It was early morning; the dark sky had just broken with the first light of dawn. Elizabeth had not been able to sleep after the chaotic events of the night before, so she'd slipped into her clothes and decided to walk along the beach and sort out her thoughts.
She didn't allow herself to think until she had reached the beach. She could feel her body relax as the salty air caressed her and tangled her hair. Now she allowed her mind to remember what Jack had said last night.
***********
She had stared in astonishment, her green eyes wide. They flashed angrily at him in the moonlight, filled with accusing and anger and undeniable hurt as if he had betrayed her, left her soul bare and empty. But she had not heard everything, so he grabbed her hand tightly, not realizing he would leave bruises, that she would refuse to show the pain. He grabbed her and talked fast, stumbling over his words in his haste to assure her, revive her faith in him.
He had married exactly twenty months after Elizabeth's disappearance. He had been angry at himself for losing her. He had thought she was dead, and uncaring in his misery, when the fortune hunters came, he allowed a vixen--she reminded him of Elizabeth--to snare him, and they married.
But she was worse than Elizabeth had ever been. His home now was repulsive to him and he spent as little time as possible in the house he had shared with Elizabeth. Six months later, on the anniversary of his and Elizabeth's parting, he had returned 'home' to seek solace in his wife and found a note instead.
She had run off. Tired of him, she'd found an English man who took her to his home. He was richer than Jack. Not as handsome, she'd said. The crushing blow came at the end. She had run off with his child in her womb. The blow was softened a little when she added that it may not have been his child anyway. The irony was that legally, he was still married to her.
Finishing his story, Jack had almost broken down. He saw the compassion in Elizabeth's face, and realizing he was still gripping her wrist, he had let go. Elizabeth looked at him, studying his face. Stepping up to him, she put her hands on his face, brushing his cheeks with her thumbs and chastely kissed him on the forehead before leaving. He had been too dazed to stop her.
He still didn't know how things stood. She was almost a different person. No. He frowned. She was the same, but somehow her better characteristics had come out. She was no longer self-centered, uncaring, biting. But he didn't know if she was still the Elizabeth he had loved. Alive, snappy, intelligent. Unafraid of him and his reputation.
Ah. His reputation. Jack chuckled. He rather like his reputation. Jack Dreale was known for whoring and gambling. He did enjoy gambling it was true. Whether it was a sin or not. The whoring part was not true, but he encouraged it. In truth, he had befriended the owner of a whorehouse and enjoyed her company. Elizabeth knew her, and the two had gotten along quite well.
