A Pirate’s Wife Read Free Page B

all
    through the house, for which we were grateful. The staff
    had done a magnificent work in maintaining the place
    while we were gone.
    He felt overwhelmed by it all until Rosa-Lee
    reached for his hand and walked with him to the parlour
    with its exquisite furniture, tapestries and golden framed
    paintings of past generations. She chattered nonstop, even
    if it was her first visit. But the difference was she is used to these riches and he was not.
    After we settled in, he walked the estate over the
    next two days, and I showed him the inheritance.
    Surrounded with a rapid-flowing river with tree lines on
    both sides, the castle looked impressive, built out of stones
    and brick, standing three stories tall in the Portugal sun.
    Each room was filled with generations worth of treasures;
    heavy hand crafted furniture, art, and family portraits,
    tapestries bought in India, China, Spain and Africa, rich in
    colour, hung on the walls.
    At first, he could not comprehend the papers, or his
    new title as land owner. He struggled for words this
    morning, but accepted the responsibilities as property
    owner. This was a difficult time for Portugal. The country
    was in a transitional phase and landowners were often
    unfair dictators. But I knew he was wise and would treat
    his people with respect and kindness. He would give them
    what was fair, distributing our wealth for the benefit of all.
    Cisco is willing to learn. His good, kind heart
    draws people closer. Already he and Franco, the manager
    of the estate, have a close friendship. His first lesson was to learn to ride his horse, another present from Rosa-Lee. She
    was so excited when the horse was presented to him that
    she giggled with pure joy. His face lit up in childlike
    wonder at the powerfully-muscled black stallion. When he
    approached the animal the horse responded in like fashion.
    It took us a while to get him back in the house.
    What a delight the day has been. Alfonso will leave
    soon on the ship Cisco received from the D.E.I.C. for his
    brave efforts during the last two years. Kayla and Derek
    will leave for their new home in Spain and the house will
    become ours alone. There are so many things I still want to
    show him. I can hardly wait.
    But tonight I will give him his greatest gift when I
    reveal my pregnancy to him. I just know this will leave him
    speechless.
    †††
    It was the year 1641 on the south coast of Portugal.
    The lone figure of a young woman looked over the vast
    blue sea. A breeze rippled playfully on the water's surface.
    To her it spelt trouble, haunting her thoughts with what if's, reliving the past as if it were just yesterday, crystal clear in
    her mind. Every day for the last two weeks she had looked
    at the horizon, hoping to see her father's well-known
    merchant ship with his ensign flag appear. But there was no
    sign. The foreboding feelings accumulated again within her
    heart, making her anxious and troubled.
    While she waited she read her parents' diaries, a
    present for her eighteenth birthday, and her most treasured
    possessions in the whole world, for the umpteenth time.
    The leather-bound books were soft under her touch, the
    papers already yellowing. She had read them so often that
    she knew them by heart, but still they evoked in her a sense
    of belonging. They held her past but also her future. At
    twenty-four she knew her future would be colourful and
    beautiful. She felt safe when reading the pages, and knew if
    they had made it, she would make it as well.
    Coming on the ship was her eagerly-awaited
    younger brother, only sixteen years of age. He had been so
    excited about his first voyage as a sailor that they could
    hardly stay in the same house with him. Their father had
    taught them all about the sea since they could understand
    and walk.
    He had taught them to read the stars at night, to read
    charts, navigating their own way. He sent them on the ship
    for countless lessons; lessons they never tired of.
    Pedro always had