Recluse Island

Chapter 7

July 1845

Taylor's Landing, Texas

"Do you think he will come back?

             Startled Elizabeth Millhouse looked up from the paper of multiplication tables Sara Ann Mayhew had just completed that she was grading.

            "You mean the captain?"

"If you're referring to my brother then yes that's who I mean. His name is Robert."

            Elizabeth glared at Sara Ann, "Yes, I'm aware of that."

            "Then why do you always call him the captain?"

            "He's my employer, it wouldn't be proper."

            "But he's told you to call him Robert." Sara Ann pointed out.

            "Nonetheless, it's not respectful."

            Sara Ann rolled her eyes.

            Elizabeth sighed inwardly. Sometimes Sara Ann could be a handful. But she supposed that was only to be expected having lost her parents so young forcing her to rely on her older brother to care for her who consequently was gone most of the time due to the merchant business he owned.

He provided for her that certainly wasn't objectionable. Bought a beautiful house on Chesapeake Lane with six bedrooms, a large backyard, stables, and a lovely tearoom where they currently sat. It was positioned at the front of the house with broad windows facing the street to let in the generous light. The table sat six comfortably with a lace tablecloth and a China cabinet against the wall adorned with landscapes including a meadow of wildflowers, a pristine lake at sunrise and a cottage in the woods surrounded by tall birch trees.

Sara Ann loved her tea and insisted that she would only drink tea made in England therefore, Robert had it imported for Sara Ann. There wasn't anything he wouldn't do for his beloved younger sister. Including hiring a cook and governess hence Elizabeth's presence.

            Elizabeth shouldn't complain. It was a wonderful position which included free room and board. And Sara Ann was a delightful girl just a bit outspoken at times. In fact, she was a lot like Elizabeth used to be, before her mother died.

After that there was no point in speaking her mind. What she thought, what she wanted, it no longer mattered. Elizabeth became meek and yielding until her last act of rebellion when her father died just five short years after her mother and she decided that she did not need her father's money, she would make it on her own.

Especially since the alternative was marrying a bookkeeper named Marvin Hilltop, a man with oily hair, clumsy fingers, and a complete lack of hygiene. And since then, she has, though at times she is lonely and melancholy she also knows it could be so much worse.

            "Well do you think he will come back or not?"

            Sara Ann, it should also be mentioned, is very impatient.

            Elizabeth continued grading. "Yes, I do think he will return."

            "But it's already been over a month." Sara Ann grumbled.

            Elizabeth certainly understood Sara Ann's concern. This voyage was different from the others the captain usually took. Most people in town thought it was futile, simply a way for the captain to become even richer. But Elizabeth knew it wasn't the money that mattered to Robert; he truly believed the women were still alive and if anyone could find them it was him.