From Dusk to Dawn (Chapter 2)
The White Hawk barely stirred excitement as it laid anchor closely following the huge, pompous ship specially commissioned by the Governor as a wedding gift for his daughter to take the newlywed couple on their honeymoon back to England for the necessary social visits. All of Port Royal was present as the heavy lady elegantly floated into the harbour and was christened Flightless Sparrow by the happily smiling bride and her awkward but proud fiancé.
Some eyes were filled with joyful tears in the light of their love, some looked sceptical, others envious, and no one saw the elegantly dressed couple stepping out of the airless confines of the smaller, faster White Hawk. They stepped into the black carriage waiting for them right under everyone’s nose, yet unnoticed, just like the man who had arranged their arrival had predicted.
The steep, dusty slope surrounded by rich vegetation leading up to the heavy, old house was just as Cutler Beckett remembered and he angrily closed the dark curtain on the small window, shutting out memories of the youth he had thought to have left behind forever. The unexpected movement earned him a questioningly raised eyebrow from his companion which he simply ignored as silence settled on them.
He shouldn’t have returned.
Even without seeing the well known trees he could tell, just by the familiar bumps of the road when they took the last curve and he knew the mansion would be clearly visible now. Dark, silent, haunted. The house his mother had always hated so much, the house his father had abused for his whoring, the house that would be home to him and Prudence from now on.
He waited for Mercer to get down from beside the driver and open the door for him when the carriage stopped at the entrance. Getting out, he looked challengingly into the eyes of the grand mansion and only when the old building quivered into obedience did he turn to the servants lined up to greet their new master and his beautiful wife.
Some of them he knew from before, loyal servants from the old days. Eugene, for example, who had always smelt of tobacco, though you could never see him smoke and would do anything, no questions asked, as long as the payment (always in the form of rum or gin) was fair. He hadn’t changed a bit, still looked like an old tortoise, just like always these past three decades since he’d entered the family’s service.
Unlike Maud, the housekeeper, who had aged considerably over the last ten years. Her hair was streaked so heavily with grey that the original black was hardly recognizable under her tight cap. Only her thin-lipped, stern expression reminded Beckett that this woman was indeed the terror of his childhood and the young boy buried in one of the dark corners of his soul was laughing triumphantly.
The others he didn’t know and had no whish to as long as they kept quiet and caused no disturbance as, of that he was sure, they had been instructed. He barely glanced at them before leading his wife inside, having more pressing matters to attend to than their household staff. It was brighter in the house than he remembered and for a moment he almost believed he could live here in peace but as soon as he crossed the door-step he could feel the chill of haunted moans creeping down his spine and the corners were just as dark as they had always been. His wife didn’t seem to notice, though. Prudence’s cat like eyes were scanning the large entrance hall eagerly, trying to take in the luscious décor all at once.
“I trust you had a pleasant journey.”
A dark shadow moved in one of the corners almost startling the couple.
“If you call seasickness pleasant,” the young woman instinctively flashed a smile at the stranger despite her husband’s warning look, pleased to see the man’s lips twitch in amusement.
“Is everything ready?” Beckett asked coldly, in a voice the other two knew well to only be reserved for serious business and their smiles vanished instantly.
“Yes.”
“When?”
“Tomorrow. Your men?”
“Will be here by noon.”
The dark haired man nodded and with a last calculating glance at Beckett’s wife, who quickly tried to hide her slightly confused look behind a confident smile, he turned to go. He stepped out into the hot air, letting the warm rays shower his tall body in a golden glow but his mind stayed with Lady Beckett for a second longer, knowing she would come after him.
“So you work for my husband?” He stifled a knowing smile as he stopped and turned back to the woman.
“With.”
“That’s not his custom,” she laughed lightly.
“It is mine.”
The warm Caribbean breeze gently caressed his dark locks, and danced in the dark fabric of his long black coat. A small, amused smile played in the corners of his lips as he looked in Prudence’s sparkling eyes.
“Bring a coat tomorrow. It’s going to rain.”