one
breath?'
'My father is used to getting what he wants, and this
is a small price to pay for your son's life, I would say.' A
very tall, dark-haired man, the expression on his face
determined and fierce, stood in the doorway, filling it with
his large frame. They had not noticed him before now and
swung toward the deep baritone voice. A scar ran from the
corner of his left lip to his left eye. The deep ochre shade of
those eyes made him look even more dangerous.
He wore black trousers with high boots. A white
shirt showed beneath his long black jacket. In his large
hand that looked like a claw to Rosa-Lee he nonchalantly
held a black hat. He glared straight into her father's own
piercing eyes without any faltering of his gaze.
She clenched her hands in fists, eyes blazing at the
black cloaked man, the smirk on his face clearly in defiance
of any law.
'We leave tomorrow morning at six. Be there or
bear the consequences.' His eyes shifted to her with
amusement and with a mockingly courteous nod to her, he
turned and left. They were all stunned in disbelief.
'How dare you?' She shouted at his back.
He turned, glancing back at her, appraising her as if
she were the most despicable thing he had ever seen. The
guffaw that burst from his throat rolled over her. She
stamped her foot in frustration on the marble floor.
Though his voice was cold and distant, his eyes
were fiery darts pinning her to attention to him. 'Be warned,
Môn Petite, that you do not wake the beast.' And he left her standing there. For a moment, fear gripped her heart and
her knees buckled. She melted into the love seat.
Her dress billowed around her in an unlady-like
fashion. She was crestfallen at the very idea that she would
be in this cold man's presence for the next four months.
†††
December 26, 1623
Cisco Almaida, land owner. Words I never thought
would stand together. But after yesterday it was true. I am
a land owner, married to the most beautiful woman in the
world. And soon to be a father. My heart wants to beat out
of my chest.
A father. The greatest gift of all. When Qonchita
revealed it to me last night I was, to say the least,
speechless. I cried for the first time in my life. I cried. I had nothing else to say and I wrapped her in my arms and held
her all night. She has blessed me since the moment she
stepped in my life. She has made me have pride in myself.
Because of her I can fulfil my dreams.
God, Your Word is true. You bless the pure in heart.
You knew my desires and You fulfilled them. Even when I
walked through the valley of death and feared, You
remained faithful. How awesome is Your Grace.
Help me to stay true to Your Word, true to my new
title, and to use it for good. Help me to be a husband and
father as you have ordained from the foundation of the
world.
I praise your Holy Name.
Amen
2
January 2, 1624
We spent our first Christmas and New Year
together as a family. Cisco was like a child, riding his
horse all over the place. There was never a dull moment
with him around. Rosa- Lee is blossoming with him as her
father. Her giggles of delight fill the castle's passageways
and the staff is happier than I can remember.
This is all thanks to Cisco.
Cisco, the man who always steps up when the
situation calls for it. He was the one who acted when the
ship was splitting into pieces on that fateful day when our
lives changed forever. He took charge of a panic-filled
crew, all the while his back was still healing. When the
crew started to drink all the whiskey in an attempt to soften
the blow of death, he kept calm. When slaves drowned in
the whiskey in their attempts to get there first, he kept us
safe.
He made a harness for Rosa-Lee and myself on that
fateful day when eighty-nine people died during the ship's
demise. He simply put me on his back and Rosa-Lee on his
chest and jumped into the swells of the foaming sea. He
swam to the shore where he