by Dahlia Rose
“Master Garrick had some more dresses bought for you. I was supposed to layer them at the bottom so you wouldn’t see the surprise.” Dottie smiled.
“I don’t want them. A few dresses won’t make sending me away any less painful,” Kaila replied. Anger burned inside her. Did he think that a few dresses would make up for a broken heart?
“Is that what you think he’s doing, then?” Dottie said and went back to her task. “Never you mind, those dresses are staying in the chest. When you’re out to sea you can throw them overboard if that’s what you wish. Now go get dressed. The carriage will be arriving for us momentarily. “
“Us?” Kaila looked at the older woman in confusion.
Dottie nodded. “Mr. Habersham and the boys have already gone ahead to take the first load down to the ship. We’ll be in the final carriage.”
“First load of what, exactly? I thought it was only to be me traveling, and I certainly do not have that many things.”
Dottie turned and shooed her behind the screen. “You ask too many questions with so little time. You’ll see when we get there. Dress quickly.”
Kaila went behind the screen and saw another dress lying across the chair. This one was a rich burgundy and was exquisitely sewn. Everything down to the shoes seemed to have been made especially for her, and while she dressed she wondered why Garrick had commissioned her a new wardrobe. Maybe he was furnishing her a home and things for Grenada. For many nights of service in his bed, she thought bitterly. If that was the case, as soon as she got to the island she would give them away. She would prefer to wear tattered clothes instead of having these things to remind her of him. I was so stupid to think it could be different. A knock on her door and Dottie telling the coachman to take the last of the trunks told her the time was here. Kaila stepped from behind the screen, and Dottie smiled warmly.
“You look ravishing, Kaila!” she beamed. “It’s time to leave.”
“Is Garrick not going to see me off?” She was unable to stop herself from blurting out the words.
Dottie smiled. “He left on business early this morning, love. He may be at the docks when we arrive, but I can make no promises.”
Kaila bit the inside of her lip to keep from crying. “You don’t have to promise me anything, Dottie. I understand completely.”
They went downstairs, and the house was quiet as they went through the door. The coachman helped her into the carriage and then did the same for Dottie. As it pulled away, she looked back to the mansion until it was out of sight, and then she knew it was finally over. Dottie tired to keep up the chatter, asking about Grenada and things on the island. Kaila admitted being gone from such an early age she could recall only a few thing. I’ll need to be taught my way around all over again. Going home was like going to a foreign land, and she hoped her family was still there.
Dottie finally gave up trying to talk to her on the long coach ride to the dock and began knitting. Kaila was grateful for the silence and stared out onto the English hillside as morning turned to afternoon and then early evening. Finally the docks came into view, and the coach stopped in front of a ship that carried Garrick’s crest in white on a red flag that billowed high on the mass. Of course she still held hope that he would be there waiting, but while being helped from the carriage, she looked and his face was nowhere around.
“Up to the boat then,” Dottie said briskly. “They’ll be wanting to push off while the tide is good.”
She turned to Dottie and gave her a hug. “Thank you for everything. I’ll miss your porridge and our morning conversations.”
Dottie laughed. “And where do you think you’re going without me?”
“I really don’t understand now. You’re going to be taking the trip with me—what about your husband and children?” Kaila asked, confused.
“You need to get on board and see for yourself.” Dottie took her hand, and together they walked up the wooden gangplank to the deck of the massive ship. She turned Kaila by the shoulder and gave her a small push. “The captain’s quarters are that way. I’ll see you later. I’m going to see that my family is secure.”
“But where am I…?” She turned, and Dottie was already going to the opposite end of the ship.
Maybe Garrick was in there speaking to the captain about the journey ahead. Kaila walked past men who worked on the deck of the ship and with trembling fingers knocked on the door. “Enter.” It was Garrick’s voice. She turned the knob with trembling fingers and stepped inside. The room was surprisingly bright because of the lanterns that hung from various hook s. The mahogany gleamed, and she stood in the doorway looking at the man who sat behind a huge desk with maps opened in front of him. There was another man in the room with them; Kaila placed his age around the same as Garrick’s, and he looked completely at ease. He wore pants of a style she’d never seen before and a vest. The hat told her it was one of the cowboys Garrick had told her about in his stories.
“I think everyone is aboard now. Go get us on our way, Daniel,” Garrick said.
“You got it.” As he passed her, the man called Daniel tipped his hat at her. Kaila’s eyes widened because this was the first time she’d ever heard an American speak.
“He’s a cowboy.” She breathed the words out. “I love his voice; do you think he would talk to me?”
“I think I might be jealous,” Garrick said, coming from around the desk. He held out his arms to her. “Come here, sweet one.”
She stood firm. “And why should I? I take it you’re just escorting me to the island and then you’ll leave, is this what it’s about? You weren’t there when I woke up, and now I’m on a ship heading away from English soil. So now I must share your bed until you we reach port and you leave me there like a bag of potatoes at the market?”
“Whatever are you talking about, Kaila?” Garrick frowned.
“I told you I loved you, and you said nothing!” she said angrily. “I thought you were different and wouldn’t look at me like I was beneath you. But now you’re carting me away so you can go back to England and marry a lady and I’ll be a memory. I thought I would be fine with just having wonderful thoughts of the time we shared, but I was wrong. So I’d rather be roomed with Dottie and her family, because I cannot bear this any longer. To have you and not have you is more than I can bear.”
Garrick stared at her and began laughing. She stomped her foot and turned to walk away. He grabbed her around the waist and whirled her to him, kissing her hard on the mouth.
“You silly girl,” he said softly when he lifted his head. “Why would I need Dottie and her family to go with me if I just planned to drop you off on a beach and leave you there? I’ve been spending weeks planning this trip because I had every intention of staying in the Caribbean with you. I see it as a brand new adventure. I can be one of the first to set up a trading route, and I get to do it with a woman I love. Yes, Kaila, I love you.”
“I cannot love in your household while another shares your bed and be called mistress. I know this is how it’s done, but I cannot do it. Garrick, please don’t make me,” she pleaded with tears in her eyes.
“That’s why I left. I want no one else but you lying beside me at night. I couldn’t tell you until I knew for sure I could acquire the property I needed to build a port in Grenada,” Garrick explained. He ran his finger along her full bottom lip. “We can make our own rules, and in our home, you shall be the lady of the house. I plan to build you a castle by the sea, and if anyone doesn’t like it, they can all be damned to hell.
“Do you really mean all this?” Kaila said. She could hardly believe what she was hearing.
“I’d rather share my life with you than care what is said among the elitist. Let them talk about Lord Garrick Hadley living on an island. I’ll be in bliss, and what do they have? Our home, our lives and our family will be written in history books for years to come. We’ll teach others love is not found in wealth or titles or arranged marriages to strengthen one’s hold in society. It
’s found when you find your soul mate. That is if you’ll have me, of course.”
“You cannot escape me now, Garrick. I do love you so.”
He pulled her against him and devoured her lips. “Good, so let’s find the minister I brought aboard this ship and be married posthaste. That way we can come back and celebrate our wedding night the right way. Will you say yes, my dove?”
“My darling, I’ll say yes to you for an eternity to come,” she murmured, looking up at the man who held her heart.
The massive ship cut the dark waters, heading for a new world for Garrick and a home from long ago but never forgotten by Kaila. She knew with Garrick by her side, the possibilities were endless, and their love would be as endless as the stars in the sky.
The End
