Note: Hey guys! First off, the idea of the Spain v. England war was kind of stolen from "Learning How to Run" (Which you should totally check out!) And secondly, dear Jack will be making an appearance soon, don't worry!
The carriage bounced along the pebbled dirt road out of town, carrying inside it Annabelle, Joseph, and Mary, the nursemaid, as well as her daughter Roisin. The two children stared out of the two curtained windows on either side, gazing at the coast of the Irish sea and the fields, green with summer, near it.
"Thank you for lettin' me send her with you, ma'am," Mary said gratefully, brushing a strand of black hair out of her eyes. "Charlie's workin' now, and I don't have anyone to watch her."
"It's no inconvienience, Mary," Annabelle smiled at the woman who had become a mother to her, and an excellent care taker to her child. "I daresay Joseph likes having his friend around more often."
Mary chuckled, looking lovingly at the two children. "Yes, I would think so too."
Mary had begun working with another family a few miles out from the Montel's. The McCaphrey's had just given birth to a second child, a boy. Mary's services had been requested by the mother, Mairead. She'd had Mary suggested to her by Annabelle herself, and by the family she'd worked with directly after the Montels, the O'Reillys.
In lieu of the new prospect, Annabelle had offered to take care of Mary's eight year old daughter in the mean time. Needless to say, Joseph was very excited. He enjoyed playing with the bright young lass. She always had new ideas for games, and was very intelligent as well as curious. She always had a way to surprise Joseph with a new thought or game. Annabelle, in truth, rather liked having the girl around. She often wondered, though she loved her son to world's end and back, what it would be like to have a daughter.
As they arrived at the manor, Annabelle spotted Jacob talking to his father, General Charles Montel. Their lips moved frantically, and Jacob looked rather upset. Upon seeing his father, Joseph shoved the carriage door open with his small arms and ran as fast as his stubby legs would carry him.
"Papa!" he shouted, throwing himself around his father's boots.
Jacob looked down in surprise, and upon seeing the auburn haired boy, scooped him up into his arms, hugging him tightly.
"How's my little Joe?" asked, and he scanned the boy's face, admiring his every feature.
"Rosie's going to stay with us!" Joseph exclaimed, a large smile lighting up his features.
Jacob looked toward the carriage, and upon seeing the brown haired girl, smiled gently.
"She is? Well, I bet both of you are very hungry. Why don't you both go ask Annie for something to eat? She just brought in some apples."
"Come on Rosie!" Joseph cried, wriggling from his father's grip and motioning to Roisin, who was just jumping out of the carriage after kissing her mother goodbye. She hurried after Joseph, though excusing herself to the two men before entering the house. Both soldiers smiled politely at the girl, and then returned to their discussion.
Annabelle bid goodbye to Mary, telling the carriage driver to take her to the McCaphrey's. With a crack of the whip, they were off.
As Annabelle walked down the path to where her husband and father in law stood, she felt a sense of foreboding come over her. When she looked into Jacob's emerald eyes, it burst into all-out fear.
"What is it?" she asked in a hushed voice, though deep inside she'd rather not know the answer.
Jacob shook his head. "Not here," he said softly, leading both his wife and father upstairs to his office chambers.
After Charles had shut the door behind them, Jacob turned to face her, sadness and anger showing in every crease of his face.
"England's going to war with Spain," he said, leaning against the edge of his mahogany desk. "I'm to be shipped off tomorrow."
"What?" Annabelle exclaimed. "Why did you not tell me before?"
"We were just now informed," Charles said gravely, his hazel eyes cast downward.
"I-I don't-what will we do without you? What am I to tell Joseph?" Annabelle's voice, though she tried to control it, was becoming rather hysterical.
"Hush," Jacob said gently, striding to her and holding her arms, looking into her blue eyes. "You'll survive, like you always do. You survived a month with a pirate, I'm sure you can handle a four year old boy."
He chuckled sadly, and wrapped his arms around his wife, burying his face in her hair. Annabelle breathed deep, willing herself not to cry. Though another man held her heart somewhere on the open sea, Jacob had become her closest confidante, and she could say without hesitation that she loved him. She could not bear to think what she would do if he died in battle.
"We'll tell him that I'm going on another one of my trips," Jacob whispered into her hair. "we'll say I'll be back soon."
Annabelle sighed into her husband's chest and pulled away to look into his eyes.
"Know that I love you," he said, his eyes imploring her not to cry.
"And I you," Annabelle replied, keeping her tears in check though her voice wavered.
He leaned down and kissed her gently, and Charles politely averted his eyes for a moment. When they pulled away, they both laughed, forcing themselves to be happy despite the disconcerting news. They all exited the office, walking to the sitting room where the maids had just set out a tray of tea for the adults. Frances, a young maid who spent half of her time cooking and the other time reprimanding Joseph, came out to serve it.
"Thank you," Annabelle said politely, taking a cup and saucer from the blonde woman. She gave a polite nod and walked back to the kitchen after the two men refused the drink.
Joseph came galumphing into the room, Roisin in pursuit, from the halls that led to the grounds. Both of the children were brandishing sticks, yelling excitedly.
"Arrrgh! I'm a pirate Mumma! Look!" Joseph cried, laughing out as Roisin attempted to run him through with her "sword".
All of the adults laughed, amused with the idea. Annabelle knew that their minds were all in the same place. Her mind flashed to the face of Jack Sparrow, his dark brown eyes, much like Joseph's, twinkling mischievously. How odd, that piracy thrilled the young boy, much like his mother had felt nearly five years before.
Deep in her mind, she knew that they were the pirate captain's eyes looking at her, not her grandfather's. She felt shame for it, but Jacob, if he had any inkling, had never showed it. He loved that boy with all of his heart, and she wasn't about to jeopardize that for anything. She gestured to the children to sit down next to her. They both did, though rather loudly.
"Hush now," Annabelle said, kindly stern. "your Papa has something to say, Joseph."
Joseph and Roisin stopped abruptly, sitting at rapt attention, staring at Jacob. The man smiled sadly before beginning.
"Papa's going to be going on a trip," he said, clearing his throat, searching for a way to continue.
"A trip? Where? Can I come? Can I bring Rosie with me?" Joseph asked excitedly, squirming in his seat, his chubby legs not yet long enough to touch the ground.
Jacob looked as if his heart were breaking. "No, Joe, I can't take you with me. This is a trip only for grown-ups. But I'm going to be back as soon as I can. Then you, me, Mumma, and Roisin and Mary can all take a trip together. How does that sound?"
"All right," Joseph replied, though rather sulkily. "Will you bring me something back?"
"Of course I will," Jacob replied, a smile at his lips now. "Come here, Little Joe." he held out his arms to his son, who jumped up excitedly to meet them.
He held the boy in his arms, stroking his auburn hair, his green eyes swimming visibly with tears. He blinked them back, sniffing slightly. He pulled himself back, forcing a laugh.
"Your Grandpapa's here too, Joe," he said, nodding towards Charles. "He's going to come with me too. Do you want to say goodbye?"
Joseph nodded quickly, climbing over Jacob's lap to get to his grandfather. He hugged the man quickly around the neck, and turned back to Roisin, eager to get their game started again.
"Love you Papa," he said quickly before jumping up, grabbing his stick and running to the entrance of the hallways. "Come on Rosie!"
Roisin jumped up, stick in hand, and ran after the boy, resuming their game of pirates.
Annabelle looked sadly at the two men, setting her saucer and cup down on the tray, her tea having gone cold.
That night, Jacob and Annabelle made love, the last time in what would be several months. Afterwards, they simply held each other, on to what little time they had left together.
