Part 8 (1/2)
”No. The storm is in the opposite direction.”
”Come in, Miranda -”
”He will return, Marie.”
Marie pursed her lips in concern. The woman refused to believe the Tarofs prediction. Considering her condition, Marie thought it best to humor her. ”Until he does, ma chere, you must think of the child.”
Henri, suffering from shock, exposure, and a mortal wound in his leg, was plucked from the water a day later by an English s.h.i.+p bound for the island. He was delirious, and his wild claims of a mutiny on the Sea Witch were dismissed as the mad ravings of a dying man. It was widely known that Forsythe's crew was among the most loyal on the seas. But when the debris was spotted later that day, the story spread rapidly throughout the islands.
Miranda's son was still-born, three months premature. For weeks after, Marie sat with her mistress, concerned for her life and sanity. The one thing which seemed to calm Miranda was the golden chain and it's molded replica of the Sea Witch. ”It is my only link to him now,” she told Marie. ”He knew it would happen. Knew.”
”We must leave this place, Miranda.” Marie's tone was serious.
”Leave Belle Mer? I cannot leave. Aaron will come to me here. He promised.”
”It is not safe for you, Madame. I saw it in the cards. There is danger here for you. Unless you leave Martinique, you will die.”
”How?”
”The cards did not reveal that. But the same enemy that stalked Aaron now stalks you.”
”I no longer care, Marie.”
Marie had known she would speak like that. ”But you must. If - If Aaron is to return to you, you must be alive to welcome him.”
”But, if I leave -”
”He will find you no matter where you are.”18.
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Miranda's face set in thought. ”Very well. I will sell Belle Mer. What was that man's name? The one who made the offer last month?”
”du Pres, Madame. Count du Pres.”
”Yes. Send a message that I will accept his offer.”
”Where will we go?”
”To - England, I think. I would like to meet my in-laws.”
Philip Forsythe, the third Earl of Har-risbee, felt a twinge of conscience upon being informed of his brother's death, and allowed Miranda and her companion to reside in one of the family's houses. There, Miranda spent most of her time before the fire, the talisman in her hands.
After Marie died in 1738, Miranda made a decision. She made the decision to return to Martinique. She sent an agent to buy Belle Mer from the du Pres family, but they refused to sell.
When Miranda Duval Forsythe died on a rainy day in 1770, and was buried in the Forsythe family graveyard, the family felt
sad that she had never been able to return to her beloved Martinique.