Authors Note: Thank you once again to everyone who leaves comments and feedback on my writing, it is much appreciated. Thank you very much to Paul who continues to be my second set of eyes, he is a great friend to help me out so much. I hope you enjoy it. ~ellie
*****
Freedom's an illusion
Carrie had stayed away from her real life longer than expected, but she had been determined to find out what Stella Davis meant by her comments back in Panama. She hadn't wanted to talk to Sinclair or Jordan, who would have gotten involved trying to help her, and this was something she had to deal with herself. Jordan was family, and she had trusted him, but he'd been acting strangely since she had become involved with Sinclair, and she didn't need that additional worry at the time.
The strong maternal resemblance made it possible for her to pass as Robyn when she had to show identification, and she used only the money on the joint bank accounts and credit cards Robyn had set up for her so many years ago before cancer began to take its toll on her. She'd never changed them to her name solely, and had kept Robyn's access, and credit cards, as an easy disguise should she need it.
Although she had let Jordan believe that most of their wealth was tied up in trusts and bonds, she was infinitely wealthier than she let on, and for the first time since Robyn's death tapped into that wealth and the liquid funds readily available to her. She rented a cruising yacht and had hired a small team of hackers, with the help of her acquaintances in Charleston, and went about gathering the information she needed.
She didn't need their hacking skills as much as she needed people with systems and network knowledge who were enthusiastic about staying off the radar. Their ability to analyse data and put together programs to search for links that weren't immediately obvious was invaluable, and sharing the workload saved her crucial time. They cruised the Caribbean in a relaxed vacation atmosphere, and each time she went ashore for supplies she made sure to be seen and use her personal credit card so Sinclair could check that she was where she said she was when she called him.
Her family tree was significantly larger than she had been taught by her mother. The family history, from Stede Bonnet down through to the last member of the Hats, was as she had always known it to be, but the branches of that tree were all new to her. She became fascinated as each branch holding a male heir with a direct bloodline to the gentleman pirate seemed to come to the dead end of an unexplained death or murder of the man who could have taken the chair. It was as if someone had tried to wipe out that direct bloodline entirely.
Three men on the tree were missing, presumed dead, and one singularly was known to be alive and living in Australia. Though Carrie knew, too, the information about this young man to be dated, because she knew him to be living in London with no real idea of his heritage. She'd always known he was a distant cousin, but she had not even considered that he could, if he chose to, take his seat in the association of Hats. A seat she had been destined to prove she could take and hold as a woman. Her mother must have known, how could she not, with her vendetta against the association. Why would she have lied and filled Carrie's head with dreams of being the first woman permitted to take a chair in their association? The fact that she had been following through on this vendetta for Jordan's benefit and not her own was hard to stomach.
Carrie tried to reconcile what she had always been told, and even studied as truth with what she now knew. She struggled with the fact that Robyn had lied to her about her family history, although, when she thought about it, it was more a lie of omission. The fact that she had lied about Jordan's role in all of this was beyond her comprehension. She must have known. If she could find the links, surely her mother could have with her wealth of knowledge and experience.
The burning question she had was if Jordan knew and if he was playing a game of his own and betraying her trust. He was ten when he was orphaned and started to become indoctrinated by Robyn and her skewed version of the family history. There was possibly only one person who could help her understand it and possibly give her answers, and she knew she would need more than a Skype call to tackle the questions that devoured her waking thoughts now. She would have to do it on her way home; she'd already been away too long.
She sent word to her grandmother, and, once the meeting was set in place, she had her team transfer themselves to a rental house not far from her home in London and flew to Spain to meet Edith.
*****
"Of course he knows, he's always known. You knew he was a distant cousin, didn't you?" her grandmother said in a condescending tone. "This has been generations in the making, my dear, we all play our parts, and it's your part to be the Fool and see it through to the end, no matter the sacrifice."
"Why wouldn't he tell me? Robyn made me believe there was no male heir from Bonnet's bloodline. She said we were doing this to prove that we, the daughters of that bloodline, deserved their place in the association. She lied to me, and I thought she lied to him as well my whole life!" Carrie hissed.
"Your mother had her ways of doing things, but she was a good girl who did what was required, right up until the day she died," Edith lectured. "I am sure you would not want her to come back and haunt you for failing in your part of the bigger plan."
"The bigger plan," Carrie huffed. "What bigger plan?"
"You didn't honestly think they would let a woman take the chair?" Edith scoffed. "No, we need Jordan, he will take the chair, then you and he will marry and build a longer, stronger bloodline from the true bloodline of Stede Bonnet. You will teach and train your sons to be the leaders of that association and roll back the years to the full glory of what those men can do on the world stage rather than meddle in the free trade opportunities of hardworking businessmen," Edith said haughtily. "Their combined influence used to topple governments and large corporations, they have since become do-gooders who couldn't influence a senator, let alone a Prime Minister."
"I can't believe any of this!" Carrie looked around at the wide-open space they had chosen to picnic in. The house some distance behind them belonged to a friend of her grandmothers. She had been more than happy with the arrangement of a picnic, knowing she could talk freely and get some answers, but suddenly she felt very isolated and vulnerable. It was as if everything she had been sure of in this world had suddenly ceased to exist.
"It's unfortunate that you didn't finish the job before you found out, but it is what it is now. It's a shame that awful woman didn't die along with her father when we halted his attempt to take the Bonnet chair for his branch of the family," Edith said as easily as she might have talked about swatting an annoying mosquito. "You realise now that you can't possibly marry Mansvelt. Take the ring and be engaged, if that is the way to get close to the Heart of the Heartless, but marriage is strictly off the table to you. Understand?"
"Yes, Edith," Carrie said, sounding contrite. "Something needs to be done about Miles Rackham then. He's hounding both Sinclair and I. The proposal wouldn't have even come up if he didn't think it was a way to prove my innocence and keep me safe. Do you know who shot at us?"
"Yes, and it's unfortunate that you fell, you really should be more careful, dear. The plan is so close to its end, you can't afford any mistakes now," Edith chastised Carrie for an accident that was clearly out of her control. "I've taken care of the shooter. The bullet was meant as a warning for Sinclair from a businessman who had a deal go sour because of his interference."
"Well, I won't be needing the body guards any longer," Carrie smiled.
