Zeelandia

50. Of Uncertainty

Father and I watched through Zeelandia's stern windows as Isla Beata slowly receded and dimmed in the twilight. After a long silence, he shook his head and said, "Two and a half years lost, most of the crew lost, a fortune lost, a ship lost, and but for you, a family lost."

While I pondered what response would be fitting, he continued, "Now, I am lost."

"You are not lost, Father." I reached across and placed a hand on his shoulder. "You are here. Here with me, and we are safe."

"For the nonce, but what of later? What will I do? I have no ship."

"Settle ashore. You still have the estate in Portsmouth."

"An empty house." He grimaced. "And Chris has by now likely found my new money hide; he had found the other ones."

"The other ones?"

"I had caught him stealing. Changed the hiding place and caught him again, this time over six hundred pounds missing."

"Six hundred?"

"Seems he had been into that one for a long while. Likely to cover his gambling and whoring." Father shuddered. "I banished him, and while he packed, he assaulted you."

We remained silent in our thoughts for a long while, then I said, "But, we are here now, Father. We can do nothing to change the past."

He nodded. "As I had often told you. And it is as true now as it was then."

I turned to matters of the present, relating the changes Charles had made from hunting to trading. I was well along with telling him about the auction, when the sounds of Charles descending the steps caused me to turn and watch. As he reached the bottom, he said, "The rescued are now all eating."

I rose from my chair. "Then, I should go fetch our suppers."

"No need, Camille. They are being brought here." He strode across the cabin and offered his hand to Father. "Please, pardon me for not having greeted you earlier, Sir."

Father grasped the offered hand as he rose, and while he pumped it, he said, "You had more pressing matters. And with you being the captain, it is I who should use sir, Sir, not you."

"I use it to show my awful respect and gratitude for your having raised such a fine daughter, Sir." While still shaking Father's hand, Charles wrapped his left arm about my waist and pulled me to his side. "She captured me, and I sensed it unwise to resist."

"And your intentions?"

"The same as are hers, Sir. To wed and create a family."

He nodded. "Yes, so Camille has told me." He paused a moment before he continued, "But in the colonies? Is this befitting a lady of noble birth? Are you?"

"My good sir, my deportment and demeanour are well above those of many noblemen I have had the pain to observe. But condescension and scorn aside, the colonies are well-fitting. It has long been my dream to settle there, and all was in place except for a congenial spirit with whom to share it." Charles pulled me closer to his side. "Finding a woman was to have been my next step, but Camille obviated that by finding me. And now..." He paused when Steward approached.

"Beg pardon, Sir, your suppers are on their way up. Shall I lay the table?"

"Please, James. And use the canvas cover; I anticipate some rolling as we emerge from the lee of the island and settle onto a course for the night."

"Aye, Sir." Steward paused and smiled at me, then pursing his lips and nodding, he turned and headed toward the pantry.

Had he recognised what he had seen? Or had he learnt only when Charles announced it? Should I ask? Would it now be proper that I call him James? Father had called our staff by their first –

My thoughts were interrupted by Father's voice. "It appears you are both set on this." He paused and nodded. "And Camille knows the call of the sea is strong, and that it will have you away for many months at a time. Though, mind you this, Charles; your occasional presence is important as the children grow."

"I have decided to abandon the sea, Sir. The complexities of carving an estate from the wilderness and raising a family will fill my need for adventure."

"But why in the wilderness? Why in the colonies? Would it not be better to settle in England? To settle with all the comforts available there?"

"I knew no comfort in England. My memories are of squalid, rat-infested streets, of gutters running with filth, of a constant pall of smoke and falling soot. I prefer the open meadows, the forests full of game, the clean air and the fresh water."

"And the marauding savages."

"The entire island has been purchased from them, and they trade in peace."

"Not by the stories I have heard and read."

"Their only violence is toward those who take their land, or the trees, the fruit, the game and the fish upon it." Charles shrugged. "As would Englishmen treat purloiners and poachers on their land."

"Indeed!" Father nodded. "So, it appears you are determined to forsake both the sea and civilization for wilderness, but before you do, consider that there is also open countryside in England. Large tracts of it not far from busy ports, such as Portsmouth, Bristol, and Plymouth. Thus, you can continue voyaging."

"I already have a tract of land. Pristine forest and meadows with two streams running through them and lapped by the waters of a protected arm of the sea."

"But in the wilderness."

"If you will, but it is less than half a mile from the centre of the city – a clean, thriving and growing city, not a stagnant one, as are those in England." Charles motioned toward the table. "Come. Shall we sit and sup? You must be famished."

Father stood and patted his belly. "I had three oranges, and that has filled me. My stomach has shrunk from disuse."

"Ah, yes! I recall how the slaves we had previously freed had thought this. Doc said a stomach does not shrink; it simply learns to not ache and growl, fooling us into thinking it is full. There remains plenty of room. Come, we have ham, pease-porridge, biskits and dark ale."