Chapter 3

Several hours later, we were leaving, the crowds around us slowly filing their way out of the house, quickly putting on their coats and shawls to protect themselves from the rain that greeted us outside.

The quite laughs of the women and the chuckles of the men were heard as they all hurried towards their carriages, the women holding their skirts up slightly all the while revealing their expensive shoes and a hint of their hosed ankles which roused the attentions of more than a few interested men.

Samuel regarded them all with a curious smile on his face as I put my shawl on, covering my dark curls underneath the red hood, nearly concealing my face. Turning back to me, Samuel smiled. I could tell he was admiring me, his lips always turned up in a smile when he did.

"You looked absolutely stunning tonight, my dear." He said, reaching out to take his coat. As he put it on, he looked out the window again to watch our acquaintances trying desperately to keep dry. The rain had begun pelting so hard outside I could almost feel each and every drop touch the ground. The water splashed as the carriages moved, the whinnying of horses loud and hurried as everyone tried to make as quick an exit as they could. "More than a few eyes were on us tonight, and all because of you." He answered. "Your father must have been green with envy not to have you on his arm." I blushed. Where had my father been? And then I remembered.

My father had been at the gathering the whole while I had been with my fiancé, preferring to keep in the company of Samuel's parents. He had been watching me with a silent bemused smile as I had been first introduced to the Commodore. After our meeting when Samuel had been called over to their table, I found my father, and he had asked what I had thought of the Commodore.

Of course I answered that I had rather liked the Navy officer, and my father had smiled, casting a furtive glance in my fiancé's direction all the while. Of course I knew what thought had burned in his mind since we had entered the building. Had I agreed to accompany the Major to the Caribbean? But, rather than ask right away, he had chosen to wait until after the gathering.

I turned around and found my father lingering behind in the next room, speaking to Samuel's parents. Every so often, all three would smile at Samuel and I, and after several minutes of speaking together, they finally said their farewells and began to make their exits.

"Samuel." I heard his father say. "Come now, we must go before this rain gets much worse. Say your farewells now." Smiling at me, and waving a goodbye, he hurried out the door, towing his wife beside him on his arm.

Samuel nodded, following his parents with his eyes as they left. Rather than choose to follow immediately after them, he lingered behind. Reaching his hand out to take mine, he took it gently.

"Farewell." Samuel said, parting his lips slightly in a smile. "I will be by to call on you tomorrow before we depart for the Dauntless. Let us pray the weather will not be so terrible when we arrive on board. I hope to get a favorable answer, and rain will not prevent me from getting it." I laughed lightly and nodded in answer.

"Goodnight, Samuel." I answered. He lifted my hand to his lips, kissing it gently.

"Goodnight…" he said, his eyes shining. He released my hand, before turning towards my father, who by then had reached my side. "I bid you farewell, sir." He said to my father, before reaching out to a table and taking his hat. Placing it firmly upon his head, he hurried out the door, and into the rain.

"Such an impeccable young man." My father said, his voice soft and weak. He was sick again. But, that did not prevent him from posing the question he had wanted to ask the whole evening. "Now tell me, my darling, have you accepted the Major's proposal?"

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"I hope you did not say no to him, please Romola…" my father said as he took of his cravat, throwing it carelessly to the couch beside him. He had removed his coat as soon as we had entered the building casting it onto a couch for a servant to take when they finally noticed it.

I had entered the house after my father, removing my shawl as he had begun his work upon his cravat. "Papa, of course I haven't said no." he turned to me and smiled, his eyes sparkling. "But I haven't said yes either."

"Romola, do you have any idea of the potentials that wait for you in Port Royale?" I had hurried past him pulling the clips from my hair, allowing my dark curls to fall free about my back. Slipping off my heels, I bent to pick them up, carrying my shoes into my bedroom up the stairs. My father I could hear beginning to follow me up as well. Taking a deep breath, I prepared myself for the speech I knew was to come. "You, the wife of an Earl, who will most likely become a major player within that society. He has small holdings here in London, but imagine how your wealth could increase with sugar crops and the like were you to make your lives there! Imagine yourself as the wife of the future governor. Surely you know of his connections to the Swann family? Surely they are grooming him for that position."

"Of course, Papa, I've heard it all before." I said, falling into the seat in front of my vanity mirror. For several minutes I looked at him through the mirror as he once again explained the 'ties' that Samuel had in Port Royale.

"Your future husband's uncle is governor of Port Royale. His mother is sister to the most important man in that place." I rolled my eyes once again, looking at myself in the mirror and smiling. Reaching up with my left hand, I fixed the lace of my bodice.

"Yes, I understand." I answered, picking up a brush and beginning to comb my hair. "He is also cousin to Elizabeth Swann, the woman who slighted an honorable man to be with a blacksmith who just happened to be the son of a pirate."

My father said nothing, a smile slowly coming across his face. "Ah, you've reminded me of another question." Looking up towards the ceiling in mock desperation, slowly returning my smiling eyes towards my father once again.

"And what is the all-important question, Papa?" I asked him.

"The Commodore, I happened to overhear that your Earl will be joining him onboard the Dauntless tomorrow, and he's invited you to join him as well."

"I am going to, if that is what you were going to ask." I answered. "Major Gates has s prior engagement with the Commodore, and has asked if I would like to join him onboard the Dauntless in the afternoon."

"An attempt at eliciting a favorable answer, I hope?" my father asked. I smiled and nodded yes.

"Of course." I answered. "The Commodore will be sailing us out of Port for the afternoon for some cannon drills." My father laughed.

"What a sight it will be for me to see you onboard a fighting ship. They say it is bad luck for sailors to have women onboard their ships. I hope you will not bring him bad omens." I shook my head.

"Surely you do not believe in that, do you Papa?" I asked. He shook his head, smiling. Approaching me, he placed a kiss gently upon my forehead, looking at me through the mirror.

Looking at him then, I noticed the absolute fragile state he had deteriorated to. His face had regained its sallow color, his eyes slightly sunken and his lips a pale pink. When his hands touched the bare skin of my collar, I could feel the sweat coming from them, cooling my skin. How sick he had become since I had last saw him, several years earlier. He answered me quietly, all the while looking at me through the mirror.

"Of course I don't. The Commodore would have to be both blind and dumb to refuse to have such attractive company on board his ship." He smiled gently, squeezing my shoulders affectionately. My father turned away then, heading towards the entrance to my room.

"I will send a housemaid up to help you prepare for bed. Would you like a heat plate to warm your feet? I'm sure with all this rain outside, your feet must be rather cold." I nodded.

"Alright then, goodnight, darling. I will see you tomorrow before you leave with the Major." I smiled at him.

"Papa, please be sure to take your medicine tonight. You do not look to well."

"I am perfectly alright, what in the world you are talking about?" he asked, trying in vain to cover the shortness in breath he had been trying to hide all along.

"Do not play games with me, Papa. Just because I have spent most of my time with Mama does not mean I do not fail to notice anything that may be wrong. Mama has been worried about you, you know. Don't think that your sickness has escaped her notice." I continued. I noticed his expression soften as he heard me speak of his estranged wife.

"Has she really worried about me?" my father asked. "When you write her next, tell her not to." He continued. Though he tried hard to sound friendly, I could feel the somewhat cold tone in his voice as he spoke of her. Was the fact that she was Catholic such an odious thing to him? Or was it the fact that she had lied to him in order to marry and conceive me in the hopes of having an Englishman's son?

"Please do not be so cold to her…she loves you still, despite what you may think of her." I said, looking towards him. His eyes grew distant then, most likely remembering earlier days. For several minutes he stood there, looking at nothing in particular before turning back to look at me. Though his eyes were on me, it was as if he were looking at another, recognizing another's presence and not my own.

"You are such a beautiful creature, much like your mother was, so long ago…" he said. Though he wanted to say more, he did not. And knowing that I had wanted to hear more, he turned and walked out the door, closing it behind him softly.

He had abandoned my mother, and yet still she clung to the hope that someday, somehow, my father would return to her. But, he would never return, at least with his honor still intact. Nothing but scandal surrounded them both, and I had been the result of their mistakes, a mirror of their sins. It was a thought that was never far from my mind, no matter what they both told me.

Like my mother, did the Commodore hope that he would someday receive into his arms the woman he loved? Did he wish that she would somehow return to him? Only he himself knew…

A/N:

I know, I know….more Commodore, right? I want him in there too, but I had to get a bit more of history in the backgrounds of the characters, which I hope you guys liked! It provides a solid backdrop for our intrepid heroes to develop their feelings and stories. Hopefully it was coherent enough for you understand.

Anyway, next chapter will definitely be the first full-length conversation between the Commodore and Romola. Of course, I would tell you more, but then I would ruin the story for you guys. Hehehehe…..

Thank you so much for the newest reviews! I really appreciate the fact that you took the time to write down what you think of my story. And they seem to be really encouraging. I hope you three liked the latest installment.