The Light Keeper's Daughter

The Light Keeper's Daughter - Chapter 5

Chapter 5


Coming from the lighthouse in the early morning hours, with the first signs of dawn approaching, Camila inhaled the briny air and smiled. She loved this place, and this time of day was one of her favorites. It was like dawn was her special time, her father was still busy working and mother was asleep. She alone had this time of day to look out as the sun peeked above the horizon and began to show its majesty for the day. Every morning she looked towards the sky over the endless ocean and marveled as God painted the heavens purple, orange and yellow. It would only last for a few moments. Her moments.

She knew now what she needed to do. Franklin was a wonderful friend, and although she thought he would do everything to make her happy as a wife, if she did not love him now, would she ever love him? In her heart she knew she needed to tell Franklin and pray that he understood. Last night after her prayer on the catwalk she felt a soft gentle breeze and took a deep breath, inhaling the peace of her decision. She did not hear an audible voice, but more of a tugging of her heart. It wasn’t fair to Franklin or to herself.

Mother will not be happy.

Once her decision had been made, her thoughts went to Jack and trying to help him with his situation. He was a lost soul, with no name or identity. He could have a family and friends looking for him. Her thoughts of a wife missing him were dismissed as soon as they came to her mind. Certainly if he had a wife, he would remember her. Wouldn’t he?

She was startled to hear a throat being cleared directly behind her. “May I join you?” the intruder to her thoughts asked.

“Yes. Of course.” Camila nodded without looking up at him, keeping her eyes focused on the ship now sailing beyond from the dangerous cliffs and rocks. She felt Jack sit next to her on the bench and sigh.

Without looking at him, Camila sighed too, “Should you be out of bed? You’re still weak from the accident.” Camilla said worried about him and his recovery.

“I couldn’t stay in that bed another moment. I was starting to go crazy.” Jack looked out to the ocean and the view, “It is so beautiful here,” he said wistfully.

“How do you not know it might be even more beautiful where you’re from?”

He laughed, “It really wouldn’t matter, it could not diminish the beauty of this view.”

“True. This is one of my favorite places.”

“I can see why. Will you miss it?”

“Miss it?” Camila looked at him for the first time, trying to understand his question. He had been in his room for the past few days and this was his first time out as far as she knew. How could he know about Franklin? And of course she knew he did not know about her early morning conversation with God and her decision.

“When you marry him.”

Camila looked over at him then for the first time. “Who said I will marry at all?”

One corner of his mouth lifted, “I don’t mean to offend you. Bonnie said Franklin wanted you down the aisle and your father told me your hand had been asked for by your beau. This Franklin gentleman is very fortunate.”

“Father’s right, Franklin did ask, but I have not given my answer... yet.” Camila knew she could not tell Jack when she hadn’t told Franklin or her parents.

“How long is this Franklin willing to wait? Someone successful like him won’t be waiting long I am sure.” Jack stretched out his legs and crossed them at his ankles, resting his hands on the back of the bench seat.

Shock crossed Camila’s face. This was none of Jack’s business! “If you must know, Franklin would wait years for my answer. But, he has asked for an answer before his parents leave in a months time.” Although Camila would not make Franklin wait that long. She would make arrangements to tell him as soon as possible.

“You must not care for him as much as he cares for you since you did not give him the answer right away.”

“I care for Franklin very deeply. That might be one of the reason’s I am thinking this decision through.”

“Do you love him?”

Camila did love Franklin, just not like she should a husband, but why should this man know. While a part of her said to tell him what she needed to say, another part waged inside wanting to tell him the truth, that Franklin was her best friend and like a brother to her.

“Do you?” he asked again, with a raised eyebrow and a little grin playing at his lips. Lips that Camila rubbed ice chips over when he was unconscious and thought that they were soft and gentle.

“Yes, I love him very much.” Camila finally offered, “We grew up together and have been best friends all of our lives. I could not imagine my life without Franklin.” Satisfied, Camila nodded her head, “Yes, I love him.”

He chuckled, “You sound like you are trying to convince yourself more than me.”

Camila thought for a moment, looked out towards the sea and she pulled a shell out of her pocket and played with it in her fingers. This habit had always calmed her and brought her the sense of home. Looking back out to the blue waters with the sun halfway up above the horizon, Camila finally asked, “What does it matter to you anyway?”

“Just curious.” Jack said nonchalantly as he looked out to sea.

“I wasn’t completely honest.” Camila didn’t know why she was compelled to tell him the truth, but it was coming out of her mouth so quickly, she couldn’t stop it if she tried. “Franklin and I are best friends, and I do love him. Our love for each other is not the same. He knows this, but feels in time I might love him the same way. I don’t want to hurt him.” She had been looking out to the ocean as she confessed her true feelings for Franklin, but as she stopped talking and her words trailed to a whisper, she dared a sideways glance in his direction. Was he smiling?

“I see.”  Jack turned to look at her and she was compelled to look at him, she couldn’t stop if she tried. “He loves you, but you think of him as a good friend, not a lover.”

“Jack!” Camila jumped to her feet and was shocked that someone she barely knew would talk to her in that manner. People she knew her whole life would never talk to her using those words!

Jack slowly took her hand in his and pulled her back down to sit next to him again on the bench.

A grin did cross his lips and Camila had to fight the urge to reach up and touch them to see if they were soft when he was awake. In a very formal and a slightly British accent, “I apologize my lady. Will you forgive my harsh language? I promise to hold my tongue from this moment forward.” This of course made Camila laugh.

“Although I do enjoy our conversations, can you imagine what would happen if Mother heard you talk to me like that?” Not only would Jack be asked to leave the house, which is something she did not want to see happen, Camila would be in serious trouble. It might even cost her several afternoons with Mother’s garden club. Camila shivered.

“Are you cold?” Jack asked as as he began to take off his coat to offer to her until Camila waved him off.

“No. Thank you, I’m not cold.”


******

They sat there in silence for a few moments allowing the sun to rise and the sky to turn from the colorful purples and oranges to a beautiful cornflower blue color, the color of Camila’s dress from the night before.

“Jack, I need to go into town later today, do you feel up to going with me?”

“Depends, what do you have planned?” Jack would love to spend the day in her presence, and in reality, it did not matter what she had planned he would go with her.

“I need to pick up a new book I ordered and Franklin had promised to escort me onto one of his ships the next time I came into town.”

“Ah, Franklin. Will he mind if I am with you?”

A smile swept across Camila’s face, “You mean will he be jealous? No. Franklin is not the jealous type.”

“When a man is in love, he is always the jealous type, you just may not see it.” Jack was sure that any man in love with Camila would indeed look through those green eyes of envy if another man sought her attention. This might be fun after all, he thought to himself.

“Not Franklin, he is very kind and has always looked out for my best interests.” Camila looked out towards the sea as they heard a ships bell clanging in the distance through the fog that was settled low on the water. It would clear with the sun rising and be gone in the next hour.

“Sure, I’ll go with you, but I would wager he won’t like it.” Jack knew after the trip to town, it would be evident to Camila how she felt about both of them.

Camila waved her hand towards him signaling that he didn’t know what he was talking about, Jack just smiled to himself. He wasn’t sure which part of the trip he would like better, the carriage ride into town with Camila, making Franklin jealous or the ride back with Camila trying to explain why her Franklin acted the way he did. No, the part he would enjoy the most would be flirting with Camila every step of the way.

“Well, I should get a couple hours of sleep and then get ready. We’ll leave in about three hours,” Jack stood and helped her to her feet, holding her hand he brought it to his mouth and paused allowing his warm breath to caress her skin and chill bumps to appear. His lips softly grazed the back of her hand. He couldn’t help the blush that brightened her cheeks.

“I look forward to our afternoon together,” Jack tucked her hand into the crook of his arm and turned to walk with her inside.


******

Two hours later, after trying to get some rest but unsuccessful in her attempts, Camila came downstairs to the sound of laughter coming from the kitchen. Even though the sun had been up for several hours, Camila knew her parents would still be in bed. Her mother loved the joys of sleeping late and her father had just gone to bed himself. Fear of the laughter would wake them, Camila quickened her steps and pushed the swinging door to the kitchen open.

The words formed in her mouth, but never made it past her lips as she too began to giggle. “What do you think you are doing?” the tone in her voice was lost in the laughter she was trying so hard to stifle.

Jack was standing in the middle of the kitchen wearing one of Bonnie’s frilly white aprons, flour was flying everywhere and covered every inch of the table in front of him. It was smeared on his face and in his hair, and Camila found her hands burning to reach up and wipe it off of his brow. It was a site that Camila knew she would never forget if she lived to be a hundred and one.

“I’m learning to make biscuits,” Jack looked as if this was the proudest moment of his life. His hands held the rolling pin and he returned to roll out the dough, but his eyes twinkled and never left hers.

“Why?”

“So I can learn to do something I don’t know how to do,” Jack thought for a moment then he added, “Well at least I don’t think that I know how to do this.”

Bonnie could not contain her laughter. Camila knew the mirth the older lady was having would be well worth the extra time she would need to take to clean the kitchen. She also knew it was not only at this handsome man rolling dough expense, but Camila was also certain that Bonnie was enjoying the look on her face, which she tried to school quickly.

Trying to control her laughter and thoughts, Camila spoke softly, “I will go ask Johnny to get the carriage ready. Do you think you can get yourself cleaned up and meet me out front in fifteen minutes?”

“What? You don’t want to try one of my biscuits?” Camila laughed again at Jack’s fake hurt in his voice and emotions.

“I think this morning a piece of toast will suffice.” As she turned and left the kitchen, she picked up a piece of toast that was sitting on a plate on the counter.


******


Standing at the base of the front porch steps, Jack knew Camila was impatiently waiting on him. He wondered if she was nervous about spending the day with him or seeing him and Franklin together? Her right foot kept tapping up and down in the crushed shell drive.

As he came down the steps, she turned and he watched as the tension vanished from her face and body. When she smiled up at him, his heart fluttered and his chest grew tight.

The day was warm and Camila was wearing a pale pink dress in a simple style with a rose colored ribbon attached to the empire waist and trailing down the back. The large straw hat she held in her hand was also adorned with the same ribbon and small flowers around the crown. She was a vision for his thirsty eyes.

“Miss Underwood, you look lovely. I also brought you a peace offering.” Jack could not help the smile that crossed his face as he held out a napkin with a white fluffy biscuit he made wrapped inside.

“Thank you Jack.” Camila took the napkin and he knew she was surprised at how fluffy and delicious the biscuit looked. Taking a small bite she chewed and swallowed then said, “Very good!”

They heard the carriage before seeing it, Jack turned when the sound of horses and carriage wheels approached on the crushed shell drive. Suddenly in a flash, like a lightening bolt from the cloudless sky, he found himself on his knees holding his head trying to fight the horrific memory that assaulted him.

In a distance he heard Camila talking to him, calling his name, well the name she had given him. She was holding his hand and trying to bring him back to reality with her soft voice. All he wanted to do was close his eyes and forget the vision, the memory from his past.

In his mind he had been transported to a busy street. People were bustling down the sidewalks eager to get to their destinations. Snow littered the ground and the air was crisp and cold. Across the street he saw an older lady wrapped up in her soft fur coat and hat wave towards him. “Danny Boy!” She called to him. He saw love and admiration in her eyes and immediately he knew the woman was his mother. He had smiled at her and raised a hand in welcoming and his heart soared with love towards her. She had always loved him and he felt it in the depths of his soul.

As she began crossing the street, a large closed carriage with four dark horses came without warning racing towards her and before he could warn her or stop her or even rush towards her and throw her out of the way she had been hit by the horses and trampled to the ground. Her lifeless body was held in his arms as tears streamed down his face.

“Jack!” Camila was in a panic. She was sitting on the bottom step next to him and he felt the urgency in her touch and heard it in her voice.

He felt the salty tears streaming down his face. But it wasn’t a part of his memory. His mother had been killed and if his memory was correct, it was only six months ago. But who was he, he had no idea. The wash of childhood memories consoled him. He remembered his first name and his mother’s love and death, but that was all. “Danny boy. That is what she called me.” Daniel didn’t even realize the words had come out of his mouth.

“Danny? Like Daniel? Your name is Daniel?” Camila asked back, “you remembered something.” Daniel nodded and abruptly she turned and said, “Johnny, I’m sorry but we won’t need the carriage today.”As quickly as she turned away, her body turned back to him and held him in her arms. She cradled him like she would an upset child.

Wiping the tears away from his face he nodded, “My mother. She was killed six months ago.” He pulled back and looked into her eyes and saw the reflection of the sadness he knew was etched on his face. “I don’t remember everything, I don’t even know my last name, but I remembered she called me Danny boy.”

He felt Camila’s arms wrap around his shoulder and she pull his head back to her shoulder. She held him for a long time.


******


Camila did not know what came over her. She knew that this was not proper. She should not be holding the man crying on her shoulder. Yet when he collapsed and she saw the tears coming uninhibited from his eyes, her heart wretched for him. Camila had never seen a man cry before. Her basic instinct was to hold him and take all of his pain away. She ran her fingers through his dark hair and gently kissed his brow, “Everything will be okay, I’ll help you through this. You’re not alone.” Camila didn’t know what to say, so she said everything that came to her mind to comfort him.

Jack... Daniel pulled away and sat with his arms on his knees and he stared out to the deep waters. Camila pulled her hand from his shoulder and held them in her lap. Immediately she missed the warmth of him on her touch and even in May her hands suddenly felt cold.

“Come with me,” Camila offered her hand to help Daniel rise. “Please Ja... Daniel.”

He tried to smile up at her but it looked more like a grimace. He must have trusted her because he took her hand and rose to his feet.

“Have you ever seen the inside of a lighthouse before?”

“No,” he whispered as he shock his head, “at least I don’t think I have.”

Holding his hand Camila led him to the lighthouse, as she walked up the stairs in front of him, she told about the history of the lighthouse again. How President Washington, as one of his first duties as president ordered the lighthouse built. How her great-grandfather came here after his apprentice under another light keeper and her grandfather and father followed in his footsteps. She told him about how she grew up here and how her father was suppose to pass this on to a son, but she was born. And although her mother did not know it, she could run the lighthouse if they would let her take over for her father when he retired. But she knew that would never happen. That society would never allow a woman light keeper.

As they climbed the steps, Camila did not let go of his hand, she knew she was rambling, but wanted to easy his mind. She had never seen a man cry before and it scared her. But after he told her about his mother’s death, she understood that would unnerve anyone, male or female.

Camila led him out on to the catwalk that surrounded the lantern room. She released his hand and felt the blood move back into her fingers. His grip on her must have been tighter than she realized. Placing her hands on the rail she looked out to the ocean and took a long breath of the salty clean air. “I come here when I need to think and pray. I don’t know why, but I feel closer to God here. Even closer than sitting on the pew in church on Sunday mornings.”

“I’m sorry you saw me upset.” Daniel was very remorseful in his tone and it broke Camila’s heart.

“You have no reason to be sorry. I’m glad I was there for you!” Camila sat down on the catwalk and let her legs dangle over the edge. She rested her arms on the lower rung of the railing and then reached up pulling Daniel down next to her. “Daniel? Do you want to talk about it?”

For a long moment Daniel was quiet and Camila thought that maybe he did not want to talk and share his memory or feelings with her.  “I was meeting her for lunch. It was a Friday afternoon and the air was cold and felt like it was burning my face. I had not seen her in a couple of weeks. I don’t know why or even all the details, but I knew I needed to see her that day. She was crossing the street when a black carriage with four horses trampled her. By the time I made it to her she was breathing her last breath and told me to forgive him.”

“Forgive who?” Camila asked without realizing that she had spoken.

“I don’t know. I think maybe my father, but I am not sure.”

“Your father? Do you remember him?” Camila asked. Daniel shook his head. “Was it an accident?” Camila felt in her stomach that the way he told the story it was not.

“I don’t think so. I mean the street was busy, but the carriage didn’t stop and I don’t think they found out who was driving. Plus it was an unmarked carriage.”

Camila reached over and took his hand, “What next? Do you remember anything else? Do you want to go to New York and see if that was the large city?”

Shaking his head, Daniel shrugged, “I don’t know.” They sat there for a few more moments, with only the wind, waves and sea birds calling out, when he continued, “I’m frightened to find out what happened and what is going on. I mean, if my mother was murdered, what if someone tried to kill me too?”

“It just means we need to be careful as we find out who you are.”

Daniel looked at her and Camila could see the shock on his face, did he think he was dangerous and bringing this to her family? She knew in her heart he couldn’t do that to them, but his words spoke the fear his face showed, “I need to leave. I need to get out of here before any danger follows me.”

Shaking her head, Camila squeezed his hand, “No. You can’t just walk into trouble by yourself. What we need to do is find a way for you to get your memory back and stay out of danger.”

“But what if...” Camila placed her fingers over his lips to quiet him, but when he exhaled the warm breath made her fingers tingle and she removed them.

She began ticking her thoughts off her fingers, “First of all we don’t know if someone hurt you or not. You coming here could have been an accident. Second, if someone did do this to you, they probably think you are dead. Not many people survive going overboard in the ocean. That is assuming you were on a ship to begin with. Third, you need someone to watch your back just in case.”

When Daniel sighed, Camila knew her arguments had struck home. Camila smiled, “So, you said that your mother called you Danny boy? Any memory besides her death?”

Daniel shook his head, “Nothing. The horses and carriage triggered the flash of memory.”

“Not thinking about the accident, tell me what you remember about your mother.”

Daniel closed his eyes and thought for a moment, a smile came to his face. “She was loving, I don’t remember an actual incident, but she loved to spoil me, just a feeling I have. She was never too busy for me, even as I grew up and was older. I believe she had to adjust her schedule to meet me that day. She always looked beautiful, like she was going to an event or tea party. Her hair was dark brown, but showed no signs of age yet, and her skin was always soft and beautiful.”

Think about her and try to remember a specific memory, a good memory. Daniel sat there for a few moments with his eyes closed clutching Camila’s hand, finally he opened his eyes and shook his head. All I remember is the horses, the look on her face when she realized what was happening and was frozen in place by fear.

Camila rubbed his hand with hers, “It’s okay. We can’t expect everything to come back at once.”

The sun was high up in the sky and Camila thought he needed to rest. “Why don’t we go into the house and see if Bonnie has anything for lunch.”

Daniel nodded and rose to his feet and then offered his hand to help Camila up. “Maybe we can picnic on the beach and not worry about this any more today. When your memory is ready to come back, it will.”