When Fate Steps In

by Shirley A. Roe

Elana walked into the room and smiled at her husband. He was so handsome. It took her breath away every time she saw him. She sat down and he rushed over to see her. After the usual greeting, they chatted for a few minutes. He told her about another visit to Liverpool. It gave her an opening to say what she had been thinking about.

  “Daniel, my darling. I am going to be in this prison for the rest of my life.” She held up her hand to silence him. He always told her that she would be let out once the real killer was found, but she knew better. No one was looking for the real killer. “You should not give up your life for me, Daniel.”

  “You are my life, Elana. What are you trying to say?”

  “Go to sea, Daniel.”

  He stared at her as if she had three heads. “Go to sea? And leave you in this hell hole alone? Don’t be ridiculous. I am devoted to you.”

  “I know and I love you but that is why I want you to go. You can sign on for two years and then come back to me. Think of the wonderful stories you will have, Daniel. I know you want to do it.” She looked at him with such tenderness in her eyes. “Please think about it. Don’t give up your life just because I have to spend mine in here.” She was willing to give up seeing him so that he could be happy.

  He was filled with more adoration than he knew he could feel. She was so unselfish, so loving. Disobeying the rules for the first time in more than two years, he pulled her close and kissed her on the lips. Her arms wrapped around him with an urgency she had not felt in years. They stayed like that until the guard arrived and shoved Daniel back in his seat. “No touching the prisoners. This visit is over.”

  “Just think about it, Daniel.” Elana had tears in her eyes.

  “I love you, Elana. You will always be my only love.” The guard pulled him towards the door.

  That kiss would stay on Elana’s lips for years to come. It was her connection to Daniel, her husband and her true love.

  Daniel went to Liverpool on estate business the following month. He stopped at the dock and stared at the huge ship in port. Elana’s words echoed in his head. The captain approached the gangplank. Noticing Daniel, he stopped to speak to him. “I have seen that look in many a man’s eye. You are thinking about signing on, aren’t you?”

  Daniel was shaken from his daydream by the sound of the man’s voice. It was rich and deep. “Me? No just a dream, I’m afraid.”

  “Tell me why not. You get seasick?” The captain could not get over the look of longing in the man’s face. “Tell me about yourself.”

  “I would rather you told me about sailing. Can I buy you a pint?” The captain looked at his pocket watch and agreed. He and Daniel went into the Ship’s Inn at the end of the docks.

  The pub was busy, but they found a table in back. Daniel brought two pints of ale from the bar and set one in front of the captain.

  “Captain William Bartlett, at your service. And you are?”

  “Daniel Dryfess, farmer, writer and sometimes artist. Nice to meet you.” They shook hands and a new friendship blossomed.

  “What do you want to know about sailing, Daniel?”

  “Everything, I have always been fascinated with the romance of ships.”

  “I have spent my years climbing perpendicular ladders, checking bilges, the engine room and the crew’s quarters. I have climbed great masts and stood in the crow’s nest until I thought I would wretch. If all of that still sounds romantic to you then you are meant to be a sailor.”

  The two chatted for more than an hour. Daniel told the captain about Elana and her unselfish offer to let him go. “That sounds like a very loving and caring woman. I can see why you are torn.” Daniel walked Captain Bartlett back to the ship.

  “Good sailing, Captain Bartlett. Perhaps I will see you again one day.”

  “Think about signing up, Daniel. I will be back in port in eight months. Come back and see me then.”

  For the next eight months, Daniel thought of nothing else. He visited Southport, Liverpool and every seaport within a hundred miles of Manchester. Every time he visited Elana he had more information about sailing the great blue sea. She knew he was considering her suggestion. It made her both happy and sad. She wanted to see Daniel every month because it kept her going, but it was not fair to him. He was young and alive and free. She was locked up forever.

  When Captain Bartlett returned to port, Daniel Dryfess signed on as the captain’s scrivener for two years. He would keep the charge books for Captain Bartlett, record the ship’s voyage, the delivery of goods, the new goods loaded for return to England and write in-depth descriptions of the places they visited. It was the perfect job for Daniel. He was grateful to the captain for thinking of him when it came available. He was set to leave the following week.

  Mary Margaret had her solicitor arrange to move up the visiting day for Elana so that Daniel could say goodbye. It cost her precious money, but she would not let him leave without saying goodbye to his wife and Daniel was very grateful. “I will pay you back, Mary Margaret. Every penny, I promise.”

  “Just go and see Elana. Please tell her that I will come every month and I will deliver your letters to her when I come.” She was going to miss Daniel. He had been a great support to her over the years.

  Daniel arrived at the prison. He delivered several stories and a drawing to the guard. They would be given to Elana in her cell after he left. She walked into the visiting room, knowing it was the last time she would see him for at least two years. She took a deep breath and held it, trying to calm herself. She wouldn’t let him see her heart was breaking. She clasped her hands together to stop them from shaking. She would be strong for Daniel. This was his chance to be free and freedom was everything to Elana.

  “Elana, are you sure you want me to go?” Daniel’s love for her had grown more than he thought possible, knowing that she was giving up his visits so he could live his dream.

  “I don’t want you to go, Daniel, but you must. One of us must live out our dreams. It will help me get through the next two years until I see you again. You will send me such wonderful tales of foreign lands and exciting people.” He smiled at her. She was so brave, so strong. His heart overflowed with emotion.

  “I will write to you often. Mary Margaret will come and see you. She will deliver my letters to the guard. I am going to miss you very much. I will never forget this unselfish gesture. You are a wonderful woman. I shall love you forever.” Tears started to form in his eyes. She looked away, biting her lip. She was doing her best not to cry, but tears ran down her face. Once again he broke the rules and reached over and kissed her. His hands rested on her cheeks as their lips met.

  The guard approached, but sensing this was goodbye, he hung back for a few extra seconds. He liked Daniel, but there was only so much he could do without breaking the rules. “That’s enough, no touching the prisoners.” He let Daniel hold Elana’s hand while saying goodbye. She watched him walk away. At the door, he turned back and raising his hand threw her a kiss. She pretended to catch it and held it to her cheek. Her fingers came in contact with the tears. The door closed and she did not see him again. Her cell was covered with Daniel’s drawings of ships and it helped her feel close to him.

  Daniel sailed from Liverpool the following week. As the ship pulled away from the dock, he sent a silent „goodbye’ to Elana. He stood at the railing until the port was out of sight before going to the Captain’s quarters for his orders. His life as a sailor was about to begin. His dream was coming true, but it was tinged with sadness at leaving Elana, his true love.

  His first days were spent trying to find his sea legs. He felt sick the first two days, but then he became used to the steady motion of the ship and got on with his duties. He was learning many strange new terms for his crewmates. The ship’s chandler was the man in charge of food and groceries. The shipmaster was the captain. The ships were built by shipwrights and repaired in dock by ship husbands. This was a whole new world, but Daniel loved every minute of it.

  The D
estiny was 270 feet long, 22 feet across and 12 feet from the bottom of the hull to the main deck. Her propulsion was a double-right-angled marine engine with two side paddles, supported by two masts; the entire ship was sheathed and fastened with copper. She was built as a warship, but was now being used as a merchantman, to transport goods across the ocean. The captain explained to Daniel that the ship was part of the mercantile marine. He also added that it could easily revert to battle ready when needed, but Daniel hoped that would not happen during his two years aboard.

  From stern to bow, the captain’s cabin and stateroom sat above an aft magazine, forward of which was a second magazine with the officer quarters above. Forward of this, amidship was the engine machinery and coal supply, and beyond this the quarters and galley for the men. Daniel’s quarters were next to the captain’s, above the aft magazine. As scrivener, he was required to be available to the captain at all times.

  “Her armaments, which sit dormant, are described as “light guns,” however she is outfitted with one four-inch rifled Parrot gun to the forecastle, one nine-inch Dahlgren gun in front of the first mast, two eight-inch Dahlgren Columbians and two twenty-four-pound brass howitzers.” The captain explained to Daniel. He noticed these weapons were covered by heavy tarpaulins. Her crew consisted of 105 men, including the captain and Daniel.

  Crewmembers told Daniel tales of prison ships they had worked on. Prison ships transported prisoners to the colonies, particularly Australia. The food was heavily salted meat, stale bread, and sometimes some rotted fruit. The men told him medical treatment was a joke, and the people were regarded as slaves. Many told how they would rather drown than be working on a British prison frigate. Fortunately the practice of shipping prisoners to the colonies had stopped a couple of years ago. England finally found a way to improve the prisons and keep the prisoners on British soil. Daniel thought of Elana. At least they didn’t ship you to Australia, my love. He did not want to imagine what a voyage like that would have been like for her.

  The food staples on the the Destiny consisted of a diet of salted meat, hard biscuit and sauerkraut to prevent scurvy. There was ample beer and rum. Fish were plentiful and caught with dragnets. Fresh vegetables were abundant in the early months of the voyage as well as fruits, which were available in the tropical islands.

  When the ship arrived at the first island, Daniel was anxious to go ashore. He climbed in the dingy with seven other seamen. Slowly they rowed ashore. He stepped into the turquoise water, letting the warmth sink into his skin. The sand felt good on his bare feet. The sun beat down on his face. He looked at the strange trees which had long tall trunks with large fronds on the top. Someone told him they were called palm trees. He had never seen such trees. The white sand and the turquoise water hypnotized him. He could never have imagined such a lovely place.

  Daniel had never eaten eggplant, breadfruit or kale, which came aboard at one of the first islands on their voyage. He found them to have an unusual flavour, but the men ate heartily. Pineapples, papaya, bananas and coconut were a real treat for the crew. The islands and the people that lived on them were fascinating to Daniel however, there were dangers on these islands; malaria and yellow fever could decimate crews in tropical climates. Discipline was paramount on board the ship. It meant organisation. The Captain explained that good discipline meant that the ship was well ordered. “Men are punished, however, if they fail to do their duty, and put the ship and the rest of the crew in danger.” Daniel learned that amongst the worst offences were falling asleep on duty, refusing to follow orders, or unclean behaviour. Relieving bodily functions inboard, rather than using the rudimentary toilet facilities was frowned upon. Flogging with the cat-o’-nine-tails and hanging were the major punishments, but few had been hanged on Captain Bartlett’s ship.

  Daniel’s world broadened as his knowledge and experiences grew. He thought of Elana every night, sending his love to her on the sea wind. He wrote letters and told of his wonderful experiences. He always told her that she would be free one day and they would be together again. He missed her very much and wished they could have seen the world together.

  She would read his letters and imagine the places he had visited. It helped her get through the daily grind of the prison. Now, instead of counting the days between visits, she waited anxiously for his letters. Mary Margaret’s visits were steady. Elana felt sorry for her sister. What must it feel like to know your child is out there, but you can’t find him? I can’t even imagine such pain. Elana would have loved a child, but now she thanked God every night that she didn’t have any children. It would have been torture to know they were on the outside and she was in prison.

  Chapter Fifteen

  Mary Margaret and Emily sat at the piano. Emily was very proficient in her piano playing and Mary Margaret would accompany her by singing. Emily’s hair was long and hung in dark ringlets. She was a lovely child. It had been many years since Mary Margaret allowed herself to sing, but Emily encouraged her mother by playing so beautifully. She was eight-years-old and a lovable, happy child. She had no memory of her father or awareness of the terror that had haunted her mother’s life for the past five years. She was told about her brother, but didn’t really understand why he was not home. Mary Margaret protected her with her life. She was tutored in the manor and only went out with her mother or nanny and always accompanied by one of the menservants.

  The farm had recovered after the drought year and was again producing a good income for the estate. Max came to play with Emily often. He teased her and pulled her ringlets. She giggled at him. Max always brought her rock candy from the market and Emily loved Max. He was an excellent father or grandfather figure. Max missed both Elana and Daniel very much.

  Missing Daniel and wanting to see Elana, he asked Mary Margaret if he could go and visit Elana on visiting day. She hated to give up her only chance to see her sister, but she knew Max loved Elana, as a father would his daughter. She agreed.

  Max walked into the prison. A great sadness descended over him as he thought about Elana being in this terrible place for almost five years now. When he saw her, he was shocked. He remembered a young, carefree girl with flying copper hair and a huge smile. In front of him was a serious woman with her hair pulled tightly back on her head and wearing dingy gray prison garb. She looked older than her twenty eight years. When she saw him, her face lit up. A sparkle of the old Elana shone through. He wanted to pull her into his arms and hug her tight. They sat opposite each other staring in silence, each one remembering the days gone by when they would work together and share a laugh or a story. Finally Elana spoke, “Max, it is so wonderful to see you. How is the farm? How are Mary Margaret and Emily?”

  “All is well, my dearest Elana. Daniel sent more letters. I left them with the guard.”

  “Dear Daniel, he is having quite a wonderful adventure at sea. He writes of palm trees swaying in a warm breeze and water the color of turquoise. He has seen birds with hooked beaks that are as big as cats. Their heads are bright green or red and they crack nuts wide open. It sounds like paradise. I miss his visits, but Mary Margaret comes every month with letters from him. You look older, Max.”

  “I am older, Elana. It has been almost five years since I laid eyes on you. I wanted to come to see you and Mary Margaret was kind enough to let me take her place.”

  “I am so happy that you came. I miss news from the outside Max. Tell me what’s happening at the market. We have a milk cart that comes every day. I hear the wheels on the cobbles and it takes me back to the old days at the market.” He told her about the farm, the market, and the lambs. She smiled when he mentioned the lambs. How she loved to watch them play in the spring fields. As he talked he noticed her hands. One finger was badly disfigured and her hands were calloused and rough. She must be working very hard, poor thing.

  “Elana, I wanted to make sure you were alright. It must be terrible for you.” He looked at her miserably.

  “Actually, I am used to it now. Every
day is like the day before. The work is hard, but it makes the time pass. I have accepted my fate, Max. I’ll never get out of here. Only Daniel’s letters and my visitors give me some small happiness. Is there no word of James? Dear God in Heaven it has been almost five years. He must be eleven years old now.”

  “Nothing, not one word, and poor Mary Margaret still believes he will come home one day, but the rest of us are doubtful. No one has seen or heard of Lady Birmingham in years.” Their time was up. The guard blew the whistle. The two exchanged a tender look. She thanked him for coming and watched him go. Max was a wonderful man. She felt blessed to call him her friend.

  Max returned to the manor and told Mary Margaret of his visit. They chatted for a few minutes before he returned to the stables. As he walked toward the stable, he saw a carriage arrive. It looked like Lady Douglas. She was a good friend to Mary Margaret.

  Jesse Douglas climbed out of the carriage and disappeared into the manor house. A few minutes later one of the maids ran into the stable, “Max, come quick. Her ladyship wants to see you.” He sprinted up to the house. What now?

  As he entered the foyer, he heard a great commotion in the parlor. He rushed in to find Mary Margaret hugging Jesse Douglas; a huge smile graced her face. He had not seen her smile like that in years. “Max, Max they found him! They found James.”

  Max stood with his mouth open; he didn’t move. Jesse turned to explain, “We haven’t found him yet, but Lady Birmingham and a young boy were spotted in Paris. Lady Eaglesham was visiting her cousin and she saw them very plainly. She did not approach, but made tactful inquiries. James is attending school in Paris and his grandmother lives in a villa on the outskirts of the city. We have the location. Now we must go and get James.”

  “We must go now. I will get Jill to pack my things and we will leave tomorrow. You will come with me, won’t you Max?” Mary Margaret was so excited she was getting ahead of herself. He didn’t want to squelch her happiness, but things needed doing before she went off half-cocked.