Chapter 23

Chapter Twenty Three- Three Days Until the Wedding, The Afternoon

Dianna left Josey after snuggling with him for a few minutes. When she had felt strong enough to be on her own, she kissed him and left him to continue napping.

She slowly walked down the hallway, not sure what to do. When she reached the main parlor door, she realized what it was that she had to do. She entered the parlor.

She hadn't been in this room since last year before she was kidnapped. It hadn't change at all. It hadn't changed since she was a little girl asking her father if she could sleep with him because she had had a nightmare about her mother. It hadn't changed since last year when she had begged her father to take her to the fair. Dianna figured it would never change; it would always remain to be a room that looked like simply a room to anyone else, but to her it would be the room where she would share her dreams and wishes with her father, talking to him about everything. And now, it would be the room in which she said goodbye to her father.

Dianna sat at the mahogany desk by the windows on the far end of the room, remembering doing her studies as a child at this very desk. She pulled out a piece of parchment and a quill and ink blot. She laid out the parchment, neat and unwrinkled, and dipped her feather quill into the ink.

She began her letter to her father, dipping her quill into the ink when necessary and trying not to mess the writing up with her tears. She wrote:

Dear Father,

First, you need to know I love you. I did not leave to hurt you, and I did not leave because I stopped loving you. I could never do that. You mean the world to me, and much more. But I had to go.

You see, I've fallen in love with the pirate Captain Josey Thatcher. I knew you wouldn't be able to accept this, and you would want me to marry Arnold. But I could never love Arnold like you want me to. I've already given my heart and soul to Josey, and I could never be without him.

When I realized I was still engaged to Arnold when I came home, I felt nothing but heartache. Not only do I not love him, but I can't love how my life would be with him. I can't be just a rich man's housewife, looking after her husband and children. I crave adventure and Arnold could never give me that.

Josey can. With Josey, I feel my life is complete. I've never loved someone as much as I love him, and he feels the same way for me. We are two halves of the same person, and we could never be separated. Not only do I love him more than life, I love his crew as well. They have become like a band of brothers to me. I want to sail the seas with all of them, getting my adventure and my love all together.

I hope now you understand why I had to leave. I will try to visit as soon as I can, but I'm afraid we won't see each other for a long time. I had to make a choice between marrying Arnold and getting to be with you again, or leaving you and getting to be with the love of my life. It killed me to make this decision, but I knew there was no question. I would choose Josey every time.

I am so sorry. I hope you can forgive me for falling in love and leaving you. I think mother would have wanted me to live my life happily, and to value my love, like you two valued yours. I hope we can see each other again soon, and I hope it will be another happy reunion.

I love you, Father, and I will think of you always.

Your sorry and heartbroken daughter,

Dianna.

Dianna sealed the letter and wrote "To My Father" on the front of it. She wiped her tears and took deep, calming breaths. It really was a hard thing to do, but she knew it was right.

She grabbed the letter and held it tightly in her hands as she left the parlor. She made her way to her bedroom. She would pack a small suitcase and leave the note on her bed, where either Olivia would find it the next morning and give it to Walter, or her father would find it himself.

As she got closer to her bedroom, she heard something. From her bedroom came a terrible scream, and Dianna ran to the doors and opened them quickly.

She yelled in horror at the sight before her.

~