Twenty Part Two

Alfred stood in the midst of his cronies, the announcements had been lagging, just the odd straggler or a very late arrival may be announced from now onward.

His eye had been caught by a lovely redhead with sparkling green eyes. He kept one eye on her as he chatted with his friends.

Alfred noticed when the titan haired beauty went to the refreshment table. He excused himself to his companions, "I believe I shall procure a drink, I will return in a few moments."

He made his way through the crowd, weaving his way to the punch table. He had timed it perfectly. "Excuse me," He acted as though he had not seen her reaching for the ladle as their hands touched upon it together. "I am sorry, may I be of service?"

She was beautiful, her ivory skin lent an ethereal quality to her face, making her eyes seem even greener, her hair was like a red wine, burgundy wine.

She smiled sweetly, inclining her head, acceding to his offer.

He poured them each a cup and graciously handed one to her.

"Thank you so very much, kind sir." She took a sip and smiled at him again as he was drinking his own.

"I do not believe I have had the pleasure." Alfred hoped she would supply her name, but she just kept smiling at him, so he tried again. "I am Alfred Mederios, Baron of Nimford." He bowed to her as she nodded and acknowledged his introduction.

"'It is lovely to meet you Sir, if you would excuse me."

She floated away as Alfred watched her go.

Well, he would just have to try for a formal introduction, he would ask her for a dance and see if she would agree.

He set down his cup, making to follow her, just as a late arrival was announced.

"The Marquess of Ravenwood and the Countess of Trent."

Alfred stopped dead in his tracks. The Countess of Trent? The Countess of Trent!?

It could not be....

*************************************

Katherine planned what to do with her booty. She had enough materials for what she planned, however, she needed some information. All her supplies were laid out on the bed, she left them there to go track down Marcus.

It seemed the men were still below going through the crates looking for additional gifts for the King.

"Marcus, I need a substitute, who would you say most resembles the King in their measurements?" Marcus lived close to London, he would have opportunity to see the Monarch more than any other aboard.

Marcus turned at the sound of her voice, "Hmmm, I would say Brutus is closest in build and height. Yes, Brutus would be the one."

Katherine approached Brutus and took his hand, she held it in her palm as Marcus approached them. "His hands, about the same?" She queried.

"Yes, I would say so." Marcus confirmed.

"Come with me." Katherine pulled Brutus after her back to his cabin. "Do you have parchment and ink?" She asked as they entered.

"I do, just a moment." He drew open the drawer in his desk and procured the items she asked for.

"Thank you, I left your measures at home so must make them anew." She picked up her tape and measured Brutus, taking down notes as she went along. "I need your hand also. Just place it on the parchment and I shall outline and then we should have all I need." She drew Brutus' hand, then thanked him, "I will find you when I need to have a fitting, thank you."

"'Tis my pleasure, I only wish you would make double so I could have whatever you are making too." Brutus gave her a sheepish grin, she made fine quality things and he would never say nay to her making him anything she would like to.

He already had fine oilskins for when it stormed, a jerkin that kept out the wind and cold and a few pairs of gloves that fit him perfectly. He wondered what the King would be receiving.

Katherine swatted at his arm, "I bet you would, but you also would have no use for them, now go, I need to get to work, I should not need you again until at least the morrow." She shooed him out and started drawing her patterns. Hopefully the King would appreciate the gifts, if she could just get all she planned accomplished, he should be extremely pleased.

***********************************

Betsy passed Brutus in the hall as he was heading back to the hold. They exchanged smiles and nods, as she swept on by him and tapped on his cabin door.

Katherine assumed he had forgotten something and called for him to enter.

Betsy peeked in around the door, "Is there anything I may do to help you?"

"Elizabeth," Katherine gestured for Betsy to come in, "I could start making stitches if you would like to cut patterns."

"I would, I would like to see your skill, the men are talking about all of the wonderful things you have made and I am very interested in learning, if I may."

"I would be happy to teach you, here are the shears, just cut right on the outside of the lines and I will show you what I am making first."

The women worked companionably, Katherine started telling stories about Violet when he was a young boy, stopping to point out when she implemented a certain technique that Betsy should take note of.

"Brutus and Josh came running to my door, yelling like banshees, scaring me half out of my wits. It must have taken five minutes to get the story straight, but the long and short of it was, that Violet was hanging in a tree, and needed assistance. We ran out to the woods and the boys found where they had left him. I looked up and sure enough, way up high, he was hanging upside down and grinning at me. "Hi Mama, I told them not to bother you, but they would not help me themselves." 'Twas then I noticed he was swinging one way, then the other. He had attempted to attach a rope to a branch very high up, and luckily, when he slipped, it had wound around his ankle. He just hung there, spinning and grinning, as I about passed away from fear. Of course, not thinking rationally, I yelled at him to come down from there, whereupon he informed me, he would have by then if he could have."

Betsy laughed, as she could picture in her mind, a young Violet doing that very thing.

"He was so high up and I did not know what to do. I did not want to leave him hanging there but we needed help." Katherine wove her stitches as she wove her tale.

"What did you do?" Betsy asked, laughing, as it was readily apparent that Violet had survived.

"I had to send the boys to find Sissy's eldest brother, he was the best tree feller I knew. It took a good hour for them to fetch him, while Violet just hung there conversing with me as if we were sitting across a table from one another. Except he was telling me all the things he could see from up there, while I was dying inside, waiting for the rope to slip. I knew there was no way I could catch him, but I intended to try if I needed to."

"That must have been awful for you." Betsy shook her head at the fear Katherine must have felt.

"Then the boys finally arrived back with Sissy's brother, Thomas, and he is carrying an ax. Of course I told him you are not chopping this tree down, and he just laughed at me, then asked Violet how he was doing up there. There I am losing my mind, as Violet tells him he is fine, just hanging around he is." Katherine could smile now, not then, however.

"He is a bit of a joker I have noticed, he has a very good sense of humor, 'tis one of the things I love about him." Betsy shared.

"Yes, he was always a joker, he loves to amuse and entertain, even if it be at his own expense." Katherine agreed.

"So what happened?" Betsy asked, "How did he get down?"

"Thomas used the ax to climb the tree, he buried it as high as he could and used the handle to pull himself up branch by branch. Once he reached Violet he lowered him by the rope until he was safely on the ground. Of course I fussed and fumed at him once he was safe. When Thomas came down, he asked Violet how he had gotten up there, as the branches were so far apart. Apparently, Violet had used the rope to get up, slinging it over the branch above and climbing up it. All he said when he was standing on solid ground again and had explained his feat was, 'I guess I shall have to do it again, as I wanted to leave the rope tied up there.' I swatted his bum all the way home, yelling at him that he was never to even think of climbing that tree again."

"And did he?" Betsy asked, giggling.

"Not that one." Katherine smirked, "Just every other tree in the woods."

Betsy laughed at his thinking, leave it to Violet to find a way around his mother's scolding. She would have to remember this for the future, for any boy they had, may turn out to be just like him.

"I miss him being little and underfoot, 'tis a great sadness when your children leave the nest and you have to trust they will be alright. I do not like to hear his tales of pirating and weathering storms. I have had full time work of it just praying for his safety. It took quite a few years for me to learn to pray and then let it go. To thank before seeing results, in order to keep my own peace of mind."

Betsy nodded, "I can imagine that must have been hard, you must be very glad he had decided to stop pirating."

"I will be glad when he receives a pardon, I find a mother's prayers never cease." Katherine looked to Betsy seriously, "I would not like to see him hang himself again."

"We can all attest to his motives, Mama Katherine, hopefully it shall be enough." Whenever Betsy felt doubt, she remembered the Barbary ship, "I can not believe God would save them all, just to have them hang." She spoke fiercely, "I shall not lose him, whatever I have to do, whatever I can do, anything within my power will be done, and for now, that is prayer........" She grinned at her mother in law, "And bribery, I suppose." She herself could see the King's gifts coming together very nicely.

"Are you familiar with Paul's letters to the Philippians?" She asked Katherine, as that was where she usually found her peace when something resisted being put from her own mind.

"Tell me." Katherine urged her to share.

"Remember that the Lord is coming soon. Do not worry about anything, instead, pray about everything; tell God your needs and do not forget to thank Him for His answers. If you do this you will experience God's peace, which is far more wonderful than the human mind can understand. His peace will keep your thoughts and your hearts quiet and at rest as you trust in Jesus Christ." Betsy quoted the verse she was thinking of.

"Amen, I shall implement it immediately," Katherine smiled at her new daughter ruefully, "And repeatedly, when necessary."

"It sounds as if God has saved Violet many times, we shall just trust He will do it again." Betsy smiled reassuringly at Katherine, as she cut the last pattern out.

***********************************

The pretty redhead kept stealing glances at Alfred. He was not the most attractive man she had been approached by, by any means, yet there was something almost scholarly about his looks, that told her he had a sharp mind. He had seemed very nice and she would not mind if he asked her to dance.

He was someone she could see herself with. She could tell he would adore her. She had had enough of being courted by handsome men who were only full of themselves, or worse, men who were as old as the hills.

Here was her chance to have a titled man who would treat her kindly, hopefully, one who would thank God he had such a pretty girl on his arm. Someone who would look upon her, more than he looked upon his own reflection in every mirror he passed.

The Baron Nimford seemed to become upset as she watched his attention be stolen by a new arrival. Terese decided to bide her time and keep an eye on him, she would get her dance by the end of the evening, as Terese usually got whatever it was she wanted. She would just have to wait for an opportunity and gain his attention once more.

*********************************

;)