A Marriage To A Fine Woman

Can I Keep You

           
Norrington was in a meeting with Lord Beckett and the senior officers
still waiting on the reports about what exactly was aboard the Crosswinds. It
was never a good situation when a ship came to port with any sort of epidemic,
regardless of what it was. Even worse when it came to shore with sketchy details
on the ailment making it a mysterious one and leaving it open for all sorts of
wild speculation. 

           
“The most important thing to do is to simply stay in control of the
situation. We don’t want mass paranoia breaking out all over the island and we
certainly don’t want riots.” One of the Captain’s said.

           
“This ship has been long over due for months, she has been presumed
lost for sometime. No one outside the military knows what ship is out there; one
of the many reasons they are at that distance. To prevent infection if that is
the case, and to keep from provoking the families of anyone aboard into hysteria
or frenzy since they have not been allowed to disembark and may never be allowed
to do so.” Beckett said looking towards James.

           
Norrington met Beckett’s look straight on, “I understand the gravity
of the situation as much as you do Lord Beckett, perhaps more so then any man
here. With my wife’s father aboard that ship, . . . .” he sighed, “I
couldn’t agree more that the identity of the ship be kept confidential.”
Every man in the room seemed to be quiet and James could almost feel the
question on everyone’s tongue even though no man would dare ask it. James
clinched his jaw a bit irritated that it was even there but decided to address
it immediately. “My duty is to keep the peace in the Caribbean, see that the
Law is kept, and to the Safety and well-being of all those under his Royal
Majesty. I am loyal to the Crown and I shall carry out my duty to King and
Country.” He stated forcefully. Yet he realized what that meant should the
reports that came back from the Crosswinds was not favorable. “Whatever that
duty is.” He said turning his eyes away.

           
Beckett watched James as he spoke. This was one of the reasons that the
East India Trading Company had requested him and no other for the commission in
Port Royal. He was a staunch military leader who wouldn’t waver no matter what
the assignment was. He was by the book and would carry out the law, regardless.

 

Labor Pains

           
Aislinn starred wide-eyed at the floor, her cheeks blushing red with her
hands folded in her lap. She couldn’t believe she was listening to a man talk
to her about such things. It was completely embarrassing and James wasn’t even
here. Finally, she couldn’t take it anymore.

           
“I’m sorry.” She said interrupting him. “I don’t mean to be
rude, really . . . but . . . you aren’t my doctor.” She said honestly not
able to even raise her eyes to look at him. “My doctor is my husbands doctor .
. . one of the military surgeons. He’s supposed to be telling me of this . . .
umm . . . event.” She said her cheeks still bright red.

           
“Yes, he’s a very good friend of mine. I work in the town, I’m not
part of the military.” He explained. “He was concerned that you might begin
labor while he was away and he wanted you to be prepared for it. So . . . he
asked me to come and tell you what you needed to know. Have you any questions
you might like to ask me before I continu . . .”

           
“My husband isn’t here. I think my husband should be here.” She
interrupted again nervously wringing her hands together. “He is usually home
by now. I don’t know why he isn’t. It’s very late isn’t it. Far to late.
Maybe you should go. You should go and I’ll wait until my husband and our
surgeon comes to tell us of these things.” Aislinn was twisting her ring
around her finger over and over.

           
“As I understand it, your husband is the one who ordered your doctor to
his mission. He’s waiting on his report now.” He explained. “You really do
need to know what I am trying to explain to you. You could go into labor any day
now.”

           
“What mission?” She asked looking up at him now, “Report on what?
What would James need a medical report on?” Aislinn inquired. “Has he left
the island? The doctor I mean? Has he gone?”

           
The man looked a little frustrated, “No . . . not completely I don’t
think. He simply said it was a official military matter and couldn’t say any
more then that.” Aislinn frowned not liking how that sounded.

           
“Thank you sir.” She said getting up and hurrying out of the study.
The man stood up starting to follow her not sure where she was going but not
having finished what he had come to tell her. He stopped shaking his head not
knowing what to make of this.

 

Reports

           
James sat at the table with Lord Beckett, and the other officers having
gone over the reports and hearing what the officers had to say. James was quiet
with a dark look on his face starring at the papers before him.

           
“How did this happen?” A Lieutenant asked finally breaking the
silence.

           
“It started off simply enough when they hit doldrums with no wind for
several weeks. Not enough fresh vegetables, fruit even was stored aboard the
ship and scurvy set in causing their immune systems to fail. When the plague
came aboard, they didn’t stand the slightest chance against it. They think it
may have been brought aboard intentionally when they put into one of the ports
to re-supply, did what they could to stop it. By then it was to late. To many of
the crew had been infected.”

           
Norrington listened but still didn’t say anything. His jaw was clinched
tight and the dark look in his eyes remained. Another Captain spoke, “How many
are left?” He asked.

           
“132 out of a crew of 432. But that number is decreasing.” The doctor
who came to make the report looked at Beckett and Norrington, “They came here
knowing what would happen, sir. They understood, and prefer it over the slow and
painful deaths they are suffering now.”

           
Beckett looked at James hearing this. “You command the fleet Admiral,
it’s your order.”

           
“You say that as if it’s as easy as snapping my fingers to send over
100 people to their death.” Norrington said through his teeth.

           
“They are already dying James. All you are doing is ending their
suffering and granting their final wish.” Beckett said. “You can’t let
them leave knowing what’s on that ship. It must be destroyed and properly
disposed of otherwise the disease will spread.”

           
“I know that!” James said slamming his hands on the table standing up
and turning away. “I also know that there are those aboard who no doubt want
to live despite the fact that there is no hope for them. They didn’t
unanimously vote for suicide. It’s a civilian transport vessel with women and
children aboard.”

           
“This is the only thing that can be done for them now, Admiral.”
James couldn’t argue it. Even if he didn’t want it to be true, it was the
law and there was nothing else to do. Even with all this fact starring him in
the face, he couldn’t help but think about the one thing that was sitting in
the back of his mind. Aislinn’s father was still on that ship. He wasn’t
dead, yet. It was going to be him ordering his execution. “Admiral?” Beckett
said again.

           
James was silent for another few moments before he finally answered,
“Tomorrow, at dawn, the Crosswinds will be escorted out 100 miles off shore .
. . and . . . disposed of . . . as a plague ship is to be disposed of according
to law.” He said giving the order. The officers silently stood picking up
their papers and left the office.

 

Overhearing

           
Aislinn was walking down the pathways leading to the docks in the dark,
her cloak wrapped tightly around her feeling the biting cold air. The lamps
didn’t seem to be doing very well tonight as they had to compete with the fog
that clung to the ground and in between the buildings so it was difficult to
see. So she kept her eyes on the path and followed the lamplights that she could
see.

           
Every once in a while she heard the footsteps of soldiers walking by and
almost ran into one or two along the way who quickly apologized. However, being
so far along in her pregnancy, it didn’t take too much for her to get tired
and she had to lean against a wall to rest for a moment before she got to James
office.

           
“I had tomorrow all planned I did.” She heard a solider telling
another hearing their footsteps approaching. “But our Captain said we have
escort and burial detail tomorrow.”

           
“Yeah? Our ship too. All shore leaves have been canceled. Looks like
that ships going to a watery grave it is.” They were heading towards the docks
rather then away from it. She recognized the direction they were heading in.
“Heard they’re carrying the plague. Poor blighters.”

           
“Don’t know. I’m sure not going to get close enough for a look see.
What ship is this, you heard the name?” Their voices were getting quieter now,
they were almost to far away for her to hear them.

           
“Crosswinds I think. Some merchant vessel they thought was lost or some
. . . .” Then their voices were gone. Aislinn was frozen in place, hearing
that name. The name that she had been writing in every letter for the past
several weeks, searching for information, because her father had said he would
be coming on that ship, “Crosswinds.”

           
Stunned, she pushed herself from the wall and started down the path
again, her feet starting to get faster as she made her way towards the docks.

 

The Admirals Trouble

           
James walked into the foyer of his house shaking off the cold, removing
his hat and coat passing it to one of the servants, his mind running over and
over about how he would tell Aislinn. The family tie she held to her father
seemed so strong even though she wasn’t exactly raised by him. Most of their
relationship through her life seemed to be through handwritten correspondence.
Yet they seemed so very close, and Aislinn was incredibly loyal. Perhaps it was
because Walter was the only family she had, he was all that she knew.

           
Norrington’s mind swam in thought as he clasped his hands behind his
back and walked through the foyer into the main hallway, then into the dining
room. Dinner was set and waiting as it seemed to have been for a little while.
He had expected to see Aislinn when he turned the corner since she hadn’t
greeted him at the door, but she was nowhere to be seen.

           
Just then one of the maids backed through the kitchen door carrying a
tray bringing it to the table. She was a little startled seeing James standing
nearby so quietly, but quickly regained her composure and went about her duties.

           
“Don’t you think you should call Lady Norrington?” He said looking
towards the door with a sigh before looking back towards the maid. “It is
getting rather late isn’t it?”

           
“She hasn’t returned yet this evening Admiral Norrington.”

           
“Returned? What do you mean returned?” He said with a frown.
“She’s not been allowed to go out until the baby is born for sometime.”

           
The maid looked a little nervous hearing the tone in James voice. “ . .
. she left sir, while the doctor was here earlier. She left suddenly, to make
her way towards your office, towards the docks . . .” James eyes went wide. He
turned on his heel and flew out of the dinning room back to the foyer grabbing
his over coat.

           
Down at the docks, Aislinn moved quietly along the cargo crates. Her hood
was pulled low over her face as she kept herself out of sight. The moon was full
and cast an eerie glow on everything on the water and the island. Moving further
along the docks she spotted several empty long boats along the beach, apparently
having come ashore from the larger ships that hadn’t been able to come any
closer to the docks. She looked out towards the water squinting her eyes trying
to make out the shape of the ship that she knew was out there somewhere.

           
Looking towards the boats, she moved to one and looked into it seeing
several sets of oars. Her eyes moved once more out to sea and she swallowed the
lump in her throat. As long as they had been here in the Caribbean, she still
hadn’t learned how to swim. It had been something she desperately wanted to
do, but it didn’t seem as though it was a proper past time or skill she was to
learn as the Admiral’s wife. 

           
But if her father really was out there, she had to see him. She simply
had to. It had been so long since she had received his letter, and months
without any news and no one seemed to know of his fate that she had been out of
her wits with grief. The more she thought about it, the quicker her breaths came
as her courage built inside her. At once she made a snap decision and her hands
went to the bow of the boat as she started to push it towards the water.

           
It was much heavier then it looked, and wasn’t nearly as easy as the
soldiers made it seem. Readjusting her stance, she placed her shoulder against
the front of the boat and dug her feet down in the sand starting to push. She
only got about a foot of movement before she had to stop feeling a pain in her
side and across her middle. Her hand quickly placed over the large swell of her
abdomen as she stopped taking a deep breath feeling lightheaded.

           
“What do you think your doing?” A voice said causing her to look up.
There she saw a familiar face that she hadn’t seen for some time. Not since
the day they were discovered in the forest by James.

           
“Stephen?” She said taking another jagged breath.

           
He stepped a little closer having seen her trying to move the long boat.
“What are you doing out here? It’s far to late and far to cold for you to be
on the beach.” Aislinn had wanted to speak to him again after James had sent
him back to his ship and sent her home that day so badly, but it seemed they had
never crossed paths again. She was quiet for a moment, there were volumes to
say, things she desperately wanted to tell him, but there was to much for right
now, and more pressing matters.

           
“Stephen . . . you must help me push this boat into the water and point
out the direction in which the Crosswinds is anchored.” She said looking at
him seriously. Stephen could hardly believe it.

           
“Are you mad? That ship has been deemed off limits to civilians,
especially the Admiral’s wife.” He exclaimed. “How did you find out about
it anyway? An order was issued that no one was to speak of it by Admiral
Norrington himself.”

           
She frowned, “I was making my way to his office, when I heard some
soldiers conversing on the path.” She said sheepishly knowing that she had
been somewhat ease dropping on their conversation. “But that isn’t what is
important. What matters is that I must get to the Crosswinds, I simply must.”

           
“No, you cannot.” He said. “It’s been condemned, it’s
dangerous. No one is to go near that ship.” He said in a definite tone.

           
“But my father is there. He has been lost for months with no word to
anyone.” Stephen quieted looking at her. “I must see him, I must. I can’t
wait for morning, I’ve waited so long to see him.”

           
Stephen was at a loss, not knowing what to say or how to say it. She’d
only heard part of the news and not all of it. She hadn’t been told the rest.
“Aislinn . . . the Crosswinds is a plague ship. Everyone aboard is infected .
. . all that is left aboard is the dead and dying. No one is allowed on or off
the ship.”

           
She starred at him for several moments. It was as if she was in a dream.
Time had slowed down and stood still as she heard his words. How could this be.
“No . . . no it’s not possible, your . . . your mistaken . . .” She said
shaking her head, but Stephen quickly reached out and took her arms.

           
“No. The surgeons and doctors on the island have confirmed it.”
Stephen sighed, “The ship is going to be escorted to sea and destroyed
according to the law at dawn. Admiral Norrington and Lord Beckett have already
issued the order.”

           
Aislinn was stunned; she was in shock at the news and slowly shook her
head again. “No . . . no he wouldn’t. James wouldn’t do that, he
couldn’t . . .” She said. The look on Stephen’s face let her know that
there was no mistake, and he was telling her only the facts. She looked down for
a moment before her eyes turned up towards him again filled with tears as a few
escaped her eyes and rolled down her cheek.

           
“I’m sorry Aislinn.” He said honestly.