31st December 1720
Everyone is at the beach or the tavern celebrating the end of the year, whilst I sit in my room watching Charlotte dream and remembering back to last year. Edward wanted to stay but I told him its not worth two of us sitting around twiddling our thumbs whilst she sleeps. So I now swap between watching Charlotte or the candles that light my room.
When we reached the manor instead of the room I had previously stayed in Edward took us upstairs to one of the bigger rooms, at the end of my bed stood a crib. He later admitted to going to Havana to get what Charlotte had needed, the woman had sold him some massive pink monstrosity so he has taken a blade to the frills until a simple wooden crib had been left. The very same woman had also sold him numerous baby clothes and other such necessities for a baby.
My room is next to his and every night when Charlotte lets out the smallest cry he's there before I can get out of bed, he offers me help every time until he realises that's one thing he can't do for her.
I'm tempted to sleep myself until I hear a light tabber on the door "Come in" I whisper and make my way over to the door, Edward stands there bottle of rum in hand yet completely sober.
"I thought we could celebrate the new year together? Just the two, well the three of us I suppose. As an attempt to make up for last year" I step aside allowing him to walk into my room
"Aye I suppose we could, although you can do the drinking for all of us" he puts the bottle of the floor and that's where it stays for the rest of the night, I sit on my bed and he fetches one of the seats and drags it next to me.
"What was it like last year? I know you said rum was involved, but was I at least talking to you?"
"Aye we were talking, we talked at the tavern about James and how I came to be a captain. Then we moved to the beach and talked over all sorts, from Nassau to a shipwreck you had dived at the day before. That's when the fire died and you made some comment about being cold and how we should warm-up, I suppose I tried to push you to see how far you would go. I could have made you strip and walk through the streets wearing only a bandanna that night, when it was over we fell asleep. I woke the next morning to you wrapped around me, I didn't leave a note because I didn't want to cheapen what had happened. I waited for a few weeks to see if you would come to me to talk about what happened or if you had even remembered, a few weeks later I realised that I was pregnant and the day after that me and Anne were caught" its weird to think how quickly its all gone, the prison still haunts me but that happened five months ago "Does that answer all your questions?"
"Were you gonna tell me?" I think back to when I decided to tell him, back to Anne and realise I haven't seen her around
"Aye, the day Anne told you I was on my way to. I had sat on the beach for ages thinking of how to tell you, when I had the words I started on my way back. Only to find you sorting Anne out and you remember everything else" he looks over to the crib and sighs
"You say I gave you a look the day I found out, what did it look like?" I shudder at the thought,
"You looked like I had betrayed you and stabbed you in the process, there was both pain and anger there. I remember wanting to get away from there and just hiding, I have never felt so evil in all my life"
"I think what hurt me most was you leaving, that along with what you said to me before you left and always hiding from me when I came to Tulum" I chuckle to myself
"If you had looked hard enough you probably would have found me, I wasn't exactly easy to conceal" I sigh "I only hid because I couldn't take any more rows, she would always punish me for raising my voice" I smile at down at my hands and pick up the courage to ask him "I always thought you liked Anne, when we were in court your eyes never left her. I think that was another reason I never told you, I didn't want you to feel obliged to stay with me"
"My eyes were only on Anne because I knew you could handle anything that was thrown at you, whereas Anne as rough as she is would need help" I can't be sure if what he's saying is true but one thing I know is I'm going to need to sleep if Charlotte gets up at her usual time.
"Sorry to cut this short Edward but I need some sleep if I'm going to look after Charlotte tomorrow" he goes to get up but lingers before he's left the bed
"Can I stay and watch her while you sleep?"
"I don't see why not, just don't wake her and if you need me just wake me OK?" he gets up and pulls my covers around me
"Aye, goodnight Mary" he sits on the base of my bed watching our daughter dream, I watch him for a while but slowly my eyes droop and I fall into a deep sleep. Dreams of Edward fill most of my sleep. Somewhere we are talking about Charlotte others where he's talking about us as if we are a couple.
I wake up before Charlotte does in the morning, opening my eyes I find Edward asleep on the pillow next to me his fingers not far from where my hand just was. Slowly getting up to not disturb either of them I go to wash my face and find some breakfast, by the time I reach my room Charlotte is just stirring.
"Good morning darling" I scoop her up and take her over to the window trying to occupy her for a bit, it's no good and after a few minutes she starts crying for food.
"Morning" Edward groggily sits up and realises where he is
"Sorry she's just hungry that's all, I was gonna wake you or find another room"
"It's OK I don't mind" he takes his jacket off and droops it over my shoulder, I raise my eyebrow as if to question why he's done that "I thought we could talk some more and I could spend more time with her, obviously she needs her mother for some things so I thought during that time we could pick up from where we left off last night?"
"Sure, just gimme a minute" I unbutton my top making sure I'm covered up completely and start feeding Charlotte, it's not a bad idea using a jacket to cover myself I normally find a completely secluded spot and sit alone "What did we end on last night?"
"I suppose you were saying about Anne, I want to make it clear that had you come to me and said what had happened my eyes would have been only for you" I'm not so sure the rum has remained untouched from last night "I don't know if I've ever told you this, sober or drunk but you've got to be one of the bravest women I know. To top it all off you were going to raise a child on your own, with no money or support"
"Aye believe it or not that was one of your chat-up lines that night, I don't suppose I would have been completely alone but then again I don't know what the assassins would be like as a baby sitter" I check on Charlotte to find that she has dozed back off, I redress myself and shift her around so she's flat on my chest "You said that I forgot you had a wife, can I just say that I never meant to affect that relationship in any way at all"
"I've said for a long time that it's been over, I write to her and never get any response. If you ask Ade he'll back me up" he scratches his wrist and at first it seems to be a normal thing to do until he pulls his sleeve back, there on a patch of what use to be empty skin is a newly tattooed C
"When did you have that done?" I motion to his wrist
"A day before I came to get you both, I have all sorts already I thought it's time to have something of true meaning with me at all times. You don't like it?" I walk round to him to inspect it more.
"It's nice, I'm just annoyed you got it done first" I joke, I had almost as many tattoos as he did until this one. The wrist I was holding loosens from my grip as he strokes my face, not sure where this is going I step back but he just stands and joins me. He plants a kiss on my forehead and lingers there for a while before turning and walking out the room. I put Charlotte in her crib knowing she'll be safe there and go after him
"What was that for?" I jog to catch up with him when he abruptly stops, grabbing both sides of my face me kisses me slow at first but getting deeper and deeper.
"Jaysus, it's too much" he staggers back and puts both hands on his head "Can't you see I love you damn it!"