Tangled Romances 1/19
Characters: Jack, Crew of Pearl, OFCs
Rating: PG13 (to start)
Disclaimer: As much as I would love to own Jack and his precious Pearl, I do not. However, the rest of the cast and storyline belong to me.
Summary: Engaged to be married to the Governor's nephew, Constance Bourne feels locked into a marriage of fortune. But a stranger comes along and changes all the plans that she has made. Which path will she take?
CHAPTER 1
“Thank you, Governor. We had a splendid time. Didn’t we, love?” Helga asks. She shakes her head and jabs Constance in the side. “Constance!”
“Oh, yes, Governor. I had a wonderful time. Thank you once again for the fine meal.” She curtsied low.
“No, thank you, Miss Bourne, for your wonderful piano playing that you graced us with this evening. Michael is certainly lucky to be marrying such a fine young woman.” He says looking at Constance and Michael.
“Well, I am lucky to have the pleasure of spending the rest of my life with her,” says Michael with a content smile.
“She truly is quite talented, isn’t she?” says Helga. Constance’s mother is not one to be discreet, she feels it’s her right to brag or criticize anything she hears. “You know, she has been taking lessons since she was five. She had to grow into her fingers they were so long.” She laughs heartily.
The Governor lets out a lofty laugh himself. Constance can feel the embarrassment creep up her cheeks. Mother sometimes didn’t know how to keep her common way jokes to a minimum. She sometimes forgot her place. Constance decided it’s time to leave.
“Mother, I don’t think that we should impose our presence here much longer. It is getting late and I am sure Father will be wondering where we are.” Constance takes her by the arm and starts walking out the door. She suddenly realized that mother had four glasses of wine this evening. She doesn’t know how to hold her alcohol well.
“Oh. I do suppose so. Well, Governor, Michael,” she says with a curtsy, “I can’t wait till the next time we can share our time together.”
“Yes, Mrs. Bourne. I do look forward to that,” says the Governor bending in half in a bow.
Constance’s mother curtsies, turns and walks a few steps, and turns and curtsies again, and so forth. This continues through the hall to the main door. Michael helps Constance’s mother in the carriage and closes the door before Constance herself could get in.
“Constance? May I have a word?” he says low.
“Yes, Michael. What is it?”
“Well, our wedding day is fast approaching. You know that we have been the talk about Port Royal?”
“I know.” she say rolling her eyes. “It seems as though people have nothing better to do than sit around talking like a bunch of bitties.”
“I just want you to know that I will do everything in my power to make you happy. I don’t care that you are a commoner.” He takes her left hand and gently kisses it. Constance doesn’t feel the butterflies in her stomach she read you should get from the romantic novels she reads.
“Thank you, Michael. I know I shall love you always.” she gently kissed him on the cheek and stepped inside the carriage.
Constance’s mother is swaying inside the carriage. She stares at her.
“What, mother?” She asked irritated.
“You have a good marriage set in front of you,” she says as Constance heaves a heavy sigh. She knows where she is going with this. She has heard this time and time again. “Michael is a good man. His will show you love. And money. Money that we could never give you.”
“I know, mother. But sometimes my heart just wants something more. I don’t feel….whole.” she says looking out the carriage window. It was nice of Michael to let her use the carriage so she didn’t get wet on the way home from the rain. Though, Constance would have gladly walked if it weren’t for her mother.
“Don’t you dare start talking like that! You need to stop reading those silly romance novels. That kind of thing doesn’t happen in real life. Men just don’t come riding in a white horse, sweeping you away. Look at me and your father. I can’t stand him most days, but I am still with him. God help me, some days I don’t know why.”
“Mother, you know you love him, you shouldn’t hide it,” she smiles. “Father and you always seem happy when I am around.”
“That’s because we love you dear, and want the best for you.” Tears are welling in her eyes. “You don’t need a life like we have. Spending everyday in the blacksmith’s shop. You deserve so much more. Much more than we could ever give you.”
Constance knew her parents have worked hard to give her everything she ever wanted. If she hadn’t bumped into Michael that day in the Square, who knows who she would be married to. Constance wasn’t ugly, not in the least. She was actually quite beautiful for a common girl. Average height. Blonde flowing hair down to the middle of her back. Her green eyes always sparkled. No, she was quite easy on the eyes. Luckily, her reputation wasn’t. Constance was known around the Square as the “goody two shoes”. Always doing what’s right and proper. Even for a common girl Constance acted like she was a noblewoman of great descent. But thanks to Michael she didn’t have to worry about spending the rest her life scrubbing floors and having fifteen children with Rudy Baker. He was a portly fellow who has tried to woo her since they were both ten.
Yes, Michael was kind and loving in his own way, but Constance always felt like something was missing. She had known Michael since she was seventeen. That was seven years ago, and she became very close friends until the day he asked for her hand in marriage one year ago. Constance guessed he loved her more than she loved him. She agreed to marry him. She loved him, but not in the way that people share their most intimate moments. Constance mainly did it to please her mother. She wouldn’t stop hearing about it if she didn’t accept his hand. “You will be making a big mistake if you chose to ignore his proposal” is what Constance heard for the longest time before she decided to be Michael’s wife. And that day was coming fast. She would be Mrs. Michael Norton in four months and three days. The thought made her heart jump. Not in the way that she ever so wanted to. It jumped looking for a way out. But she didn’t know how that was going to happen. Not unless her prince came riding in a big white horse.
Rating: PG13 (to start)
Disclaimer: As much as I would love to own Jack and his precious Pearl, I do not. However, the rest of the cast and storyline belong to me.
Summary: Engaged to be married to the Governor's nephew, Constance Bourne feels locked into a marriage of fortune. But a stranger comes along and changes all the plans that she has made. Which path will she take?
CHAPTER 1
“Thank you, Governor. We had a splendid time. Didn’t we, love?” Helga asks. She shakes her head and jabs Constance in the side. “Constance!”
“Oh, yes, Governor. I had a wonderful time. Thank you once again for the fine meal.” She curtsied low.
“No, thank you, Miss Bourne, for your wonderful piano playing that you graced us with this evening. Michael is certainly lucky to be marrying such a fine young woman.” He says looking at Constance and Michael.
“Well, I am lucky to have the pleasure of spending the rest of my life with her,” says Michael with a content smile.
“She truly is quite talented, isn’t she?” says Helga. Constance’s mother is not one to be discreet, she feels it’s her right to brag or criticize anything she hears. “You know, she has been taking lessons since she was five. She had to grow into her fingers they were so long.” She laughs heartily.
The Governor lets out a lofty laugh himself. Constance can feel the embarrassment creep up her cheeks. Mother sometimes didn’t know how to keep her common way jokes to a minimum. She sometimes forgot her place. Constance decided it’s time to leave.
“Mother, I don’t think that we should impose our presence here much longer. It is getting late and I am sure Father will be wondering where we are.” Constance takes her by the arm and starts walking out the door. She suddenly realized that mother had four glasses of wine this evening. She doesn’t know how to hold her alcohol well.
“Oh. I do suppose so. Well, Governor, Michael,” she says with a curtsy, “I can’t wait till the next time we can share our time together.”
“Yes, Mrs. Bourne. I do look forward to that,” says the Governor bending in half in a bow.
Constance’s mother curtsies, turns and walks a few steps, and turns and curtsies again, and so forth. This continues through the hall to the main door. Michael helps Constance’s mother in the carriage and closes the door before Constance herself could get in.
“Constance? May I have a word?” he says low.
“Yes, Michael. What is it?”
“Well, our wedding day is fast approaching. You know that we have been the talk about Port Royal?”
“I know.” she say rolling her eyes. “It seems as though people have nothing better to do than sit around talking like a bunch of bitties.”
“I just want you to know that I will do everything in my power to make you happy. I don’t care that you are a commoner.” He takes her left hand and gently kisses it. Constance doesn’t feel the butterflies in her stomach she read you should get from the romantic novels she reads.
“Thank you, Michael. I know I shall love you always.” she gently kissed him on the cheek and stepped inside the carriage.
Constance’s mother is swaying inside the carriage. She stares at her.
“What, mother?” She asked irritated.
“You have a good marriage set in front of you,” she says as Constance heaves a heavy sigh. She knows where she is going with this. She has heard this time and time again. “Michael is a good man. His will show you love. And money. Money that we could never give you.”
“I know, mother. But sometimes my heart just wants something more. I don’t feel….whole.” she says looking out the carriage window. It was nice of Michael to let her use the carriage so she didn’t get wet on the way home from the rain. Though, Constance would have gladly walked if it weren’t for her mother.
“Don’t you dare start talking like that! You need to stop reading those silly romance novels. That kind of thing doesn’t happen in real life. Men just don’t come riding in a white horse, sweeping you away. Look at me and your father. I can’t stand him most days, but I am still with him. God help me, some days I don’t know why.”
“Mother, you know you love him, you shouldn’t hide it,” she smiles. “Father and you always seem happy when I am around.”
“That’s because we love you dear, and want the best for you.” Tears are welling in her eyes. “You don’t need a life like we have. Spending everyday in the blacksmith’s shop. You deserve so much more. Much more than we could ever give you.”
Constance knew her parents have worked hard to give her everything she ever wanted. If she hadn’t bumped into Michael that day in the Square, who knows who she would be married to. Constance wasn’t ugly, not in the least. She was actually quite beautiful for a common girl. Average height. Blonde flowing hair down to the middle of her back. Her green eyes always sparkled. No, she was quite easy on the eyes. Luckily, her reputation wasn’t. Constance was known around the Square as the “goody two shoes”. Always doing what’s right and proper. Even for a common girl Constance acted like she was a noblewoman of great descent. But thanks to Michael she didn’t have to worry about spending the rest her life scrubbing floors and having fifteen children with Rudy Baker. He was a portly fellow who has tried to woo her since they were both ten.
Yes, Michael was kind and loving in his own way, but Constance always felt like something was missing. She had known Michael since she was seventeen. That was seven years ago, and she became very close friends until the day he asked for her hand in marriage one year ago. Constance guessed he loved her more than she loved him. She agreed to marry him. She loved him, but not in the way that people share their most intimate moments. Constance mainly did it to please her mother. She wouldn’t stop hearing about it if she didn’t accept his hand. “You will be making a big mistake if you chose to ignore his proposal” is what Constance heard for the longest time before she decided to be Michael’s wife. And that day was coming fast. She would be Mrs. Michael Norton in four months and three days. The thought made her heart jump. Not in the way that she ever so wanted to. It jumped looking for a way out. But she didn’t know how that was going to happen. Not unless her prince came riding in a big white horse.