The ships met once again upon the sea, the Omega had made it's way back to follow the shoreline, it came to rest in a bay to await the Wench.
Eli stood at the rail, watching, as the men slid the boarding plank between the two.
He then stood at one end, while Violet approached the other.
"How may I assist you, Commander?"
Violet was extremely curious when Elizabeth came to the rail of the Omega, a frustrated frown upon her face.
"I have decided to give you an opportunity to turn yourself over into my custody, it may speak well to the King, if you are indeed on your way to seek a pardon." Eli had decided he would rather not have the young lady spitting fire at him the entire trip, so he worded his request respectively.
Violet looked at Marcus who stood next to him. "I am going, you will have Brutus' back?"
"Of course." Marcus could see Violet was not in the least upset by the commander's request.
Marcus did realize however, he had missed his opportunity. Now Violet would be aboard the Omega, and Marcus would not have a chance to tell him before they reached London.
Violet addressed Eli, "I have to give instructions to my crew, and I would like to bring my wife a few things, would that be acceptable, Sir?" Violet smiled at Elizabeth, who had calmed a bit, as she realized at least Violet would be joining her.
"Perfectly understandable, Captain, let us be on our way as soon as we can."
Eli turned to Eleanor, "When he comes aboard, you may go back. I realize your things are aboard that ship and I would have you comfortable, my Lady."
Eli would not need Eleanor if he had Elizabeth and her husband, Ellie may as well go back and have her cabin and her things.
Eleanor was pleased. Eli may be stubborn, but apparently her argument had gotten through his thick skull.
Violet signaled Brutus to follow him as he made his way below to the captain's cabin.
"I will need you to to do some things once we arrive. I do not know what the old man has up his sleeve, but you will have to take care of a few things that I probably will not be able to do." Violet was gathering a bag of clothing, he and Elizabeth's toiletries, the journal and her Papa's bible.
"Whatever you need, Violet." Brutus stood nearby waiting for his directions.
"There is Timothy and Jonah, send Pete to inquire after their grandfather's whereabouts."
"Aye." Brutus nodded.
"Have the first of the King's gifts delivered, and send Marcus after the rest." Violet looked around, he thought he had all he needed.
"Anything else?" Brutus asked.
"All of this is contingent on whether you are detained upon docking. If so, we will have to rely on Marcus and Katherine to keep the boys and have the things delivered. If you are not detained just try to accomplish what you can before turning yourselves in."
"I will make sure Marcus is informed of what we need done." Brutus followed Violet out and up.
Vi hugged his mother, then he embraced Marcus, patting him upon the back, "Not quite as eventful as a kidnapping, is it Marcus? But then, it is better than nothing."
Marcus feigned disappointment. "I was just starting to enjoy the spy business, too."
"Anything helpful you learned before I go?" Violet asked.
Marcus grinned, "No, not a thing."
Violet grinned back at him, then kissed Katherine's cheek. "Take care of Katy for me." He directed this at Marcus.
Marcus put his hand on Katherine's lower back as they walked with him to the plank. "Always." Marcus assured him.
Violet turned to his men and bowed, before turning again, taking the steps required to board the other ship.
As soon as his feet hit the deck, Betsy was in his arms.
Eleanor approached them, "I am going back, I will see you both when we arrive in London."
She then turned to Eli, "You are not to do a thing until I get there, do you understand me, Commander?"
Eli nodded, "I do, and I shall await your arrival before taking them ashore." Eli knew what Eleanor had invested in this upcoming confrontation with her cousin.
Though Eli wanted to be present when the King was apprised of Elizabeth's existence, Eli did not want to make things worse for Eleanor than they already would be.
"Thank you, Eli." Eleanor patted his chest before allowing Jack to help her cross over.
Katherine was waiting for her on the other side.
The ladies joined arms and watched Jack return and draw the plank back in.
"Was this your doing?" Katy asked Eleanor.
"I can only hope so." Ellie replied.
"It was kind of the commander to stop and retrieve Violet so he and Elizabeth could be together."
"I do not believe he was prompted by kindness." Eleanor watched Eli greet Violet aboard, and she shook her head. "I believe his motives were more self serving."
"Whatever his motives, the children are happy." Katy observed Betsy holding Violet as he spoke to the commander, her face was buried against his chest.
"I can still hope he is kind to them." Katy sighed.
"Oh, he will be." Eleanor knew that Eli wanted a bit of the glory for himself in delivering Elizabeth to the Monarch. Stupid man, the King was not going to be happy.
Eleanor had not looked forward to this confrontation, she knew her cousin was going to be angry she and Bernard had hidden Elizabeth from him all these years. But they had both agreed a long time ago it would be in her best interests to do so.
Now Eleanor had to deal with the repercussions of that decision, while Bernard had gotten out of it completely.
Since that was the case, she was just going to blame Bernard for it all. He would not mind, he would even have appreciated being able to help from beyond.
She knew him well enough to know he would have even found a reason to laugh about it all.
She wished she could.
The ladies went belowdecks while the men got them underway once again.
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"I would like to thank you Commander, for allowing me to join my wife." Violet was gracious and thankful, the last sight of Elizabeth's face he had seen had ripped at his heart.
Violet held her close against his side as Betsy tried not to be angry, she tried to melt into his warmth, to forget everything except him. Tucked under his coat, she took in deep breaths of her husband's scent.
His hand found her hair at the back of her head, "That was some fine shooting, Kitten." He held his head back to look at her, but she was glued to his side.
Her face was tucked in his shirt, tight against his chest, and she was slowly calming to some degree.
His words penetrated her efforts to be still, and she smiled against him. "You think so?" She whispered.
"I knew you could hit the saucers, I was going to try a teacup next." Violet told her.
"I would have destroyed it, my love." Betsy smiled up at Violet finally, as he and Eli both laughed at her boldness.
"Let me have Jack show you where to put your things." Eli offered.
"Thank you, Commander, and thank you again for the opportunity to be with my wife." Violet barely bowed, but Eli knew what this meant to them, he could see it in their eyes, in the way they looked at one another.
Eli could understand, he was gone from his own wife, Tootie, for months at a time. Homecomings were always special for them both, even though they had not been newly wed for many, many years now.
Eli was glad he had followed their ship, he now had a reason to return home early, he may even get some of Tootie's orange marmalade cake if he played his cards right. It was his favorite and Tootie always made it for him when he came home. He could taste it already, just thinking about that cake made him a happy man.
When you were advanced in years, as Eli and Tootie were, returning home was less about passion, it was more about companionship and comforts.
Not that Eli did not still carry passion for his wife, but, he had been known to forgo passion on occasion, after eating too many slices of her cake.
He wondered what these two newlyweds would find special in one another fifty years from now.
He watched the two of them follow Jack across deck. Eli could see from the way they were completely attentive to one another, he had made the right choice.
That Violet Petals was a gentleman pirate, as Elizabeth had told them in recanting her tale, was readily seen in the man's graciousness.
Other than insisting the two join him for dinner this evening, he thought he may just leave them alone as Eleanor had suggested.
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After a dinner of roast beef and potatoes, Jude sipped his coffee and considered resuming his game of cards. He was a bit anxious as to how this meeting with his son would go. He and Alfred had never had a relationship other than polite greetings and shared company around other family members.
Jude knew Alfred would have no idea why he wanted to meet with him.
The surprise to Jude had been Alfred with Terese, the way Alfred almost seemed a different person, it gave Jude hope that Alfred would want to do the right thing.
Alfred found Jude in the comfortably appointed Oak room. "Cousin." Alfred dipped his head towards Jude, acknowledging their relationship.
"Alfred, a pleasure, thank you for joining me on such short notice." Jude stood and patted Alfred's shoulder. "Let us retire to a private room where we can speak freely." Jude indicated a door off of the Oak room, leading to a smaller room that provided privacy when needed.
Alfred followed Jude, "I must say I was surprised to hear from you, I assumed you were still out in the country."
Jude closed the door behind them and they seated themselves in the comfortable leather chairs the room provided.
"I was until this morning, some business here in town brought me back. However, it is my time there, that brings us both here."
Alfred waited, as Jude decided how to begin.
"Your mother has not given up her plans to murder Marcus." Jude decided to state the facts and see where that got him.
"I did not think she would pursue her twisted thinking if she had no one to carry it out for her."
"That is just the thing. She has asked me to kill Marcus now." Jude waited to see what Alfred's reaction to that news brought.
Alfred frowned and looked at the carpet, thinking. Had she really? Did his mother not have any sensibility at all?
"You know she meant to kill them all?" Alfred thought aloud, "My uncle, my cousin," Alfred looked up at Jude, "She cannot still be thinking to kill them, can she? It was rediculous to even entertain the idea, much less assume to do it." Alfred could not believe that he had actually entertained the notion himself not too long ago.
"Yet, she seems very determined." Jude told him.
"What do you think we should do?" Alfred looked to Jude, to his experience and age, to help him decide what could be done.
"I certainly do not want to be tied in with her plans, but I fear that if I do not agree to help her, she will find someone else to do the deed."
Alfred looked Jude in the eye. "I would not put it past her."
"Neither would I, that is why I told her I would do it, and now I feel that we need to do something drastic, as she has ideas of being free of your father within a sennight. She has now involved us both. It is upsetting to me that she was willing to risk you, and now me, to mayhap end being hung for murder. How does she believe three men of one family, all having 'accidents', would not be sharply looked over? Do you believe she may be somewhat demented, Alfred?"
"I believe she is poisoned, I have only come to the realization lately, of just how venomous she really is." Alfred shook his head, "What did she ask you to do?"
"To shoot Marcus in the woods, while he tended his animals, to place the blame upon poachers."
"That is inventive of her, yet we have no poachers that harass our lands."
"You do now." Jude told Alfred of the ploy she had come up with, that he had gone along with her to keep the peace. "So you see why I feel the need to protect myself, and Marcus. She will bring us all to our demise if we let her."
Alfred thought for a moment, "Uncle Damien, he would know what to do, I shall just have to tell him what we know." Alfred said confidently. "We can not have her going around us, trying to have my relatives killed."
Jude did not say what he was thinking, hopefully Alfred would not ever have to find out that none of those men were his relatives at all.
It was not that Jude would have a problem calling Alfred son, it was that he did not want Alfred to have to carry that burden.
Jude did not think Alfred would appreciate knowing the truth.
"I had thought of the Marquess at one point myself, I believe if we can enlist his aid, we may be able to keep this quiet. I would hate for you to suffer because your mother is a scheming.......well, mayhap she is sick, Alfred, I do not know, but a sane person does not try to coerce the ones they love to murder."
"Mayhap she is sick, or it may be she is simply a vindictive woman full of hate and unpleasantness. Either way, I am finished with listening to her lies and letting her run my life. I have found a new direction and I hope that I will not have to worry about her much longer." Alfred thought of James Ferguson, if he married Terese, he would be traveling to live in America and learn commerce from his father in law.
Which was sounding like a better idea all the time.
"Should we speak to your uncle together? I would be willing to tell him what I know." Jude offered.
Alfred could not see any reason to not have Jude accompany him. "I will request an appointment tomorrow and send a note around to your townhouse to tell you when he is available." Alfred stood, he needed to leave soon to be at the Ferguson's on time.
Jude stood also and clapped Alfred on the shoulder. "I am glad for you Alfred, I can see the change in you and I commend you on seeing the light."
Alfred smiled, "Why, thank you, that is exactly how I feel of late. Lighter, much, much lighter." Alfred left Jude and walked determinedly away. He could not wait to see Terese again, and be able to enjoy her beauty, and her company, for the entire rest of the evening.
Jude also left the gentleman's club. He was looking forward to an evening's entertainment with a woman more to his taste than his clinging cousin.
Madame Larouxe usually had an assortment of fine ladies, Jude could usually find at least one to appreciate. He was feeling a bit like celebrating his newfound freedom, for it seemed he may be free of Gwendolyn in no time at all.
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The cabin they were given aboard the Omega was sparse, but clean. As a military ship, it boasted the minimum requirements. A washstand, bed, and a desk with a chair is all that occupied it.
Jack stopped in the hallway and allowed them to enter, Violet placed their bag on the desk.
"Until later, then." Jack smiled at Elizabeth, he liked the young girl. She had spunk and she was pretty, too. He thought the Pirate Captain was a very lucky man.
Jack felt respect for the man who had saved those poor children from the pirates. When Elizabeth had told them all about Redbeard, it had only firmed Jack's resolve, to find and apprehend every pirate ship they could.
When Elizabeth had told of the Barbary pirates, Jack had shivered in his skin. Plying the coast as the Omega did, they heard stories of the Barbary's raiding coastal villages and towns, but they could rarely catch them.
Jack had an uncle that the Barbary's had taken, he had been one of the blessed ones. Being ransomed after five years of hard labor his uncle had been returned alive.
Thin, wretchedly pale and sick, if he had not been ransomed, he would not have lived much longer.
This was one of the reasons Jack was a pirate hunter. He had seen the devastation their slavery had caused. His uncle had told him firsthand of the atrocities and the horrible things he had seen.
That was why Jack did what he did.
Jack was still thinking about the innocent children Violet and his crew had saved, as he made his way to find the commander. He was glad that this pirate, Violet Petals, existed. Where would those children be today if they had not been rescued?
Jack shuddered and hated to think on that.
**************************************
"I know sweeting, I know." Violet was holding Betsy as she told him how angry she had been and how unjust all of this was.
"And still, he will not listen to reason!" Betsy was still frustrated with the old man, and felt she always would be. "I just do not understand why he feels the need to bring me before the King on charges."
"Now there, I believe I have an answer for you, Kitten." Violet grinned at her, as she looked to him, very interested in whatever he may know.
"Kitten, do you know who your father was?" Violet turned and retrieved the journal from the bag.
"I thought I did, I mean, I do not remember him, but Papa told me he met my mother, married, then he attended seminary to become a pastor. When he did, they went to America to preach the Gospel in the new country. They were both killed and I was miraculously saved and sent to my Papa." Elizabeth took a breath. "But now, the commander has told me that my father was a King's man, that he was highly esteemed by our King. That was something I did not know."
"You need to read the journal. Your Papa wanted you to have it when you came of age or married. Eleanor gave it to you for this reason. I read it, and now I know why your Papa wanted you to be told now, and not before."
Elizabeth looked at Violet with a bit of confusion.
"Come, love, you will see what I mean." Violet moved to the bed and sat against the wall, he opened his arms and Elizabeth came to sit between his legs, reclining against him. He gave her the journal and kissed her temple, playing with her hair as she opened the book and began to read.
Violet read over her shoulder, matching her pace as she turned the first page.
His arms wrapped around her, he could feel her body change as she read of her Papa losing Penelope.
She read of her father's upbringing and education. How after going into the King's service, he caught the young Monarch's attention with his weaponry skills.
Being around the same age, the King took a liking to Alex, he started seeking him out for friendship, and he would even take lessons from Alex in the different weapons that interested him.
Alex had no idea how he had been gifted with his skills, he just knew they came with great responsibility. Being raised by Bernard, Alexander had a high moral code that the King could appreciate.
The King also appreciated Alex's humbleness, his intelligence and his sense of humor. It was not long until Alex was the King's right hand man. For quite a few years, one would rarely see one man, without seeing the other also. Alex had become a favorite of the King.
Alex went everywhere with his King, protecting him and watching his back.
Alex caught wind of an assassination attempt to be made upon the King, he filtered out the guilty parties, thus saving the King's life.
After more than a few years together, another attempt was made to kill the Monarch.
Alex stood to the side of his King, watching the crowd, as the Monarch addressed them. Alex recognised the barrel of a pistol being pointed at his liege and he saw the gun fire.
Alex had thrown himself in front of the King, taking the bullet that had been meant for the Monarch. Alex was shot in the head.
Though he lived and was incredibly lucky, the recovery process was long and hard. Bernard cared for his son, and as Alex recovered slowly, he would attend church with Bernard when he was able.
Alex met Elizabeth's mother, at church, and after a long heart to heart with his King, he was released from the King's service and pursued his pastorate.
Betsy turned to look up at Violet, "He saved the King's life and almost died, Violet." Her eyes were huge and disbelieving, "Why was I not told any of this?"
"I think I know, but you should ask Eleanor to be sure. It seems your Papa wanted you to have a normal, grounded life, I think he feared the King may have involved himself in your life, and you would not be the person you are today if he had." It was the only reason Violet had been able to come up with. "You had not heard of Alex Hastings before?"
Betsy had, of course she had, who had not? Yet, she assumed it had been some far reaching relative on her grandmother's side of the family, she never tied that Alex Hastings, to her own father, whom Betsy thought of as Alexander Southerland, the reverend. "I never put the two together." She admitted.
"The commander knows who you are, he knew your father, and I believe he hopes to gain something for himself bringing you to the King."
"Why would the King care about me?"
"He cared for your father, and he may feel he owes him something, in return for saving his life. Also, you have the same gift your father did. I am sure the commander thinks the King would be very interested in knowing that."
"I do not see why, it is not as if I could join his ranks." Betsy laughed at the notion.
"You would be surprised what some may do to take advantage of you." Violet was of the same mind of Bernard and Ellie, he wanted to protect her, and her naivety. He loved her just as she was. He too, wanted to keep her out of the King's courts and away from people who may use or harm her. He could understand Bernard and Ellie's protection of her now, as everything inside him wanted to do the same.
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Now we know who her father was :)
Blessings, my lovely readers!