Author's note: I know it's kind of draggy right now, but there is a reason all their talking sets up what happens. Next chapter some pretty obvious things are about to be confirmed, and at least the start of the explanation as to what happened to Mister Reynolds.
Disclaimer: A mouse is richer than me, now that's just sad.
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James' meeting with Anne had certainly rocked him slightly, especially with her last words. She was a powerful woman indeed, he thought to himself. A bit like the soon to be Mistress Turner, he wondered how well the two knew each other. They were always at the same events, but Elizabeth was younger than Anne and he hadn't really ever seen the two speak more than a casual word to one another.
He was walking along the beach wondering where Anne could possibly be hiding, the beach was entirely flat and it was a crisp clear day. Then he heard the splashing sound of Jackson swishing around water in a tide pool. He smiled slightly, the boy's sleeves were rolled up and he was holding a starfish. He was poking it with his free hand watching it wriggle.
James knelt down beside the boy, looking into the tide pool. "What do you have there Jackson?"
Jackson prodded the creature once more, "a starfish." Jackson set the creature back into the tide pool. "Mama said that if I take them out of the water for too long they'll die."
James nodded. "Your mother is a very wise woman, Jackson." He looked into the tide pool again only to find that the starfish had buried itself back under the sand. "Is she a good mother?" James had no clue where that came from, it just slipped out of his mouth.
"She's the best," Jackson said grinning from ear to ear, causing James to smile also.
"Can you tell me where she is, Jackson?" The Commodore asked the boy. She had to be close by; he did know that Anne would never let Jackson out of her sight. She was probably watching the two of them talk at the moment.
Jackson pointed to where she was. "Right there, Mister Commodore." James chuckled to himself at the title.
"Thank you, and it's just Commodore." He said standing up walking toward Anne who sure enough had been watching the two the entire time from what he could tell. She smiled slightly, and without closing her book she put it down so the pages were touching the sand.
James wondered if that's all she did was read. Then again he could have sworn that he saw her cross stitching one day, but he couldn't recall seeing her cross stitch any other time. "Good afternoon, Mistress Reynolds." He said sitting down next to her on the sand.
"Good Afternoon, Commodore." She said resting her arms on her knees which she had drawn to her body.
James caught sight of her ankles and quickly averted his gaze. She wasn't wearing any stockings, and her shoes were sitting next to her in the sand.
Anne seemed to notice this and smiled. "The sand gets caught in the fibers of the silk. Don't worry about it Commodore, it does not offend me and it should not offend you."
How did she know that? James thought to himself. Yes, she was indeed very wise for knowing that's why he averted gaze. There was something he had realized in just the two times he had seen her separated from a crowd though, she was not as proper as she could be. Perhaps, her parents were more open than most, or maybe she had just formed her own ideas along the way. Not that James was protesting it did not make her any less of a person in his eyes. "Where did you say you were from, Mistress Reynolds? Before you came to Port Royale that is."
She looked at him with a suspicious look on her face. "England." She answered plainly. "I married George there, and we traveled from place to place before finally deciding to settle down here in Port Royale."
James looked at her confused; traveling wasn't common for people who weren't sailors. He could understand George traveling around, as he was a merchant who owned several ships that held his goods and captained one of them. He would never bring Anne along though, would he? He didn't think he should inquire any further though as Anne seemed less than thrilled at the topic.
In a desperate attempt to change the subject James asked Anne, "Do you plan on attending the Swann-Turner wedding on Saturday?"
Anne nodded. "I do, indeed. I'm looking rather forward to it in fact; it's about time we have a wedding." She was a big fan of weddings that were real weddings, not this arranged marriage junk. And that's exactly what William and Elizabeth had, true love. Plus all weddings had their fair share of alcohol.
Now it was the Commodore's turn to know what Anne was thinking. "Never fear Mistress Reynolds, I will be watching your alcohol intake."
She sighed frustrated, "I can assure you Commodore I have not gotten drunk since I've had children."
James smirked. "Well, I'm not going to give you the chance Mistress Reynolds." He said as he stood up. "Now, if you'll excuse me I have some business at the docks to attend to." And with that he left Mistress Reynolds to go see what her son was up to.