine for me. I wish to be no trouble to your family, so I will hide there until Christmas day. Your suggestion that I drop by as a surprise is definitely the best idea. I just hope that your lovely wife will be as willing to make peace in her heart and mind as you have been. I've always warned you of Mary, she is a devil in disguise, truly a wicked witch if there ever was one. After what you wrote to me of her plot against you, I feel it best that I should come back and help you banish her from your kingdom forever. We are brothers always, flesh and blood to the bone, we are the same, and words cannot express my gratitude at the olive branch you have extended to me on this which will most likely be my last holiday on this earth.
All My Love Dearest Baby Brother,
PeterCaptain Hook reread the letter one final time before crumpling it in his hand and tossing it overboard. He glanced over the side to the frozen waters below. "Did you find the body, Mr. Smee?" he asked, as Mr. Smee climbed the rope ladder up from the rowboat below.
"Yes, Captain, bringing it on board right now. Never froze up like this before and so fast..." Mr. Smee offered to an unmoved Captain who only looked on in disgust.
Mr. Smee gave back a smile and then removed his hat and lowered his head in an act of respect for the most unfortunate fate of the woman wrapped in a sheet being hoisted on deck. "Shall we give her a proper burial, Captain?" Mr. Smee asked as Captain Hook quickly shook his head before the question posed was completed, "No, let her husband do it," he continued, shaking his head as he pulled back the sheet to gaze upon her once beautiful face destroyed by death. "Don't dump her body until tomorrow, Smee, tsk, tsk, tsk, to lose one's mother on Christmas, poor unfortunate orphans those Darling children are."
Peter now found himself alone in the greenhouse, on his knees in the praying position. He rose quicker than he should have, and began hacking up whatever was left of his throat and lungs. Odd that, wherever he had just come back from, he not only felt no need to cough or hack, he had actually felt healthy and refreshed. But now he was in a cold greenhouse with frosted over the windows. He trudged out into the snow and up to the house, peering in the windows. No one was inside or about; he tapped on the back door and then walked around the front, repeating his peeping.
Thank God the neighbors were nosy, for this time when they saw him emerge, they had the good sense to summon the constable, knowing the Darling family had all left for church. The police came and took Peter Darling back to jail. "You were the same one creating the ruckus at the church last night. Now we find you trying to rob a house on Christmas, I warned you, you wretched beast, to a cold cell you go."
As the paddy wagon rounded the corner, the automobiles carrying the Darling family were rounding the opposite corner. After mass, they had gone for a leisurely ride around the city to look at all the Christmas decorations and ornamentation in the department store windows. The greater purpose was to find Wendy's Peter, who had disappeared on his walk, and also to give relief of the children's constant asking of, "Did Father Christmas return, Papa, can we open our presents when we get home?"
They had a jolly good time, and entered the house in a complete bustle of hungry bellies and wet coats and hats dropped on the floor in their haste to the kitchen. Mary was nowhere to be found, and no one noticed, for they were now tasting everything cooking in pots and pans on the stove. The roast was slow roasting in the oven, Wendy basted it as Peter Pan tore a piece of meat from it and stuffed it anxiously in his mouth. "It's delicious, when's supper?" Peter asked, with his mouth stuffed with food in a rather rude and childish manner.
"I don't know and that's disgusting. Cover your mouth. Father, where is Mother?" Wendy spoke up with a frown.
George looked about, curious that Mary would take leave from the house and allow the stove and oven going, unattended. He checked the hall closet, and then the washroom. He scrambled to their bedroom, finding the pajamas she wore when she lay there, only a few hours before, neatly folded, back in his dresser. He looked in the nursery, Jane's room, the attic and elsewhere upstairs in closets and wardrobes before venturing to the basement.
"I can't imagine where she went off to," George finally answered, with the Darling Triplets tugging at him, still holding in the almost uncontrollable desire to rip into their presents left under the tree and in their stockings. "Maybe she ran to the store, George. She didn't say anything to me when she left. Not even a word to ask for help in the kitchen." Harry remarked to George, who stood staring at the ceiling baffled by his wife's disappearance.
"No, the stores are all closed, Harry, its Christmas."
"Yes, Papa, it IS Christmas! Time to open presents!" Jane continued to hop up and down at his feet with her brothers in tow. "Alright, children, enough. Do you want to open what Father Christmas brought for you without Mama?"
They shook their heads, but still jumped about rambling, "Where's Mama? Go get her, Papa."
George found his gaze pulled over to the hall closet. He had closed the doorafter he peaked inside, looking for his wife. Now the door was slightly ajar, with an odd light shining into the hall. "Alright, children, I'll go and get Mama." He kissed and hugged each child before shaking his brother Harry's hand. "Wish me luck."
"Luck, George? Where are you going?" Harry asked, following after the children as they ran down the hall into the parlor to stare at their gifts, guessing from their sizes and shapes what treasures hid inside.
George didn't say where he was going; only giving a small smile and a nod. "Wendy, John and Peter, you watch over supper," he instructed before heading up the stairs to his bedroom, but not before closing the door of the hall closet and locking it. Once in the sanctity of his bedroom he removed his dress coat and opened his wardrobe, in one sweeping motion, he shifted the contents within out of the way and stepped inside, closing the door behind him. He felt the back wall of the wardrobe with his hands, solid oak with the wall behind it. He moved his hands around tapping for the hollow part, and once he found it in the squatted position he pushed as hard as he could until the back wall of his wardrobe gave way.
It opened like any door would, and gave him access to the galley of a pirate ship named The Jolly Roger. Waiting for him below, sitting with his head down, next to a bottle of rum sat Captain Hook. "This has become another constant torture, the back and forth between your world and mine, pains me so. Whenever will it end?" the Captain groaned, as George approached him and took the chair opposite him.
"Is it done?" George asked, pouring himself a shot of rum from the Captain's almost empty bottle.
"Yes, the evil witch has perished, thrown off a cliff by the seven dwarves in defense of Snow White. Or was it the dragon that was slain by Prince Charming in his quest to kiss the Sleeping Beauty? I get the two confused. No matter, it's done. I even put my own little spin on it, you know, for good measure."
"And Cinderella?" George sneered, downing the shot in front of an impressed Captain Hook.
"No, no Cinderella, there is no Cinderella here, although I do have a Rapunzel in my bed." Captain Hook leaned toward him with a sinister grin of satisfaction.
"Rapunzel?" George queried, rising from his seat to stroll past the windows that looked out into the horizon.
"You know, RAPUNZEL, RAPUNZEL, LET DOWN YOUR GOLDEN HAIR!" Captain Hook looked over to George who was paying him no mind, still holding his evil smile. "She is locked away in the highest tower of my castle, awaiting the prince who will come and rescue her from it."
"I thought you said she was in your bed." George turned about and replied matter-of-factly.
"Oh she is, good man, quite indeed in my bed, in the black castle, in the highest tower, with no other entrance then to THROW DOWN YOUR GOLDEN HAIR! Rupunzel that is. Although I don't think there is a Prince Charming coming."
George turned back to the window with a simple, "Why not."
Captain Hook hoisted his boots and slammed them both down on the table, "Well George, she's too small. However will he find her?"
"Will she stay that small forever?" George asked.
"No, but there is a spell on her that must be broken. She hasn't grown wings yet, that's always a good sign. I guess we will just have to wait and see. Don't worry -- when everything is in order, I promise you I will have my trusted and loyal first mate look after her ... forever."
"Now I have to lie to my children," George replied, looking back into the afternoon light pouring down from the heavens.
"Only for today, George, and then tomorrow you can be as honest as God himself."
George faced the pirate Captain, who now held him around his shoulders, rising up from his table and pushing him back into the wardrobe in his bedroom closet.
As George started to speak, the Captain, already annoyed at the disruption of own private celebration of the holiday, waved his hook to offer his dearest comrade a warning, "A deal is a deal, George. Anyway, no one in your house will miss their Mama, although your brother might. Be creative, children love a good falsehood now and then." Captain Hook shoved George out of his world and off his ship. "Mr. Smee! Send several of our best pirates to the black castle NOW! I want our precious cargo safely defended this evening. I have recently been informed that Pan has been out and about still looking for her."
Mary washed up on shore waterlogged and out of breath. Soaking wet and freezing cold from the ice water the ocean had become, she shivered uncontrollably and took shelter in a tiny cavern off of the beach. She made her way, stumbling through the iced sand after shaking what -- she guessed -- was the hand of a mermaid that ensured her safe passage to shore. Once inside, she rested near a small fire already burning when she arrived. She ran her fingers so close to the flames that arose for warmth and comfort, she was surprised herself that she herself did not catch on fire. But alas, it was a losing battle, nearly frostbitten, with ice forming over her wet gown and hair. She sank into the frozen rocks, and did the only thing left to do. She prayed.
After only a few short minutes, her mouth chattered so she could not speak the words to ask God for another favor, let alone forgiveness, so she closed her eyes and truly prepared to meet her death.
Peter Darling sat in his jail cell the exact same way, only he was not freezing to death, only hacking to that end. Tired of his continual repetition of "I was not robbing that house, my brother lives there and he will be furious that you locked me away from my family on Christmas," the constables moved him to the dungeon cells so they wouldn't have to hear him. That worked as well as Mary's wet clothes freezing her body, for after only a short while, the only noise heard from Peter was his coughing and wheezing.
On a hunch that Peter may have been telling the truth, a young constable thought it best to take a ride over to the Darling residence to check out Mr. Peter Darling's story. He rang the bell just as George was making his way down the stairs, and it was he who answered the call. "Yes, he is my brother. No, I didn't invite him over for Christmas dinner. Yes, I understand you will have to hold him overnight. No, I don't mind picking him up but it will not be until tomorrow, after all, it is a holiday and he is not what I would call family," George replied politely to the naive police officer outside his front door, not wanting the rest of his family to hear the conversation. When all was said and done, George reentered his home and asked, "When's supper?"
The better question was the one Harry posed with the children in unison, "Where's Mama?"
George sat on the sofa and recounted her whereabouts; as if it were an unimportant detail of the day that he was surprised he'd forgotten to mention, "Mama is volunteering at the church mission today, serving Christmas supper to the poor." He frowned catching the children's saddened faces and weepy eyes. "Children, we are very fortunate to be a family, there are others who are not so lucky. They are alone and unloved on this blessed holiday. Mama wanted to do something special and help those poor souls out, so when the priest asked her to give a little time this afternoon to help out at the soup kitchen, complimenting her on her cooking, how could she refuse? The priest did say in his sermon that Christmas is a holiday where we should reach out to those who are lost and help them find their way back to the Lord. That's what Mama is doing. We should all be very proud of her."
Joseph looked about to his family and smiled, pushing out his chest with pride, "I'm very proud of Mama. And I think Mama would want us to open our Christmas presents right after supper." Everyone else agreed that allowing the children to open their packages and gifts was by far the best way to end their persistent nagging, and so it was. Wendy served Christmas dinner, and as was the tradition started by her mother many years before, she served George his supper first. Next she served her intended, Peter Pan, and went on from there. A much livelier conversation ensued, even without Mary, and where she was in the cave, she could feel her family's contentment beat within her heart. She smiled as her mind's eye gave her access to the children's reactions when they opened their gifts, all but one picked out by George. They didn't even notice the lovely tin banks she purchased special for them, as they were opened first and discarded for much more fun and exciting things that came after.
The family made quite merry until late in the evening, and without Mary there to remind George of the time, the children were allowed to stay up well past their bedtimes, entertaining the guests that poured into the home wishing the Darling family a very Happy Christmas. Wendy was utterly delighted to play mommy and bathe and put the children to bed with a thrilling tale of a brother and sister, lost and starving in the woods, that came across a house made of ginger bread and candy. Harry, John, George and Peter kept company in the parlor puffing on pipes and drinking wine well after midnight. After the children were asleep and tucked in, Wendy cleaned up in the kitchen. "Father, shouldn't Mother be home by now? It's rather late, did you make arrangements for someone to escort her home?"
George looked up from the game of chess John had tempted him into playing and shrugged his shoulders. "To tell you the truth, Wendy, I thought she was home already."
George went back to his game, and Wendy, baffled by her father's indifferent attitude, went to her mother's room. Mary was not inside, nor was she anywhere else in the house. Persistent and strong willed, like her mother, Wendy reentered the parlor putting on her coat, "I'm going to the church to look for her. It's very late, and she should not walk home alone." Wendy yanked Peter by his collar to follow after her, and George, thinking very hard about his next chess move, waved his hand to her as she slammed the front door.
"George, you're not worried about Mary?" Harry asked, peering up from his book.
"Not in the least. You said it yourself, she should be allowed to go out and do her womanly things. Mary is a grown woman with her own mind. Maybe she decided to stay at a friend's house for the night, too cold to walk home alone."
Contrary to his blithe appearance, George was very worried, for Mary had been on his mind throughout dinner and the rest of the evening. He'd been constantly looking over his shoulder, hoping at any moment she would suddenly appear by her own regard. After his match with John, he excused himself to his room and sat on the bed, twiddling his hands. He checked the clock over and over again, waiting with his eyes to the wardrobe door. Nothing, not one peep or hint of movement from within. When he could stand it no longer, he opened it and began rapping on the hard oak wood, looking for the hollow point to gain access to Neverland. There was none, for when George left in the afternoon, Captain Hook not only slammed the door behind him, he locked it also.
Mary opened her eyes and saw an old man in a funny wool hat staring down at her as she lay in a big, comfy warm bed covered from head to toe in soft blankets. "You've been sleeping all afternoon, hope you had pleasant dreams."
Mary smiled, "Yes actually I did, thank you."
"Hungry, Madam?" Mr. Smee asked, holding up a fresh steamed lobster near her nose. "Yummy, I promise you, caught this very evening." He shuffled over to the table and placed the tray down. He smiled adoringly at her before showing her a pretty grape-hued velvet dress, cut low in the cleavage that, as he put it, "Captain chose special for you." He nodded toward the shoes to match, and the lovely jewels she could accentuate her outfit with. "Captain Hook will be in to join you, Madam, in only a moment. He was wanting to bathe and shave all nice for you, it being Christmas and all." Mary shook her head, and rose from the bed first attiring herself in a silk robe that hung on the bedpost. It surely belonged to the captain, for it was quite large on her.
Alone, Mary examined the dress and put it on, as well as the shoes, a perfect fit to her slim frame. Mary looked through his collection of exotic perfumes and selected the scent she favored most, lightly touching it to her neck and wrists. She upswept her clean hair into a pretty bun, and placed a jeweled hair clip in the back for decoration. She preferred a subtle appearance, so she lay aside all the other gaudy jewels the Captain picked specially for her, with the exception of a rather extravagant diamond necklace she was only trying on in a mocking manner, but found it rather lovely and to her liking. She was admiring her own beauty in the mirror, gently touching her neck and collarbone, loving the work of art Captain Hook paid a fortune for, having an expert craftsmen fashion it from his own original drawing of what the diamond piece worthy of a queen should look like, when he entered.
Dressed in his best, a crimson velvet jacket and pleated dress shirt with freshly pressed breeches and shined boots, complete with his traditional flagrant Captain's hat, he gazed at her beauty in awe and amazement. "I must say..." he exhaled deeply and inhaled just as much, "I am in love with you and only you tonight." Mary turned around and offered him her batted eyelashes and her most flirtatious glance. "You are the most perfect creature I have ever seen, a rose of the sea you are, Madam," he continued as he took her hand in his and twirled her about into his embrace.
"You know what say about roses, Captain. Always be wary of the thorns."
She pecked him on his cheek, taking his arm as he escorted her to the table. He pulled out her chair, and bowed graciously as she took her seat. She held her enticing eyes, not to mention expression with a mocking smile toward him as he swept to the opposite end of the table and took a chair. As he flipped out his napkin, he offered, "Wine, Madam?"
She nodded and his ever present and loyal servant, Mr. Smee, who had walked in after him, served her. "You look lovely tonight, Madam." That was all Mr. Smee said the entire night, for the talk of the table was a solitary one between the pirate captain and the queen.
"You were supposed to save me from the sea, instead I washed up on shore like a piece of driftwood," Mary began, "I was afraid you forgot about me, Captain."
"No, Madam, I could never forget you, not ever. The mermaid that brought you to shore should have brought you to a rowboat waiting nearby. So sorry that you were inconvenienced."
"More so frozen to where I was, probably an ice cube by the time you finally came to retrieve me Captain."
"You are alright now, Madam, I defrosted you myself in a warm bath."
After dinner, they danced. After they danced, they ate dessert. Strawberries and whipped cream over a fluffy cake that they fed one another lying on a blanket spread out over the floor. "It is as if we are on a picnic in the countryside," Mary joked, holding the same grin she had since he entered the room. The night progressed, unfortunately, but neither one cared enough to check the clock. After their dessert, they played a game of chess, the pirate captain was defeated after only several ill planned moves. "I told you to beware of the thorns," Mary jested as she put his king in check.
The clock in his cabin tolled midnight as Mary played the harpsichord with a great skill and passion, while Captain Hook looked on, not wanting to take his eyes from her, infatuated by her splendor and magnificence. Mr. Smee hated to interrupt his merriment, but a deal is a deal and so he leaned down and whispered "Captain, it's past the time you was to be sending her home to her husband."
Captain Hook glared quickly to the clock and then to her.
Even Mr. Smee was astounded by the Captain's attention to every detail on Mary. He watched not only her face and body, but her delicate fingertips and long nails buffed to a shine as she tapped gently on the keys in perfection, bringing forth the most pleasant melodies. He gazed at her eyes as they darted back and forth over the page reading the sheet music. He gazed on in amazement every time she moistened her lips with her tongue, her eyelashes as they blinked, her feet encased in a velvet shoe with petit heels as she balanced herself half off the bench with her captivated playing.
"Oh Smee, can she not stay forever?" The question was of unusual significance, especially when a pirate captain asked the permission of his first mate.
"Well, Captain, that not be up to me, you or the lady," Mr. Smee replied, taking several steps back, worried over an impending wrath. But there was none, only clapping and a request for an encore.
"Some other time, I'm out of practice. My fingers hurt from all that playing," Mary replied, rising from the seat and straightening her dress. "What would you like to do next?"
The Captain turned and looked fiercely at Mr. Smee, who took his leave from the cabin as if his fanny was set on fire. With him gone, the Captain hoisted Mrs. George Darling up and over to his bed, placing her down with ease. "I want you to make love to me, like you make love to George." He touched his brow to hers waiting for her answer, "Will you please, Madam. Just for tonight. Make the part of him I carry with me real."
"I can't, Captain, you know that." Mary touched his face to hers and kissed his nose. "Do you really want that, to have to share me with him forever?" He rested his head against her breast and closed his eyes. "Believe me, James, I want to," He looked back up to her with his piercing blue eyes, "But what kind of life would that be for you? I am an older woman who will continue to grow old. You are truly just a young man, made old by living in this world. Plus you know how much I love George; you would live in a constant comparison to him. You deserve the love of someone your equal, someone who can give you all that you desire and be happy to do it."
Captain Hook moved from above her and to a position alongside of her on his back, "I'll never find her, and if it is not you, Madam, then she doesn't exist. Anyway, if you stay here you will grow no older than you are at this very moment -- just say the word. As for your husband, Madam, you would forget him in only a week's time."
"That's not true, Wendy never forgot her family when she was in your care," Mary replied as she took his hand in hers.
"That is because, Madam, I reminded her. A courtesy I would not so willingly do for you." He raised her hand to his mouth and kissed it, moving it to his heart.
"And what kind of life would that be for me? I'm not a child, I have lived a long life and made many of own memories, you are me asking to forget all of that if I stay here. Not to mention all that remains unfinished. I promise you, Captain, the one you should be with exists, and she loves you. She just doesn't know it yet." Mary rested on her arm and moved his hair from his face.
"And how do you know that?" He did not look at her, but at the ceiling. Mary touched the necklace Captain Hook gave her as a Christmas present, and then placed that hand on his chest. "You gave Wendy a necklace like this once. Where is it?"
Captain Hook exhaled and pointed his hook to a jewelry box that sat on a shelf out of the way. Mary got up and walked over to it, opening it she found it empty. "It's not here."
The Captain was up in a heartbeat and to the door screaming for Smee who came running at his call. "Someone stole Gwendolyn's necklace, I WANT THAT NECKLACE BACK, IT'S ALL I HAVE OF HER, I WANT IT, SMEE! DO YOU UNDERSTAND!" He held Mr. Smee up by his shirt that was ensnared in his hook. "NOW!" he screamed before throwing him down to the ground.
"I know where it is," Mary offered, as he stalked to her wide-eyed. "She hid it in her bedroom in the attic, along with a picture of you. It didn't make sense to George and I when we found it, but the reason for it is as clear as day to me now. James, she wanted to remember you."
"Let us not ruin the perfect evening, Madam, with talk of your daughter, our time together grows shorter by the moment." He pulled her roughly by her hands to the bed and forcefully yanked down her dress off her shoulders, drenching her neck with his kisses.
"Not like this, remember your promise to me," Mary said as she turned to face him. "I think when you look at me, you see Wendy, that is why you crave me so."
Captain Hook touched her cheek and sniffed her scent that wafted from her neck. "No Madam, when I look at you, I see you, and that is why I crave you so. Your essence, dare I say, is quite alluring, not to mention addictive." He pressed his lips to hers and she allowed his contact, "Please, Madam, make love to me, pretend I'm your husband."
Mary was adamant on her decision; she shook her head and backed away from him. "I cannot make you real, I would lose George and you would lose Wendy."
Captain Hook stepped forward to her and she stepped back away from him in motion as they repeated this several times before Mary hit the wall of the cabin. With her back flat against it, Captain Hook raised both his arms, placing them against the wall behind her and leaned down into her, placing his head to hers. "I don't care, love me, please."
Mary tilted her lips onto his, engaging him in kiss. He fell into her arms and they slid down, embraced and lip locked, to the floor. There on the blanket, still laid out on the floor for their picnic of strawberries and cream, they consummated their evening together. An affectionate and amorous interlude that did not make Captain Hook real, for Mary gave him nothing of herself that belonged to George. She did give him the love, at least once, as he had asked for. She felt he was truly deserving of the sentiment of her heart he had earned, "I do love you, James, and always will."
As they lay naked under a blanket in his bed afterwards, Captain Hook, in a pleasant dream of being an existent male in reality, and not just a figment of someone else imagination, Mary felt her bare abdomen. The scar of Michael, once a deeply imbedded reminder of his delivery and her ordeal afterwards, was now gone from her body.
"It has already begun, Madam, you must leave me now," Captain Hook whispered, stirred from his slumber by her weeping.
Mary dressed in her velvet gown, leaving her hair down and disheveled. Captain Hook stood behind her and removed the diamond necklace. "Oh no, Captain, can I not keep it? I will treasure it so."
Captain Hook reaffixed the clasp in his hand and hung it over his hook, "It's either the necklace and I, or George and all your memories with him, Madam. You cannot have both for neither he nor I will share."
Mary touched the elegant diamonds that dangled down, held in a platinum setting, the loveliest jewels found in the world, all for her so close to her hand, all for the taking. "Do you want to be real, Captain?" Mary asked, holding her stare to the diamonds, hypnotic and entrancing to gaze upon.
"Yes." His reply was given even before she finished her question.
"Please remember me, even if I have no recollection of you, let me apologize for that now." Mary spoke brushing her lips softly to his cheek as she squeezed his hand, taking her leave to the cabin door.
"Madam," Mary turned to him as he addressed her by her given title in Neverland, "It is I that should be asking for your memory, for once you are gone, it is you that will be forgotten." He raised his eyes to the ceiling and whispered, almost out of breath, "finally..." He returned his gaze to hers and added, "Allow me to apologize for that now. Thank you for you company this evening." He bowed to her, and she to him.
"Happy Christmas, Captain Hook.
"Happy Christmas, Mrs. George Darling."