Embark | h.s

Two

Harry blinked, his brows furrowing as he looked at his wife, her golden red curls gleaming in the sunlight that lit up the parlor. The room was fine, as was the entire manor in which the Berkeleys lived. No doubt Celia once dreamed of a life in which she would once be the mistress of a home similar to the size and quality of Berkeley Manor. Harry sometimes questioned how much happiness he could truly bring her, and perhaps as she stood before him with a scowl on her face, that was the very thought that crossed her mind.

"Have you forgotten the dangers that the sea holds?" Celia asked. "We survived the raid of the Spanish on the Golden Tide, but the blood and gore that I witnessed still haunts me. Now, imagine enduring that with a child, one of only four months." Harry clenched his jaw and looked off to the side. "Is this necessary?"

"The Queen gave me command of a ship for a reason. Do you expect me to keep it anchored at a harbor for eternity?"

Celia's lips parted as she processed his words. "No, but I do expect you to think of the wellbeing of our family."

His eyes snapped to her's. "Our family is the most precious thing in my life."

"Then, I beg you," Celia said, walking over to Harry and taking his hands in her own, "Rethink your decision."

Harry raised their hands to his lips and pressed her skin to his mouth softly. His eyes were gentle as he fluttered them shut and then reopened them, bringing his emeralds to meet Celia's tiny oceans that he had missed so dearly. "How else will I provide for our family?"

Celia relinquished a sigh. "I don't ask for wealth or high titles, all I ask for is your company at home."

Harry's previous thought of Celia being unhappy with his ranking and lack of wealth diminished, leaving a sour taste in his mouth for doubting her so. Celia was the kindest, truest woman he had ever met. How could he think that she would feel such a way?

"This is my dream," he mumbled. "It could bring us great honor, perhaps even your position at court restored."

Celia snatched her hands away. "I want nothing to do with Elizabeth."

"She saved your life! She could have very easily taken your head, or even mine!"

"So, because she gifts you with a ship, you take her side now? Perhaps you should marry her!"

Harry pinched the bridge of his nose as Celia stalked to the other side of the room to stand in front of a window. The sun was so bright that it transformed her figure into darkness, only the scenery on the other side of the window being visible.

Silence hung in the air between them, suddenly being sliced by the creaking of the wooden floor as Harry walked across the room slowly until he reached her. He placed one hand on her waist, the other taking her mass of curls and swiping it over her shoulder so her neck was easy access. His mouth hovered over her skin, his warm breath tickling her and sending a rampage of goosebumps across her body. Her eyes closed briefly as his lips brushed against her skin, finally imprinting firmly on her neck.

Celia leaned into his body, the warmth he brought sending her into a place of bliss. She spun around under his grasp and snaked her hands up his chest, able to feel his muscles beneath the sheer fabric, and curled her arms around his neck. Her eyes, glazed with desire, wandered his face, flickering back and forth between his plump lips and his mesmerizing eyes.

He leaned in slowly, his lips grazing hers lightly as he whispered, "I don't want the Queen." Celia's breath hitched in her throat. "I want you."

Finally, his lips collided with her's, entwining in a deep kiss. Her hands gripped the base of his neck as his grasp on her waist tightened, their hearts racing as their bodies grew warmer. Celia pulled away as his hand wandered to the back of her dress, fondling the strings that held the gown together. His brows furrowed at her actions, but she only smiled before taking his hand and leading him to her room.

✿

"Did you see Bea?" Celia asked. Her cheek was pressed against Harry's bare chest, feeling the beating of his heart and moving with the rhythm of his body as he breathed in and out. She trailed swirls and lines across his skin, goosebumps sprouting across his arms.

He nodded. "Briefly. She and Luke seem happy. She's pregnant."

"Oh!" Celia gushed, sitting up and smiling down at Harry. "That's absolutely wonderful." She then swallowed hard and her lips fell from their upturned position, slumping her body back into the crook of Harry's shoulder. "I write to her every week, but receive no reply."

Harry furrowed his brows and looked down at her. "Is that so? She told me that she writes to you all the time but had never once received a letter from you."

"Elizabeth," Celia said through gritted teeth. "Is it not enough for her to banish me from court, away from Beatrice, after imprisoning me for six months?"

"It would seem not."

Celia groaned, flipping onto her side so her back faced Harry. He scooted further under the sheets and turned onto his side, pressing his body against the back of her's.

"My dear," he whispered into her ear, receiving a hum from her lips as a response. "The Pearl of the Sea is set to leave for Virginia in one week from today. You have until then to decide if you will come with me or not, but I'm afraid I must go regardless."

Celia pushed herself up and folded her arms across her chest. "Afraid? No, that's not the word. Regret? Perhaps, but only because you know I will be cross with you." Without allowing enough time for Harry to form a response, Celia spoke again. "I will follow you to the ends of the Earth, Harry, but Nerissa is so young, so fragile. Do you know how many people have died from the passage to Virginia alone?" Harry struggled to spit out any words, and Celia beat him to it. "Dozens. What if our little Nerissa perishes within her first months of life because her father was afraid to say no to the Queen?"

"I am not afraid to say no to Elizabeth, I simply am not going to say no to this opportunity," Harry muttered as he shoved himself out of bed. He jumped into his pants one leg at a time and threw on his shirt carelessly. "Come with me or don't, it doesn't even matter," he said before swinging the door open and then slamming it shut behind him.

Celia's eyes were glued to the door, her features soaked with shock. She had imagined Harry's homecoming in her mind a million times, all of them ending with kisses and bliss, but the reality was the opposite. She brought the sheet to her chin and sunk down in the bed, closing her eyes as she tried to figure out how to make Harry see reason.

From the very moment he proposed to her, the salty air tossing their hair in front of their faces and the sunlight illuminating his features as he kneeled before her, Celia knew that Harry would choose the ocean over her. Perhaps she had hoped that he would get his fill of adventure from the war and be ready to settle down after, but that sliver of hope was long gone.

Celia would have to follow him to Virginia or remain in England to raise her baby alone, and she was not going to let their union go down without a fight.