Usual disclaimers… sigh!
Okay – remember, two chapters means two reviews! Hehehehehe!
Pen –there is a special line in this, just for you... I wonder if you can spot it?
Oh – and Fanfic seem to be shortening very long reviews. This might affect Pen only, but just thought you all ought to be aware. I have been saving all my reviews onto my hard-drive and printing them off… and a number of them had /TD> after them. Luckily they were old reviews that I still had in my emails and I was able to recover the text. It doesn't seem to be affecting the newer reviews… but better safe than sorry.
Number 21... you've caught up.. for now!
Chapter 23 – Bermuda
Yet again the weather was against them, the storms seeming to want to keep Bessie's Revenge from her destination. Jacob settled quickly on board, his willingness to try his hand at anything quickly winning over the men who had been initially unsure as to how to react to him being Jack's brother. But he expected no favours, and he was not disappointed except when Jack kept him from the rigging during one of the storms, fearing it too rough for his inexperience.
Every day, Jack would rise and take their bearings, marking their position on the chart, wishing they could make better speed. Some days Joshamee wondered if he would wear a rut into the deck with his pacing, but none of the crew blamed him. They all loved Bessie and the children in their own way, and dreaded to think what Jack must be feeling.
Eventually though, nearly two months after leaving London, Bessie's Revenge sat at anchor in a quiet bay a short distance from Hamilton. Although they were not known as pirates here, they were still close to the Caribbean and Jack did not want to take any chances with the ship being recognised.
"Jacob an' I will go t' town an' ask around t'night," he informed them. "We should be able t' find out about th' Jolly Maid once th' taverns fill…"
"You watch the moonlight then," Joshamee cautioned, for the sky was clear, although the air held the scent of rain. The full moon was only just waning.
Jack raised one eyebrow, making his quartermaster shuffle his feet as his obvious remark. "I was goin' t' dance naked in th' middle o' th' square," he retorted sarcastically.
"Aye… yes… well, um… just take care," Joshamee replied, before hurrying off to find something to do before he embarrass himself further.
Jacob emerged from below deck. "Are you ready?" he said, looking around at the bay in surprise. Never having been outside of London in his life before now, the place looked exotic and mysterious in the deepening gloom of dusk.
"Just waitin' fer you," Jack said, climbing down to the small ship's boat and picking up the oars. Jacob had yet to learn the finer points of rowing, and he wanted to get ashore as quickly and as dry as possible. Once his younger brother joined him in the boat, he started towards shore, eager to at last find some definite news of his family.
They beached the boat and pushed their way through the undergrowth until they emerged onto a narrow, rutted track. Turning south-eastwards, they headed towards Hamilton.
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Bessie sat quietly on a crate by the dockside, wanting a few moments alone before she returned home. Mark was staying with her whilst his ship was in the harbour, helping Pearl look after the others whilst she worked. He had moved in after the landlord had started charging for him, reasoning that it would not hurt as he was already paying. He slept in the main room, away from Bessie and the children. The children… her hand fell to her stomach, resting on the bulge gently. That day she had bartered away her last pearl, earning enough to pay the rent for a further month… but after that?
The enormity of it all overwhelmed her and for a while she sat there, staring out at the harbour as she wept. Already she was taking in laundry and sewing, Pearl helping her, and Jack had started running messages for the captains along the docks, earning whatever pennies he could. She did not know how they would manage when the babies were born, for she feared she was carrying twins. Indeed, she had not been so huge since she carried Jack and Henrietta. "What am I to do with nine children?" she sighed.
She knew Peter Hatten for what he was, having heard tales of him from others. There was no way she would sleep with him in order to get a lower rent and she feared that soon the ten of them would be living out on the streets. "Can't do much about it sitting here," she chided herself, forcing herself to rise and head home. The children would be worrying, for it had begun to rain and already she was late.
When she reached home, the door was already open and Pearl was cautiously peering out into the night. "Mother!" she cried. "Have you seen Daffodil?"
Bessie hurried inside out of the rain, which was getting heavier. "Isn't she indoors?" she worried, knowing that the elderly cat almost never went out, and most especially not in the rain.
"I opened the door to look for you and she ran out," Pearl explained.
"Here, I'll go and look," Mark offered, reaching for his cloak.
"No. I'd best go," Bessie reasoned. "Daffodil won't come to you… she doesn't like men that much…" She sighed, remembering how the cat had loved Jack though, and had often followed him down to the docks of Tortuga when he left.
Mark nodded, handing her her own cloak from the peg near the door. "Do you want me to come with you?" he offered, seeing how tired she was.
"I'll be fine," she sighed. "You look after the children, please…"
"Of course," he nodded. "Although if you are not back in half an hour, I'm coming looking for you…"
She smiled at his care, turning and heading back out in to the deluge. Where was that cat?
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Da-da-dum…
Reviews will make the reunion quicker!
