“Quick, Emma, get up! Becky’s here!”
Punctuated by dark black rings surrounding her eyes, Emma glared at Jacob’s excited notion, her confused and haggard appearance echoing the war going on inside her heart. She raised her head in a defeated look of confusion, trying to understand what her husband was trying to say. “Becky’s here?”
“Yes, she’s at the door! Quickly, get up and get dressed!”
A loud knock alerted them to Becky’s presence and a shudder of fear ran down Jacob’s back. Last time they had seen Becky, she hadn’t wanted anything to do with them and they weren’t sure what this meeting would bring. Leaving Emma to dress and vacate their bed, Jacob hurried down the passage from the bedroom to answer the door. Feeling uneasy, Jacob tried to smile and act normal, but the tension in his eyes made Becky uncomfortable, too.
“Hi... um, can I come in?” Becky hesitated, exposed and extremely ill at ease.
“Of course you can, Becky.”
Jacob swung open the door and as Becky stepped in, she glanced around the familiar house, noticing the dishevelled appearance and the rooms being messier than she had ever seen it before. Taking a stolen glimpse down the passage, Becky searched for Emma. “Is arr...”
“She’s getting dressed, Becky, she won’t be long. Take a seat,” Jacob offered, pointing to a lounge chair, with Becky sitting nervously on the very edge.
“Can I get you a drink or something?” Jacob asked, trying to break the uneasy silence.
“No... thanks,” Becky responded.
Noticing the absence of her usual endearments, Jacob worried this wasn’t a good sign.
The sound of someone shuffling up the passageway toward the lounge room made the two people look up. Emma’s slow and spaced-out trundle shocked Becky and when she saw the familiar face, so haggard and devoid of emotion, with the look of suffering etched so deeply in Emma’s lifeless eyes instead of brimming with joy, she was shocked again. In her possession, Emma carried a photograph album and dropped it with a thump onto the coffee table.
“You will find a full record of my sins in there,” Emma offered flatly and then flopped into a lounge chair at the opposite end of the room.
Becky glanced at Emma and then at the book, but having never seen this album before, she reached for it and opened the first leaf. As she flicked through the pages, it was full of photographs of her: the day they brought her home as a tiny baby; gappy-toothed smiles as her baby teeth gave way to a new and stronger set; scrapes and bruises and the offending new pushbike that had inflicted them; her first day at school and the tears as she had tried to hang on to Emma instead of facing her new environment. Birthdays, Christmases and every event that had happened to Becky was recorded in this book, always full of happy laughter and the joyous faces of her parents. Becky eventually turned to the last page and a faded yellow envelope dropped to the floor, prompting Becky to bend down and retrieve it, replacing it carefully back into the back page.
“Open it,” Emma’s emotionless voice drifted across the room.
Becky glanced across at Emma and then withdrew a piece of paper from the envelope, unfolded its contents and began to read, leaving her gasping when she saw the words written across the top of the official document.
Birth Certificate: Rebecca Ellen Brown.
Born: 12th June 1986. Landon County Hospital.
Mother’s name: Evelyn Brown. Confidential.
Fathers name: Not specified
Becky stared at the document, wide eyed. She now had a new piece of the jigsaw.
“There, now you know all we know about your birth mother,” Emma’s emotionless voice began to break.
Becky dared to venture, “And what about Katie and Contention Island? Where does that fit?” she whispered.
Emma’s hollow eyes peered out the window. “I don’t know. I just had a hunch that in some way the nightmares were connected to my deceit and if you found the answer to Katie, you would also find out about your adoption.”
“So that’s why the nightmares haunted you, too. You were afraid I would find out I was adopted.”
Emma nodded, her face appearing vulnerable with her emotions strung out and flat. “I expect you will despise me forever now, spending your time searching for Evelyn and when you find her, I will not even register.” Hearing the accusation in her own words, Emma’s emotions burst and she sobbed; deep, broken sobs with her back and shoulders violently shaking and giving a true indication to the depth of her grief.
Watching Emma suffer, Becky felt callously dead to Emma’s pain and stared across at her adoptive mother, the woman who had raised her. Smiley’s face came back into her mind. Take it from me, nothing will get resolved by trying to punish them. They have suffered all your life by trying to hide this. Those words were living right in front of her. Emma had suffered exactly as Smiley had said, and now the woman who had loved her—her real mother—was still suffering.
In a moment of decision, Becky’s hardness crumbled and her eyes moistened, rushing to the side of the only mother she’d ever known. “I am so confused just right now, Mum. I know you love me and I know I love you.”
Emma’s tears flooded her face again and she pulled her daughter into her embrace. “I’m so sorry, Becky. I was stupid to keep it from you, but I was just so afraid of losing you. No one can understand the pain an adoptive mother feels when she knows someone can step into her child's life and take them away, ripping the heart out of her chest with a simple offering of blood ties and a name on a document, the very things I couldn’t offer you. Why wouldn’t you leave me?” Emma sobbed loudly.
Becky’s arms tightly held Emma’s shuddering frame. “I love you, Mum, and no one is going to replace you. Everything has just been a big shock to me and please understand that I have to know where I came from and why I was given up.”
Emma’s bloodshot eyes held Becky’s confused gaze for a long moment. She conceded that Becky was on the hunt she had feared for so long, and now was the moment of decision. She kissed Becky’s face and nodded. “If you have any questions that may lead to finding Evelyn and if I can help, I will do so,” Emma determined.
Becky cuddled into her mum. This was the woman she had grown to love and respect.
Jacob stood by the door, a handkerchief pressed to his eyes. “Daddy!” Becky motioned with her hand for Jacob to join them in their hug.
Jacob’s face lit up in relief... his little girl was back.
*~*~*~*
Chapter 36
The panoramic view from Neddy’s third-floor suite took a sweeping tour of the town and the busy port of Lightning Harbour. The twin, rocky arms of the breakwater, protecting the port from the open sea, were in plain view and so was the busy entrance where ships were coming and going through the narrow heads. Their voyage out into the open waters could be tracked quite easily from Neddy’s window, determining the exact moment when the motion of the ships changed dramatically from the calm waters of the protected harbour, once they breached the breakwater through the narrow heads and broke out into the ocean swells. Absentmindedly, Neddy glanced over the small town and then like a magnet, his search was drawn back to the sea, noticing the swells were starting to break, rolling over into whitecaps, increasingly driven by the offshore wind. The struggles of one vessel caught his eye as it breached the heads, with spray breaking over the deck while it pushed into the fresh sea breeze, crashing the waves via the point of its bow and trying to gain some headway against the rising swells.
Intently watching the struggles of the bobbing vessel, Neddy’s mind drifted back to the pretty face that had captivated his attentions. Neddy was a bachelor and although he had a deep appreciation for fine looking women, he had never met one who wasn’t shallow or conceited. Tess had disarmed him with her kind, sensible manner; but her sister was every bit the conceited and shallow woman he was used to meeting. After his blunder, making the two women procurement officers, he was determined to teach them the job and show De
sapo they were capable of carrying out this crucial component of his operation. Besides, that would give him an excuse to see Tess again on a more intimate level. Desapo had made Neddy the boss, even if it was only on a fanciful level, then he was going to exercise his part in this charade to his best advantage.
A knock at his door drew him from his hapless gazing, turning to open it and castigate the source of the intruder, but Desapo pushed past him and barked an order as he entered his room.
“Close the door, Neddy. I don’t want to be discovered here.”
Neddy complied to his brother’s request and the door shut off to the passageway outside with a plunk.
“I have organised a small boat to take us out to the job site in about half an hour, Neddy,” Desapo ordered.
But Neddy had taken up his position back at the window again, gazing at the town’s activity.
“Did you hear me?” Desapo repeated.
“I heard you. What do you know about that woman I had dinner with last night?” Neddy changed the subject with a curve ball and his back to Desapo.
“What, the black haired one?”
Neddy spun around and faced Desapo, his expression incredulous. “No, not the surly one. The beauty I was talking to; Tess, I believe her name is.”
Desapo met the gaze of his brother. "Well... what do you know! My big brother, the eternal optimist and bachelor extraordinaire has fallen head over heels in love,” Desapo teased.
“Shuddup, Desapo, and just answer the question. Anyway, you should talk! Concocting a circus and thrusting me into the middle of it just to impress that snooty, black haired Katie,” Neddy frowned, embarrassed, shoving his finger into Desapo’s chest.
“I was just trying to help them out!” Desapo defended.
“That ain't what your friends Pike and Gustav told me!” Neddy grinned annoyingly.
“What?! What did they tell you?!” Desapo was on the back foot again.
Neddy had that maddening look on his face that brothers get just before a scrap. “Seems the illustrious Mr Desapo has taken a bit of a tumble down the same street he accused me of. I bet she felt good cradled in your arms while she swooned.”
“She didn’t swoon, Neddy! She took a shock. What was I supposed to do? Leave a lady lying on the dockside surrounded by drooling dock workers?”
Neddy laughed. “So she got a drooling Desapo instead! I hear she wasn’t too impressed by your romantic advances.”
“She is a bit of a challenge, yes. I like a woman who is spirited. I always have,” Desapo admitted.
“Spirited?! I would say she is just downright spoilt!” Neddy spat.
Desapo wrenched his pocket watch out and flipped the lid open. “Can we discuss this later, Neddy? The boat is waiting and we have to catch the tide. I want you to meet the monster that keeps Lightning Harbour on her knees.”
“What are you going on about now, Desapo?” Neddy’s gruff mood was getting more intolerant. He turned to face the window again and peered at the heaving swells. “I hope you have your sea legs, Desapo. That swell is really rolling in now.”
“Huh! You get seasick, Neddy?!” Desapo challenged.
“Listen, Desapo, you haven’t seen swell until you’ve been off the coast of France in one of her moods,” Neddy’s speech bounced off the window glass, his back to Desapo and his hands cupped behind him, staring at the town below his gaze.
“Well, can we get going then? I’ll leave first and meet you down at the dock in five minutes. It’s an easy stroll from here.”
“What...?! What on earth is he doing here?!” Neddy complained.
Desapo sprung to his feet and joined Neddy at the window. “Who?!”
Neddy pointed to the street in front of him, but the figure had disappeared into a building before Desapo could catch sight of who he was talking about.
“Our old friend, Bellaruse!”
“Bellaruse! That’s who it was!” A light suddenly came on in Desapo’s mind with the pieces falling together and completing the puzzle.
*~*~*~*
By the time Neddy sauntered down to the dock ten minutes late, Desapo was getting edgy. “I thought you were never going to get here!”
“What’s the hurry, Desapo?” Neddy teased.
“I told you. We have to catch the tide...”
“Yeah, yeah, the monster of Lightning Harbour,” Neddy teased, jumping down from the dock and onto the small fishing boat.
“Neddy, this is Mario, the skipper. He knows our monster very well.”
Neddy greeted the older fisherman. “So, Mario, are you as paranoid about the monster of Lightning Harbour as my beloved sister here?” Neddy dug the boots into Desapo and drew a laugh from Mario..
“Paranoid? No, Mr Neddy, but after many generations of fishing these waters, I have a big respect for what Black Dean can do and her bad mood.”
Intrigued now, Neddy eyed the old man. Mario didn’t seem like the sort to exaggerate a story, especially a fishy one.
Turning from the brothers, Mario entered the cabin and prepared to get underway, leaving Desapo and Neddy deep in conversation. By the time the little fishing boat cleared the heads and pushed headlong into the wind driven swell, it was tossing its head like a wild horse. After being sprayed by a large bow wave, Desapo motioned for Neddy to join him in the wheelhouse. Moments later and holding onto the forward consol, Neddy pulled the wheelhouse door closed and set about to interrogate Mario about Black Dean.
“So, Mario, what can you tell me about Black Dean?” Neddy stared past the wiry fisherman and into the turbulent sea, bracing himself against each swell and watching the seawater smash headlong over the boat, obscuring the windscreen with the vibrant green wash before the windscreen wipers cleared the blurry view.
Neddy’s demeanour changed from disinterested to one of awe, swallowing hard as the old fisherman described Black Dean, but rather than talk, Mario was keen to demonstrate Black Dean's unpredictability and power in the same style of demonstration that Desapo had gained his insights.
*~*~*~*
Katrina and Tess ambled down to the hotel counter from their room, intercepting Gustav’s smile.
“Good day, ladies,” he greeted happily.
“Good afternoon, Gustav,” Tess returned. “Gustav, we need your help,” Tess moved in close and whispered.
“What can be such a problem, madam, that it seems to beguile you? If I can be of assistance then my services are at your disposal.”
“We are to be the lunchtime cooks for the work platform and we have not had much experience in this role. In fact, none.”
Gustav massaged his chin, deep in thought. “Please wait here and I will be right back.” Gustav disappeared behind a heavy hinged door. Soon the door opened again and Gustav returned, beckoning Tess and Katie into the room behind. Inside, they were met by a large man in a grey chequered outfit, surrounded by stoves, ovens and benches. “Ladies, this is Pierre. He is our chef and I have instructed him to show you the finer arts.”
“Thank you, Gustav!” Tess bubbled.
But Katie’s nose turned upwards; she’d never been in a kitchen before.
*~*~*~*
Chapter 37
The legends, rumours and fanciful talk surrounding the disappearance of the Riviera were still fresh in the minds of the town folk of Lightning harbour, more so for those intimately connected with the dock and the maritime industry. The authorities were looking for any leads at all and Black Dean was suspect number one. Bellaruse had to be careful he didn’t attract attention to himself asking questions of the ill-fated passengers and more specifically, the fabled black haired beauty, supposedly the duke's daughter and the earl's sister. Bellaruse was suspicious that a woman could posses such magnificence without attracting notice, but a lady fitting her description had been seen around the dock area a couple of days ago. The information was encouraging and the tales seemed to support the earl’s description, so Bellaruse knew he was close and that she’d been
here recently. He just had to keep a low profile and listen in on every hotel bar conversation. With her credentials, she shouldn’t be too hard to track down if she was indeed as handsome as the earl had painted her out to be.
However, Bellaruse had other plans once he located her, capturing the beauty and then selling her to a rich Argentinean plantation owner. They would pay handsomely for a beautiful toy and especially if she was a cultured brat, just the way his client liked them. Bellaruse considered, if he kept the earl's sister alive, even if she was reduced to a rich man’s slave, he could use the threat of her existence to blackmail him and extract a further cut of his inheritance. A smile escaped from the pocked face at his own ingenious plan. Like a bloodhound, Bellaruse had a nose for finding opportunities, with the game becoming more interesting once the earl had taken control of his father’s wealth. If he played his cards right, he could retire from petty piracy and rubbing shoulders with criminals and cutthroats, and set himself up in a comfortable life as a gentleman.
The cards were about to be dealt and all he had to do was find his ace.
*~*~*~*
Katrina squirmed and fumbled her way in Pierre’s kitchen. Orders were crisply barked and it took awhile to understand the Frenchman’s impassioned directions and what each cooking implement's purpose portrayed. Even though Katrina was fluent in French herself, when Pierre’s passion boiled over he would cross between tangled English and fiery French in a difficult to understand accent. If Katrina misunderstood the meaning of his hysterical words and inadvertently messed up the instructions, burning the task or turning it lumpy, she was screamed at... peste noire!
Unaccustomed to commoners or their disrespectful ire, Katrina had never had one of her attempts at creating referred to as the black death. Pierre was obviously a highly strung perfectionist and had scolded Katrina to the point of tears. Tess was sure Katrina was going to crack and have a tantrum at any stage, but given her dues, she stayed with it and decided to stand her ground and submit.