ElizabethSoph and DimmDimms, it just seems to be the two of you these last few chapters. I'm not sure why, but having encouragement from even two is enough to help me keeping going. So thank you.

48.

When Anne returned to her cabin, she immediately got out her journal and pen. She wrote: One Day, that may be all that it takes to final get married. One Day, not even something worth a countdown, but a culmination of all the other ones combined. One Day! She circled this, cleaned her nib, and readied herself for bed.

Then Anne did something she seldom did (and had never done while sharing a bed with Mirabella Holmes). She knelt down beside her bed and prayed out loud, fervently and sincerely: "My Lord, please help Captain Wentworth and I have success in finding someone to marry us on the morrow. I understand now that we had to be refused marriage by Mr. Weevelforth so that we would have occasion to visit the plantation so that Mrs. Holmes could find her husband's and son's kin, so that she could serve your purposes. I have been resentful of the delay, I have judged you harshly for dangling happiness in front of me, just out of reach and have not appreciated that there are things that I do not know, that all will come together for your purposes and glory. But please, please, let us marry tomorrow and then I will do all I can to serve your purposes. Amen."

Anne expected to sleep very little that night, such was her anticipation of what the new day would bring, and in such situations sleep is almost impossible, but perhaps the prayer soothed her, or perhaps she was really very tired, for she did sleep, not long after she gained the bed. While she slept Anne was caught up in a series of dreams, in which she was questing for something that was always just out of reach. Sometimes she was running after someone who had it, and tripped herself up in her skirts. On another occasion, the other person was proceeding away from her at a normal walk, but her limbs were heavy and slow, as if she were wading through syrup or mashed potatoes.

In another dream, a wall of cabinets and shelves which stretched out as far as the eye could see, was filled with long rows with carved wooden boxes and Anne had to find the right one, but every box was filled with the wrong thing: gaudy costume jewelry, dirty handkerchiefs, bobbins of thread, bandages, moldy fruit, torn and folded sheet music. The prize she sought was in none of them, but she had to empty each one out to be sure. The boxes kept piling up, and the rows of waiting boxes never seemed to diminish, it was a Sisyphean task.

In the final dream, Anne was trying to follow Frederick through a crowd of people, but he kept getting farther away from her and was not looking back, while everyone seemed to be pushing into her and pushing her away. When the crowd finally thinned and she ran up to the man in the captain's hat and grabbed at his arm, it was not Frederick but Mr. James Weevelforth, wearing a poorly made costume that resembled a captain's dress uniform in only the most superficial of ways. He tied her hands together, clamped her legs in irons, gagged her with his sweat-stained cravat, and dragged her before his uncle, who began to speak the words of the marriage ceremony as set out in the Book of Common Order despite the fact that she was in no way consenting.

From this last dream, she thrashed and moaned, and Mrs. Holmes was obliged to wake her up. Anne remembered this last dream quite clearly and told Mirabella all about it, but when she tried to explain the other dreams, they were fading from her memory faster than she could explain them. Anne was left with a vague feeling of disquiet and eager to depart the ship as soon as could be; she could not be married to Frederick soon enough, and despite knowing that Mr. James did not know what they planned, that it was impossible for him to oppose them, she rose and began to ready herself for the day. Although it was still dark and the first tide was still two hours away, she performed her morning ablutions, cleaning herself as well as she could with the ewer of water and the flannel, and dressing herself in her best gown.

Anne proudly placed her mother's cross about her neck and packed a small bag with a few necessary items. She then worked at styling her hair, a difficult task with only a small mirror and no way to see the back of her head. By this time, Mirabella arose and set to work helping Anne out. More than once, Mirabella had to bid Anne, "Be still," for Anne was as an excited child, about to leave on a summer holiday.

As for Mirabella, once she was done she did up her hair in a simple twist. Although Anne offered to help her, Mirabella said with a smile, "I have no need for your help, child. Captain Wentworth will not even notice me, and this is good enough for my friends."

Meanwhile, Admiral Croft was admiring his wife as she readied herself; he remained in a seated position on their bed. He had not yet dressed and he was nude, but for the counterpane covering his lower half. Minutes ago, his wife had been lovingly stroking his muscular chest with its manly salt and pepper curls, her alluring affection leaving him at half-mast before she arose, determined it was time to prepare to depart.

"My dear, you are as lovely as always, if not lovelier." He slid from the bed, and silent as a cat, approached her from behind. He interrupted her hairstyling by kissing her neck. She squeaked in surprise and then leaned into his kiss. He wrapped his arms around her, and gave her a little nudge, expressing his interest. He would have happily taken her back to bed, had she consented.

"John," she admonished, both pleased and exasperated, lightly smacking him, "I need to get ready and you are not helping matters."

"But you may be gone for days!" he exclaimed. "Should I not get my sugar now?"

"Was last night not enough?" Sophia asked archly.

"Yes, that was lovely, Sophy," he planted some kisses along her jaw bone, moving toward her chin as she leaned her head toward him, "but that was then and this is now. For all I know, you shall leave me alone for a week. It nearly killed me to be away from you as you went to fetch Miss Elliot. Why must I be apart from you for your brother who does not have the good sense to marry his lady love upon his first leave after gaining a proper captaincy and prize money?" He whined slightly with his final rhetorical question.

"Oh John," she turned around and pressed fully into his embrace. They kissed fervently, but she broke the kiss first, when he was just at the cusp of leading her back to their bed. "I shall agree with you that Freddy is requiring quite a lot of our attention, but he is family." She stroked one hand down his back in consolation. "It shall probably only be two days, and then what fun we shall again have."

"Very well," he admitted defeat. He turned and set to dressing himself.

Uncertain of what provisioning would be made for their journey, both Mrs. Croft and Captain Wentworth arrived with a goodly supply of food, and immediately determined they would eat well. Mrs. Croft was pleased with the craft that her brother had selected, but Anne and Mirabella who knew far less of vessels were less sanguine. Anne trusted Frederick, but thought that perhaps his eagerness to book a passage to get married had overridden his good sense, for the boat appeared small and rickety to her. Yet, she thought she would rather be sick and be drenched with seawater in his presence, than be well and dry without him. Mirabella was further skeptical, wondering what the chances were they would sink before reaching their destination, and given its small size was almost certain she would be sick for most of the journey, but her friend needed her, so to St. Kitts they would go.

Mrs. Croft was a purposely indifferent chaperone on this journey, so Anne and Frederick found themselves standing alone in a corner of the stern of the ship as it slid out to sea with the tide, while Mrs. Croft and Mrs. Holmes sat with their backs against the main mast. This was for Mrs. Holmes's benefit, for Mrs. Croft thought she would be less likely to be disordered from such a position, without the sea looming so near, or the pitch as dramatic. However, to her great astonishment, Mrs. Croft felt her own stomach was not as steady as it should be, but she attributed this to the smaller craft and her not sailing on such into the ocean for many a years. She sucked on a ginger candy she had brought for her companions and determined that she most certainly should not be ill.

With Frederick in his coat, and Anne in her spencer, the morning chill did not bother either, but Frederick had his right arm wrapped around his beloved as he stood next to her. They had no true privacy with the crew about attending to their duties, so he could not kiss her or hold her tight as he wished to do, but their conversation would be for each other alone.

They were both feeling deeply how right the moment was, and how perfectly suited they were, but neither spoke for many minutes. Perhaps if they had felt less, they might have spoken more. When they finally spoke, it was of nothing important, whether she was warm enough and felt any hint of disorder, to which she answered yes and no in turn. Then it was her turn to speak, and she addressed the beauty of the sea and the birds at flight.

"You should be glad," said Frederick, "that no birds are overhead to drop their leavings upon us."

"Is this a common problem?" Anne asked in astonishment.

"Why yes, did you never have cause to notice how often the men must swab the decks?"

"I thought that it was more about keeping discipline than a need for such efforts." She felt foolish and wondered How much is there that should be obvious that I still do not know?

As if he could make out her very thoughts, and perhaps he could as he had carefully studied her reactions to all things, he added "It is about discipline, too, and you shall have all the time in the world to learn about everything you may wish to know. You only need ask. Please ask me anything."

"Well then," she asked, "do your men like to sing or play instruments? There is one man upon the Hibernia that seems to always have a song upon his lips, and his near mates often join in as well. And when the men are served their evening grog, they often seem to break out in song, entertaining each other with ridiculous sung stories, and there is a man who plays a fiddle."

"A fiddle," said he. "Is he any good?"

She nodded, "He plays most capitally."

"Sea shanties of course help to make certain work go faster and coordinate the speed of it, as no doubt was the case aboard the admiral's ship. For some evenings of entertainment, singing is not unusual, but we only have one man who plays a flute, and no one simply idly sings during their duties, also there is a man who is fond of humming and a midshipman who whistles loudly when he sees something from afar from the topmast."

Anne nodded to herself, trying to imagine her new life.

"When I was a mere midshipman, there was an able seaman aboard who played the bagpipes. Our captain was tone-deaf and I believe thought what the seaman played to be fine music, but it hurt my ears something awful. But no one dared to gainsay the captain's opinion."

Anne smiled at the recitation, and soon enough Frederick was telling her many stories about life at sea. Anne was so well entertained, and Frederick found her to be such an engaged listener (offering a laugh when it suited, compassion for his troubles, and asking questions when he left out too many details) that they were both surprised when Sophia approached with Mirabella and bid them to take some repast. Mrs. Croft had done very well in gaining provisions from Antigua, for she had bread and cheese, and guavas, a fruit that the other ladies had never sampled before.

After eating, the four of them remained together, with the ladies taking turns telling their own stories. Anne even got to tell of the foibles of her father. "I love him dearly, but Sir Walter cares more for his appearance of his face than anything else. He is convinced that he remains in the bloom of his youth, which he attributes to his steady use of Gowlands (and not even the proper Gowlands). While it may be true that his face is not much lined for his age, I attribute this to his lack of worry about even the things which all good men and women should worry about. He keeps himself inside, and lives off his inheritance, with nary a concern for the fact that his money diminishes faster than his earnings. To my mind, he is wasting his life, and I should welcome the lines that come with a life well-lived."

Mrs. Croft replied, "Well lines you will well get living aboard a ship under the sunlight. Bonnets and hats can only do so much, and I dare say that I look every day my age. But what have I to fear from lines and tanned skin, while I have the love of my husband?"

In such a manner, they passed the time until the spotting of the island. St. Kitts was as green as Antigua, and to Anne did not seem too different on the approach, but for the port not containing so many navy vessels. All were eager to make land at the port in Basseterre, and as soon as they did, their party departed to seek out the nearest priest, after making arrangements with Mr. Smithe that they would return to the ship by the evening to sleep there.

They walked together to the nearest street and upon inquiries learned there were two churches in town, St. George, which was a Church of England, and a Methodist church known as the Westley Chapel. Knowing as they did, that all marriages had to take place in the Anglican Church, they determined to seek out the priest for St. George.

However, to their dismay when they arrived at St. George, a man who seemed to look down upon them, told them "The priest is absent from Basseterre this week, and may not return for another week more. Best try again in two weeks or so."

When Frederick asked, reasonably enough he thought, "Are there other Anglican churches on the island?" the man tsked and said "None worth speaking about and none that will be a help to you," and refused to give them any further information.

A more sympathetic man who was polishing the pews, told them as they were passing, "I thank you for all that the navy has done to keep us safe from the French. You had best check with the minister at the Westley Chapel. He is sure to know where the other houses of worship are. He and the priest here are friends."

The party determined to try the Westley Chapel and seek out information. Frederick led their party inside a wooden building and found a well-dress mulatto man busy sweeping. He paused his labors, asked them what they needed, and led them to the minister, who introduced himself as William Hammet.

The experience they had with Mr. Hammet was almost the opposite to what they had received at St. George, he listened as they explained their difficulties, as if he had all of the time in the world. Anne found herself freely expressing her frustration, "Why must it be so hard to get married? We are trying to do what is good and right."

Mr. Hammet replied, "I would happily marry you if I could, but I am sure you want a legally recognized union. While I marry those who have no other options (our congregation is almost exclusively freemen of African or mixed dissent, and those slaves whose masters will let them attend, the former are seldom welcome to wed at St. George and the latter cannot even attend services there), you do have other choices. Most or all of the Anglican priests on the island have all gone to minister to one of their brethren, a retired priest who is nearing his final reward. He married a wealthy widow who was heir to one of the larger plantations and they had no children. As he has no near relatives, I imagine they are both seeking to succor him in his time of need, but may also have some pecuniary interest in being remembered in his will.

"You could try to seek out any who have not gone, but I suggest it would be far easier for you travel to Nevis. Go to Charleston, as that will get you near St. Thomas, which is the oldest Anglican church in the islands. The Reverend Mr. Kirkpatrick is a godly man and is certain to help you."

Thus encouraged, the party returned to the ship. On their way back, Frederick mentioned, "It seems to my good sense that surely they will let a sailor marry at Nevis, for on Nevis, Captain Nelson married Fanny Nesbit (although she proved poorer than he thought her to be and he never got the dowry he was promised, or any children besides)."

Anne replied, "Well I know you aren't marrying me for my fortune, so you cannot be disappointed after our marriage to learn that I am poor as a church mouse." Anne tried to sound gay in saying such a thing, but Mirabella (perhaps because she understood what it was to be poor) saw the effort it cost Anne pretend to be unbothered that she had come to Captain Wentworth with nothing, when she should have had a good dowry.

Captain Wentworth understood his fiancée well enough to understand her pain in this matter, and chose not to add to it by saying anything to show that he saw through the facade that it did not matter to her. He replied, "I ought to be paying your father for the honor of marrying you. For you have only grown more beautiful and intelligent in the meantime, and I would have married you when we were first engaged although he showed no signs of willingness to do anything for us then." Anne smiled at him, and held his arm a little tighter, and with this he was well pleased.

When they returned to the ship, Mr. Smithe's crew was busy unloading the goods they had acquired to trade. He had no interest, then, of taking them to Nevis that day. He explained, reasonably enough, "Although we are very close, it shall still take us two to three hours to sail from Basseterre to Charleston. It is not good to take such a journey while it is growing dark, and we still have business here."

That evening, they dined in the port upon fresh fish at the home of another merchant that Mr. Smithe knew, but despite Frederick's wishes for the comfort of the ladies, that man did not invite them to stay there that night and so back to the ship they went.

Mrs. Croft's indulgence did not extend to allow her brother and friend to lie beside each other in their clothes that night, and Frederick had in fact bargained with Mr. Smithe for the ladies to use the captain's own quarters. So the women lay down together, three across atop the captain's own bed (using one of their own blankets below, and another above as the captain was not all that fastidious with the cleanliness of his linens. But they thought they were likely to have a better time of it than Frederick and the Mr. Smithe, who were each consigned to hammocks with the rest of the crew. It had been years since Frederick has slept in a hammock, but he found the gentle swaying with the pitch of the ship to pull him quickly into slumber.

The women were not so fortunate, for they were packed together in the bed like sardines all lined up. There was no room to turn or adjust and it took some hours before they finally all slept. Mirabella and Anne awoke suddenly far earlier than the dawn to the sound of Mrs. Croft retching into a chamber pot that she had the foresight to bring along for their comfort (for Mrs. Croft well knew that the men aboard the ship would simply relieve themselves of their water over the side of the boat, and use the head at the bow of the ship for the business that was better conducted sitting down).

Anne, already a nurse at heart, was up in an instant, wetting a cloth to wipe at her friend's mouth, and ensuring that her nighttime braid was tucked down her back and was not in danger of being dipped into the sick. Once Mrs. Croft seemed to be done, Anne inquired, "My dear Sophia, are you better now?"

"I hardly know," said Mrs. Croft. "I suppose the food did not agree with me, although the fish seemed fresh enough. Do you feel any sickness yourself?"

"Not at all," replied Anne.

By this time, Mrs. Holmes had also arisen and she also replied that she was well. There seemed to be no good explanation for Sophia's current distress, but nevertheless she was distressed. Anne tended her most tenderly, insisting that Mrs. Holmes lie back down.

Once Mrs. Croft seemed settled, Anne retrieved another ginger candy for her, and this seemed to help her. They did not return to the bed until near dawn, and while Mrs. Croft slept, Anne did not sleep anymore at all.

Mrs. Croft ate some crackers and sipped at tea that morning, and declared herself quite well. Anne put the matter out of her thoughts, for she was eager to see what the new day would bring. It took them two and one half hours to sail around St. Kitts and to the port at Nevis.

Anne thought that Nevis was prettier from the ship than even St. Kitts had been. It had lush, green mountains rising up above the morning mist. They arrived at a port by Charleston and when they alighted, learned that St. Thomas while nearby, was not in that town, having originally been built to serve Jamestown, which no long existed. The man the hired to convey them there, told them the story about how Jamestown was the original capital, but a mighty earthquake leveled most of the buildings, then the ocean receded greatly and a mighty wave stole the people and the ruins away. St. Thomas had survived because it was higher in the hills. He also mentioned that Jamestown housed a Jewish synagogue founded by Sephardic Jews.

St. Thomas proved to be a grey stone building, with arched doorways and windows that came to a point. It was a modest size perched on one of the lovely, green grassy hills, and the view of the ocean from that spot was most beautiful to Anne's eyes. She stood a moment and looked out, feeling the ocean breezes kiss her face, before turning to Frederick and saying "If we should be married here, I cannot think of a lovelier location."

A/N: William Hammet is a real person who founded the Methodist church on St. Kitts as a missionary, and was welcomed with others, first staying with a mulatto couple on the island. His congregation was indeed mostly those of African or mixed race descent, and he was indeed friendly with the Anglican priest, but I do not have any knowledge as to whether he conducted marriage ceremonies for those who could not marry elsewhere, or even if it was a problem for mulattos to marry at St. George. It is true, though, that in this era slaves could not attend St. George. As you have probably guessed, the mighty wave was a tsunami, although that word was not in use in the English speaking world at that time. The Reverend Mr. Kirkpatrick is a real person also; I came across of an account of him sheltering from the hurricane in the parsonage oven, which unfortunately was not big enough to contain his compatriot as well, but neither man was injured; what he was like or whether he was still alive at the time of this story, or would have been willing to help them, well this I do not know. As they are dead now, I can freely employ my creative license.

Are you all ready for them to get married?