Juliet: A Seafaring Tale of the Early 1700's

Prologue

Marie Yvette Lisette Gereau Du St. Denis walked along the docks of Le Havre with hurried steps, noting the names of the boats in the harbor. Trailing behind her was her ladies' maid, Therese.

"Mademoiselle, I think this a very bad idea," Therese warned again. Marie stopped long enough to glare at her before continuing on in her search. The fog was rising off the river around the docks, shrouding the waters of the Seine River with a thin, white veil.

"He will be here," Marie murmured, as if to reassure herself. "He must be here."

"And if he is not?" Therese pressed. "I think it best to go home and tell your father what you have done." Behind her, a man seeming bent with age suddenly straightened, listening with interest.

"Don't be a fool, Therese!" hissed the well-dressed young woman. "I cannot tell my father that I am with child. Even were I to leave this very day as planned, I would never be able to pass myself off as untouched in Martinique. No, I would do much better to find Capt. Harris and go with him. Surely, he will want his child, if not the mother."

"Your father warned you away from the Englishman," Therese told her unsympathetically as she beckoned to the man standing behind them. "You should have listened." 

Marie turned to slap her maid for such bold contempt but a man's hand covered her face with a cloth. Something wet stained it, with a sickly-sweet smell that burned her lungs. Marie tried to pull back but strong hands forced her face into the cloth. It wasn't long before Marie crumpled into the man's arms. 

"What now?" The man's badly-spoken French screamed of an English accent. 

Therese smiled at him and replied in English to stop the torture of hearing his butchered rendition of her native language. "Now you do as you wish, Mr. Harris. I have spoken with her father. The Comte Gereau du St. Denis has title but he lacks wealth. There is a certain landowner on the island of Martinique who has wealth but lacks title. A marriage between the families will solve everyone's problems. Since Marie's dowry has already been spent, my employer has chosen to allow me to go in Marie's stead, as long as she isn't found. The embarrassment of her indiscretions must end tonight."

"Thank you for warning me of her intentions, Therese. My wife already suspects that my fidelity when I am away at sea is less than perfect and I cannot afford for her to find out the truth."

He shouldered the unconscious girl and handed Therese a heavy pouch. "Consider this a wedding gift, Mademoiselle Marie, and good luck to you in your forthcoming nuptials." Therese smiled her thanks and left with hurried steps.

Capt. Harris dumped his burden ungently into a dinghy and rowed out into the harbor to where several boats were moored. He considered his passenger thoughtfully. It would be too easy to simply dump her overboard, but knew she must not be found if he did not want his lady wife to receive word of his infidelities.

He frowned, considering his options. Most of the boats were either unguarded or only lightly guarded in Le Havre. The captain had no trouble sneaking his burden aboard a ship he knew was bound for the Caribbean. The captain was known to him, a friendly acquaintance more than friend- but a man to be counted on to do the right thing since Nathan Harris could not.

~~~

Captain John Drake gave the order and his crew unfurled the sails of their sloop. Soon, the ship was sliding easily through the English Channel, propelled by a strong, westerly wind. A trading vessel, the Sea Nymph was loaded with dry goods and manufactured items not found in the Caribbean Islands but much in demand among the landowners there.

The captain planned to exchange his cargo of sundries at Grand Bahamas for a load of sugar and coffee and return to Europe. He watched the French landscape fade from the view of his ship as she navigated the wide, rough channel. By late afternoon, Channel Island marked the edge of the Atlantic Ocean.