The port was busy and they took inventory but took the ledgers back to his rooms to work the figures. She sat at the table yawning as she double checked the sums, her head drooping. "You can leave that for tomorrow, you know." Haytham commented from his own records he was reviewing. "No. I want to get this done tonight." She tried to focus her eyes and gripped the pen tightly. Finally Carolyn stood yawning and gathered the books. "I'm afraid you're right. I'll need to finish these tomorrow."

As time went on her energy flagged and Haytham started doing the inventories alone, having the books run up to her to do calculations. Much to her surprise one day when she was near bursting one of the dock guards knocked on her door without the books. He looked at her nervously. "Ma'am? Mr. Kenway was wondering if you were up to coming down for this one. He says there's something odd but he's not quite sure what's going on." "Of course. What's happening?" She nodded and stood, following him down the stairs slowly. "The ship hasn't quite put into dock yet, you see. They want to pay their taxes without entering port." Carolyn frowned at that. "Smugglers." By law seizure of smuggled items only applied when the items arrived in port. She supposed in retrospect the only surprise was that someone hadn't tried this trick before. The man nodded. "That's what we suspect but he hasn't found any contraband yet."

They arrived at the pier and Haytham came down to escort her up the plank. She eyed the ropes tying off the ship curiously. "I thought they hadn't put into port." He grimaced. "They haven't. Technically they're not in port until one of the crew leaves the ship." He eyed the captain suspiciously. "This is Widow Ramirez, my assistant. If you have anything to declare I suggest you let me know immediately for I promise you she will find it." The captain grinned at her but Haytham lead her below. "I know there's something here. I just don't know where. I've searched the boxes, I've searched the inventory." She looked around the ship. "Hidden compartments? False walls?" He shook his head. "The dimensions seem right." "What do you think it is? If we know how big it is we'll know better what to look for?" He shook his head. "Their next port of call is Port Royal so it could be anything." She nodded and began to walk the ship slowly, stopping to tap her pen against anything not clearly an outside wall. Together they made their way through the ship top to bottom. Reaching the back of the bottom of the hull she shook her head. "I do not see anything either. Let's head back up and check the cargo again." She turned, her heels clicking on the wood panels beneath her. They walked in silence towards the stairs where the captain waited grinning when she stopped suddenly turning back to the empty room behind them.

She walked back purposefully as she could, listening to her footsteps on the wood slats. She turned and crossed the wood the other way. "Come here, I can't get down there. Tell me what you hear." Haytham dropped to his hands and knees, rapping on the panels. "It doesn't sound like water, it sounds hollow." He investigated the planks, pulling a dagger out and testing the edges. The Captain's voice was frantic. "You can't do that! You'll scuttle the ship!" Haytham laughed. "Not immediately." He dug the blade between two boards and pried it up. There was a cramped area below the floor and Carolyn grabbed a lantern from the wall handing it to Haytham to lower into the darkness. A sea of worried faces looked up at them and Carolyn's breath caught. The bottom of the ship had almost a dozen women in it, huddled together and shaking, chained together.

Governor Roberts was limited in what laws he could make for the whole colony but one of his early rules had been that Kingston did not take slaving ships and that any ship transporting slaves must check into another city. Carolyn looked at Haytham in horror. "They're all women." He nodded and eyed the chains holding them in the room. He turned to the captain. "Where's the key?" The captain snorted. "I have it but you can't have them. We've not yet put in port and they're still my property. They'll fetch a good price in Port Royale." Haytham turned to Carolyn and swallowed. "I'm afraid he's right. They've broken no law." She clutched at his arm, her eyes pleading. The captain smiled and nodded. "You're a wise man. You understand that most men need some fun. Even with the war convenient widows are hard to come by." Carolyn flinched as if struck but Haytham turned, his eyes narrowing. "That will do it." His fist knocked the man flat but he helped him to his feet and drove him up the stairs. Carolyn cast a glance back at the women but followed them as Haytham drove him up to the deck. He knocked the captain over the railing and into the water looking down on him curiously. Carolyn walked beside him and watched as the captain paddled to the dock, clutching one of the pier beams.

Haytham smiled down at her. "Well it appears the captain has decided to put into port after all!" He gestured to two of the guards standing nearby watching curiously. "We have a seizure to make. Let's get them out of here." He led them back down stairs taking the lantern he climbed into the hold and knelt to pick the lock on the chains. She watched as they helped the women out. "It's alright." He assured them, watching as they climbed up under Carolyn's supervision. "What do we do with them?" Haytham sighed. "Roberts is a fair man and a personal opponent of slavery. He will find them work if they need it." He sent one of the guards back to fort to bring the head of the female staff to keep an eye on them. Carolyn wrapped her arms around Haytham's neck excitedly. "That was wonderful!" She laughed. He hugged her and stepped back, eyeing her bulging stomach. "Are you alright?" She nodded. "That was worth the trip entirely. Though I think perhaps I might need some help back on the stairs." He nodded and walked with her back to her room.

A week later sharp pains woke her in the middle of the night. Gasping she moved to the wall and rang the bell to summon one of the servants who cared for the rooms in their area. She moved slowly to the door, unbarring it and pushing it open before moving back to the bed. The woman appeared shortly and she blinked at her in surprise. "You were on the ship?" The woman nodded. "They said I could work here. I wanted to work for you and that man who saved us." Carolyn smiled up at her but sudden pain made her cry out. "The baby's coming. Do you know where Maggie's rooms are?" The woman nodded. "Go. Get her. Bring her." She gasped again. "But go next door at let Haytham know first." She could hear the woman run down the hall and bang on his door. Shortly he arrived, his face full of worry. He approached her, pulling up a chair by the bed. "I have something I need you to do for me." She nodded to an envelope on the desk. "If I do not survive and the baby does, open the envelope and follow the instructions inside." "You'll be fine. She'll be here shortly." Carolyn laughed. "I hope so but I need to be sure. If I am then burn it, unopened. Can you do that for me?" He nodded and retrieved the envelope and returned to the chair to grip her hand.

For a woman of her age Maggie made good time and shooed Haytham from the room to wait next door. For peace of mind Haytham supposed that a room further away would have been more restful but he paced the floor in his room, listening to the sounds coming from next door. It was entirely too long before he heard the cry of a baby and minutes more before Maggie knocked on the door. "She wants to see you." He nodded and entered the room, seeing Carolyn tucked up in the bad, a baby cradled in her arms. She broke into a wide grin when he entered. Maggie shut the door quietly behind her leaving them alone. He approached the bed and looked over her shoulder at the infant blinking up into the light. "I want you to meet your grandson." She smiled and held him up. He took the baby and sat back down in the chair inspecting his dark hair and eyes. His skin was darker than hers like tea loaded with milk but pink cheeked. "What will you call him?" She grinned and reached out to touch his tiny hand. "I was thinking perhaps Edward after my father." Haytham returned the baby to her arms. "Edward Ramirez." Carolyn sighed and shook her head, accepting the baby back from Haytham. "No, Edward Kenway." She looked up at him seriously. "I'm sorry I could not tell you before. I truly am. But when I say he is your grandson I do not mean that you are like a father to me. I mean that he is Connor's." His eyes narrowed and he contemplated the baby seeing his own eyes looking back up at him. "What do you mean Connor's?" She shrunk away from him. "There was no Ramirez. I made him up. I don't want to talk about it because I wasn't sure the child was his until now but I married Connor. When he found out about me he left."

He closed his eyes and steadied his breath. "Does he know?" She shook her head. "How could I tell him that I didn't know? Even after he left I didn't hate him enough to do that to him. " She freed one hand and reached out grabbing his arm. "I'll write him. I swear it. I'll let him know now that I am sure." He looked down at her, his eyes full of pain. "And let him find out about this as I found out about him? No, I'll tell him myself." He walked from the room as she called out after him and headed for the docks. Once on the ship he remembered the envelope in his pocket and pulled it out. Opening it he found another envelope and a letter instructing him to mail one letter if the child was dark and another if the child was fair. Curiosity compelled him to tear into the 2nd but it gave no hint to the possible other father. It was addressed to a priest and instructed him to let Connor know that she had died and never tell him where she had gone but made no mention of a child. He contemplated the address on the first letter. "To the Kenway manor in Davenport."

Connor walked into the room and sat at the table, the conversation suddenly dying. "I'm here. What did you need?" The men looked at each other and turned to him. "We need your help. We've had a problem with a number of our shipments lately." He considered them. "Pirates?" "No, the Kingston port master. They've been stealing goods from the ships. Confiscating they would say but the funds were to go to the war effort. The most recent case was an egregious violation of their own laws!" Connor grimaced. "Do you want me to retrieve them?" He shook his head. "No, the goods will be long gone by now. It was the money we needed. We would avoid it but they have some of the best prices for hard goods and we can't afford to pass up the market." "I've taken care of other forts before. Do you need me to clear it out?" Samuel Adams shook his head. "I don't think that would be wise. It's the capital of a British colony, not some random fort along the coast. I'm thinking we need something more discrete." "Just the port master then?" Again they looked at each other in silence. Finally Samuel Adams offered "Well the port master has been there for over a year. The problem really didn't start until he got a new assistant, a Ramirez. He seems to be the problem." Connor looked up in surprise. "You're not usually a voice for leniency." Samuel grimaced but eyed Connor casually. "The port master is reported to be one Haytham Kenway." Connor gripped the table as Samuel continued. "Of course it's entirely possible that it's either an alias or a coincidence… Either way we do not believe we need him dead.. again. Perhaps with the 2nd man gone things can return as they were.

Connor nodded once slowly. "Do you have a suggestion?" Samuel sighed. "Yes actually. The easiest will be for you to captain the next ship of goods down. I would not suggest taking the Aquila as it's known to be yours. When they enter the ship to do inventory you can kill Ramirez and sail off. It would be taken as no more than disagreement." Connor thought on this and nodded. "I will do what I can. When is your next shipment?" Samuel handed him a map and a ledger for ship. "We sail in 3 days with a load of goods. Jacob can take you to the ship and introduce you to the crew." A serious older man nodded at him. "Oh and if you can try to get back the Constance. She's been impounded while the captain is locked up."