They galloped fast through woods towards Beaumont state but when they reached towards the path from where they could see the main road Kathani slowed down making Anthony do same as his wife.
Under the covering of wilderness they can easily see how tight the security is on main roads. "Seems like Victor is making sure to secure his territory." She muses.
Anthony stared at the guards checking the carriages and carts and then back at his wife as he whispered. "How are you planning to get us to Aubrey Hall with those guards checking every road."
Kathani shrugs as she tells him. "We will improvise." Without explaining anything further she began galloping again, making her husband following hurriedly after her.
At first Anthony thought they were heading towards Beaumont Mansion but instead Kathani led them towards shack nearby woods at the edge of her state.
Once they arrived she quickly jumped down and walked inside the shack. By the time Anthony followed her inside his eyes widen when he saw that she had built an armoury inside the shack.
It was filled with guns, swords, daggers and even other weapons but his eyes widened when it fell on a strange looking objects. "Um, Kathani what are these supposed to do?"
His wife, who was searching for something from huge chest, turned around and quickly snatched the object from his hand. "Do not touch anything here! That small object is filled with Philip's dangerous explosives chemicals."
"Explosive!" Anthony gulped in fear and Kathani shake her head as she tried to calm her husband down. "We are at war my love and you have lots of learning to do before you go around touching those things you couldn't understand."
He nodded his head mutely and watched as his wife gave him a small smile and kissed him quickly before turning her attention back towards the chest.
He didn't dare to touch anything else and then finally Kathani cheered in triumphant voice. "Ah Ha!"
She pulled out a few things and turned to stare at her husband. "Come on Anthony, its time for us to suite up for this mission."
At the end of the city check post, a few guards saw a lone cart slowly approaching filled with large sacks.
As soon as the cart grew closer they all relaxed their rifles when they saw an extremely aged man and woman sitting in front. An old grey hair man coughing violently while covering his mouth with a handkerchief while the old woman whose face was filled with a few warts and front teeth were black held the reins of their horses.
One of the guards raised his hand to stop the cart as he approached the elderly people. "Who are you and where are you going?" He asked the elderly man but he just coughed violently as his wife replied in a squeaky voice. "My good officer, we are potato farmers and since the royal wedding Celebrations is cancelled and they put curfew everywhere we are heading home towards Kent."
The guard stared at the woman and the man beside her as he stared towards the large sack. "What's in the sack?"
"My good sir, these are potatoes from our farm." The woman replied once again as her husband continued to cough. "We were unable to sell it and that's why we are taking it back home."
"How can we trust you are telling the truth? You could be working with those enemies who abduct the royal family?" The guard inquires suspiciously, making the man send into fits of violent cough while the elderly woman squeak, her face mortified.
"You are doubting old Mathilda and Millicent?" She cried while making crossing signs in front of heavens. "Please good sir by all means check our sacks and see for yourself if we are old farmers or enemies of this good country."
The guard felt guilty as this elderly woman wept while a few other men checked the first few sacks and found them filled with potatoes. "She is telling the truth officer."
The junior officer informed and the woman glared angrily at them. "See, we are old farmers not some attackers! Now can we head home or are you going to interrogate my husband who is suffering from consumption!"
As soon they heard this all the guards backed away as the officer stared outrageously at the woman. "Consumption! Why did you not say anything before?"
"Are you blind and not see my poor Millicent coughing?" The elderly woman retort making the officer embarrassed in front of his peers. "Alright fine! You can leave!"
The cart started moving slowly and for a while guards watched before the officer shook his head and told others. "At this speed that old hag will become widowed by the time they reach Kent."
They were disturbed by a few new arrivals but what they did not notice was the moment the cart turned towards the lane the old woman snapped the reins and made her horses galloped faster than ever.
"That was fun!" Anthony finally removed his handkerchief as his wife smirked beside him. "That's your first lesson Millicent, I mean Anthony Bridgerton, officers and guards will never suspect old people, especially if one of them is sick."
"Or if the wife is an annoying old lady." He mused kissing her fake warts as Kathani rubbed charcoal from her teeth. "Yes that too." The rest of the ride went smoothly after that and if they meet any guards they would act again and they will let them pass without making any fuss.
By the time it was night and too dark to travel Anthony saw an inn approaching. "Kathani, let's stay here for a night."
But she shook her head as she told him. "We cannot take risk for guards to search inns while we are sleeping peacefully in some inn."
She saw a small abandoned barn ahead and slowly she moved the cart towards that barn. "This is better, Its open and no one will look here and if in case any guard come across they will think two old farmers are taking refuge in a barn."
With that decided they both took care of the horses as Anthony built fire for them. He watched as Kathani used potatoes from sack to make them descent meal.
Finally, still in their disguise they both settled down on a make shift bed of hay.
With excitement about finding evidence in his mind Anthony stared at his wife who was staring at him wistfully. "Why are you staring at me like that?"
"Just admiring my husband in his aged looks." She ran her fingers on his hair which turned grey by using white paint on it.
Anthony smirked and touched his wife's disguise as he told her. "You look quite ravishing as an old lady. I cannot wait to see what you would really look like when we are aged surrounded by our children and grandchildren."
His excitement disappeared as his wife's smile fell and her eyes turned sad as she said. "You will live a long and happy life Anthony but I cannot be part of that life."
Anthony sighed as he pulled her closer. "Kathani." But she pushed away as she sat up and stared at the fire, her eyes filled with tears as she sniffed facing away from himself. "I cannot give you false hope of our happier life, I am too broken and fixated on my revenge to think anything else."
He sighed and sat up too, pulling his wife towards him as they sat together while staring at the fire. "What about afterwards? Once we defeat Victor and return to our normal lives?"
At word normal Kathani scoffs. "My life was never normal and the life you are offering is an impossible dream that I fear to think could ever turn into reality."
Anthony frowned as he turned her face to stare in her eyes. "Why would you say that?"
"I am too broken to be ever normal again." She told him straightforwardly making him sigh sadly at her. "Kathani, I know you think that but my love is powerful to heal your wounds and I hope one day you will be happy and free from your pain."
But she shook her head as she clutched her belly and Anthony knew she was thinking about babies.
"What about your happiness Anthony?! You know there are high chances I could never give you children." Her voice hitched as her face fell while Anthony heart shattered once again. "What do you mean?"
His wife sniffed as tears spill from her eyes. "The day I killed my child in my womb, the day I stabbed my womb repeatedly..."
Her breath hitches as if she was chocking on that horrible experience. Anthony held her tightly as he rubbed his hand on her back to sooth her pain. "I do not remember much once I fell unconscious but I think I gained consciousness a few times and that's when I heard mid wife and the surgeon they brought to safe my life as they informed the warden. They, they suspect it could be dangerous for me to get pregnant again. they also thought chances were less for me to get pregnant again but I think the warden was not willing to take any chances or maybe Victor ordered them to stop raping me but for some reason keeping me alive and traumatized can do without risking me getting pregnant."
She sniffed and wiped her tears away as she fully faced him. "I guess small victories for me because after that I stop hurting. No matter how many times they wiped or burned me, it did not hurt anymore."
Anthony felt tears fell from his eyes as he stared at his remarkable brave wife. Kissing her forehead he assured her. "I love you more than anything in this world and if we cannot have children then we will become best uncle and auntie to our siblings children but Kathani I swear once this is over I will give you a long beautiful life and we will grow old together, our faces will filled with wrinkles, our hair will turned grey and even then I will love you as much and more with each passing breath of my life."
Kathani's eyes shone as she pulled him to kiss him passionately and when they moved apart to take a deep breath she burst into giggles.
"What?" He asked in confusion and his wife pinched his cheek before removing her fake wart that must have end up stuck on his face as he was kissing her. She scrunched her nose adorably as she teases. "Old Anthony or not, I can do without these warts."
He burst into laughter as he prepped her fake old face with sweet kisses. "Warts or no warts I will love you forever Kathani Bridgerton."
In that moment she truly believes him and as she watched him fell peacefully in her arms for the first time that dream of growing old with Anthony did not feel like far-fetched reality.
Next morning they began their journey again and luckily found no guards encountered their path.
Anthony was watching his wife as he thought about her past and what she gone through over the years to overcome and become what she is now.
Somehow his mind kept coming back to what that Spanish admiral said. Kathani can see her husband's lost in his thoughts so she playfully nudged him making him jumped with startled look on his face. "What are you thinking Lord Bridgerton?" She asked teasingly.
She watched as Anthony scratched his neck, a habit of his when he was nervous to ask something.
Slowing down so that horse could galloped on their own she turned her focus on him. "Anthony? Tell me what is bothering you?"
He grimaced and opened his mouth a few times before closing it again as he finally confessed. "There is something but I think it could make you uncomfortable."
Kathani who has shared her worst parts wonder what it was that making her husband so hesitant. "Anthony, there are no secrets anymore between us so there is nothing you can ask that could be uncomfortable for me."
At her assurance, Anthony finally looked at her as he tentatively asked. "I want to know what Diego meant about you sharing a history with Arth before you stopped him."
He watched as Kathani's eyes widened in surprise and as she gaped at him, he tried to assure her. "Look, I have history too, which was mostly because of my physical needs and source to numb pain I felt when I felt yours and father's loss in my life."
Her eyes softened as she gently cupped his face. "I do not hold your past against you Anthony, We all needed something or someone to distract us from our pain."
He nodded his head in agreement as he tried to tell her. "Exactly Kathani, I do not care if you have some history with Arthur guy, what is important for me is that I am your present and future." Apparently something he said made her head turned in surprise.
"Arthur?" Anthony scratches his neck as he tries to act indifferent to this man who once was his wife lover. "Spanish Admiral said Arth so I guess that man's name is Arthur whom you shared special history in your pirate days."
His wife stared at him amusement as she shook her head. "I have no history with any man named Arthur or any man at all before I met you again."
"Kathani you do not need to lie for my sake." He tries once again to assure her but she chuckled instead. "Its truth, you are the only man in my life I willingly ever took as a lover."
He could sense truth behind her words but then he frowned in confusion as he inquires. "But Admiral Diego said?"
She sighed as she answered him while carefully assessing his reaction. "Diego was referring to sea war lord Artemis. She was the woman I shared intimate relationships during my pirate years."
Anthony fell his mouth open in shock as he tried to comprehend his wife with this unknown woman.
Kathani watched in amusement as her husband tried to process this information in his mind.
He tried to open his mouth to speak but then no words made it out and the way his ears turned red it seemed he was thinking hard to digest this truth while getting hot with this information.
Finally Anthony tried to form words but it came out as a pathetic squeak. "You and this woman were lovers."
She shrugged as she stared far away. "You could say she was my guide, my teacher, my friend and yes we became lovers and passionate one at that. The rules of sea are different from lands Anthony and together we were forced to reckoned with."
He felt a little jealous as he heard great respect and even love in his wife's voice. "I, I, I understand its quite unheard among ladies but few gentlemen and older ladies are involved in same sex relationships, discreetly I may add and I am glad you find happiness with this woman."
Kathani quickly kissed his cheek in assurance. "Anthony you have nothing to fear because she was my past but you were my past, present and future. Artemis always knew my true happiness lies within you. She knew how much I love you and while this knowledge always irked her she always knew that my heart will always yearn for you."
Anthony smiled and pulled his wife closer in his embrace as he tried to imagine his faceless opponent. "She must really hate me."
"She once threatened to kill you." Kathani replied truthfully making him gulped in fear but instead of showing that he ask different questions in his mind. "Tell me about her? how you met? How you become lovers? How you got separated?"
His wife sighed as she held him tightly. "There is nothing much to tell. We met soon after I escaped that hell. We bonded over our similar past because like me she was sold as sex slave on a Greece battle ship at young age."
Anthony flinched as he understand how deeper that bond must have been between this war lord and his wife.
"The first few months after I escaped I couldn't stand if an man come closer, I used to have episodes and at one time I thought I would loose my mind."
She felt her husband's arms tightens around her as his voice broke in pain. "I am so sorry my love."
She shake her head and give him assuring smile. "There is no need to feel sad for me, all that was part of past but yes Artemis helped me a lot to deal with that trauma. She trained me, make me stronger and fierce and contributed more to Francesco teachings. She showed me how to become pirate but most importantly she quell my fears of intimacy and showed me how to get pleasure out of that act."
Anthony remember how confidently she enthralled him as Countess and now he understands where she learned all that from.
Kissing her forehead he braces himself for one more question. "Why did you got separated."
"There were two reasons." She admitted in sad voice. "One, she couldn't understand my thirst for revenge. She tried to stop me and she often tried to convince me that I should stay by her side and rule the seas but that was not my life's mission."
She then looked at him as she confessed her main reason. "The main breaking point was you because revenge she could understand but what she never understood how can I love your memory. She used to fight with me and keep insisting that you would never except me but my heart refused to listen and one night after a big fight where she threatened to kill you, I took others and sailed far away in my ship and never looked back."
"And what became of her?" He inquires and his wife's face fell.
"That I do not know but she spread the word that if we ever cross paths again she will ripped my heart as I ripped hers."
After that she fell into sad silence and Anthony did not dared to ask any questions about the woman who was left heartbroken because of their love.
By the time the sun was about to set they reached Aubrey Hall but soon they found another hurdle ahead of them as they saw Aubrey Hall surrounded by officers.
"Attacking us was not enough he now captured our home?" Anthony yells outrageously and was about to charge inside when his wife held him back.
"Calm yourself down! First let's get that evidence and then we will think about getting rid of those guards."
So instead of going through front gates they venture around the back and climbed the wall using ropes she brought among other things from her armoury.
Once inside they both sneaked around the massive gardens while trying to stay clear of the guards.
As they approached the Tulip fields they saw a guard patrolling the path that led them towards their tree house.
"What are we going to do?" He whispered as his wife made quite a gesture as she pulled him behind one of the trees. "Just stay here, I will be back in one minute."
She squeezed his hand and then like a cat she climbed on the tree. For a while no sound could be heard but then she dropped high from the tree, landing neatly on his shoulder.
Before he could understand anything she flipped against his body and bashed the guard head against the trunk, making him fall unconscious.
He watched his wife moving away from the unconscious guard as she grabbed his weapons and hid it under the bushes.
"That was brilliant!" Anthony exclaims and his wife bowed at his compliment as they walked towards their tree house.
Over the years, this house has seen many trees grow but at the edge of the property grows the oldest oak tree of Aubrey Hall and this was the tree their fathers chose to build their tree house.
"When was the last time you went there." She asks as they begin to climb the ladder obscure from other eyes because of leaves growing around it.
Anthony did not need to think hard as he replied. "Only once after they took you away. I could not bare to visit this place but still I did because father's last words to me were treasure and at that time I thought he hid something in one of our treasure boxes so the last time I went there was right after I buried him."
His wife stopped climbing mid way as she stared down to see him. "Did you find anything in our treasure boxes?"
"I only checked mine and found nothing except for my things." He replied and for a while she frowned before she turned ahead and started climbing fast.
By the time Anthony reached the end of the ladder he saw his wife frozen as they both stared at their old tree house, once it was Magnificent now crooked and broken over the course of years but still standing tall despite suffering all hardships.
Kathani felt her husband's soft hands as they both stepped inside the small tree house, bending little as they now grew taller than the door.
Her eyes pricked not just because of dust but memories of their childhood still preserved in this tree house.
She can still see their marbles scattered on the floor. Her old story book lying on the chair which she had probably forgotten but what caught her eyes was to see two treasures trunk across from each other.
"There are our treasure trunks!" Her husband's exciting voice reached her ears and as he went ahead to open his trunk Kathani too went towards her trunk and opened it.
She beamed in happiness as she saw her precious treasures preserved after all these years.
Her Amma's wedding dress, her wedding bangles, her old doll, her Appa's book and bag of soil she once brought from India. She one by one placed everything in her sack but then felt disappointed when she found nothing else inside her trunk. "There is nothing in here." She said in disbelief.
"There is nothing inside my trunk too." Her husband's voice reached her ears, making her turnaround and saw his face filled with disappointment. "I really thought I missed looked but there is nothing here."
Sighing dejectedly they both closed their trunks and sat opposite each other.
For a while they did not know what to do as they lost their last hope.
Finally when waiting for any kind of miracle seemed useless, Anthony got up and held out his hand. "Come Kathani, its time for us to leave this place."
Kathani did not moved for few seconds but then finally grabbed her husband's hand an stood up.
As they walked towards the unknown future Kathani stopped in her tracks stopping Anthony too.
He looked towards his wife but instead of staring at him, she was staring at the floor. She bent down and picked up something from the floor, making them gasp as they recognized these objects. "These are father's tools."
"Uncle Edmund's missing tools from his tool box." Kathani recalls that night she searched his wood shop. "This is a nail wrench and hammer that was missing from his box."
Anthony picked the old rusted tools from his wife and sure enough they belonged to his father. "But what are they doing here?" He asked.
"Why indeed." Kathani asks herself as she stared at the tools and then at the floor that was situated between their treasure trunks.
Suddenly she realized something but to confirm her theory she needed uncle Edmund's letter. "Anthony! Show me uncle Edmund's letter."
Anthony took out the letter from inside his pocket and Kathani read it again. "Between my treasures."
They both stared at their boxes and then at the floor between them. "You think?" Anthony began but his wife was one step head as she bent down to feel the floor. "Look at these nails Anthony! They looked wrench apart and hammered back compared to others."
Anthony used nail wrench in his hand to pull those nails and as soon he pulled last nails out Kathani took the wood off the floor and then they both cried in triumph because between their treasures, hidden under the floor laid small wooden box.
With shaking hands they pulled the box outside and when she opened it tears of joy fell from her eyes. "We found it! We found it Anthony!"
Anthony embraced his wife as they stared at the precious treasure of their father. "We found the lost evidence."
Jacopo was pacing outside the port disguise in guard uniform.
He finally relaxed when he saw Kathani and Anthony approaching dressed as an old sick couple.
Once they got closer he did not waste time as he made them follow him and scold them in a low voice. "You were supposed to arrive here a day earlier."
"There was an insect infestation back at home and we were delayed because we were getting rid of it." Kathani replied, making Jacopo raise his eyes in understanding.
"She did the hard part while I left the instructions to the staff to make sure that no one noticed that she got rid of those insects." Anthony informed him, making his wife smirk at him. "You were a good backup."
Jacopo refrains from gagging as they reach the harbour.
Anthony, who was distracted by his wife's brilliance, noticed her face lit up at something.
He looked at what she was watching and his eyes widened when it landed on a magnificent ship built with strong wood and copper. "What a beauty!" He praised.
As they both followed Jacopo up the ship, Anthony saw it was not only him but Philip, Michael were also there.
"Welcome back captain." Michael salutes Kathani, who laughed at his silliness before turning to embrace her husband.
"Welcome Anthony, Welcome to Aubrey." Anthony stared at her in surprise as she hollered at her men and grabbed the wheel making Aubrey sail away.