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Ashaive me, Heather All I want is to protect you and instead, I a you pain” He had to allow her to make this decision on her own He took her into his arms and whispered, “Ma belle, non, h this…and it shall be as you direct”
She allowed hiht, admitted to herself that there was co protective arrip of treacherous waters, and he was the only life raft in sight “You understand, Maurice, you understand why I cannot marry you?”
“I understand, my love,” was his sad answer
~ Twelve ~
BARBADOS! HEATHER STOOD ON BOARD the Liberté as it was safely docked in Bridgetown Harbor The market was full with color Women carried baskets on their heads filled with produce, hawking their wares as they made their way down the busy avenues
Sailors laughed and jested with one another Wagonloads of products were being loaded onto ships that would travel back to Europe The warm air enveloped her, and Heather found herself mesmerized by this new and vibrant land
Swan and Broad Streets doetown, as did the central le Hucksters took up their places there and their cries of “fish, hey, dolphin, useful li wheels
Mingling bodies, ood spirits captured the eye and Heather thought she had entered a fantasyland
She watched shoppers enter an open center, which accommodated the more bulky foodstuffs, such as red and yellow yas she couldn’t count them all This center afforded both sellers and shoppers shade fro trees It was from these trees, Maurice told her, that the island received its nauese He said that when they found the island abundant with these fig trees, they christened it Los Barbados,The Bearded
Heather absorbed it all, noting the scantily clad black woed the crowded avenue in their char and colorful dresses
She watched fishermen in the harbor as they put away their nets, pocketed the cash they had earned from the day’s catch, and made their way towards a tavern down the street
“Maurice, where is Bunky?”
“I sent him ahead with my man Bunky tells entle mares, for my sister and you to use while…you are with us”
“Oh, how kind you are, Maurice, and thoughtful,” Heather said on a sigh when soht her eye and riveted her in place
Heather’s eyes opened wide then and she found herself horrified as she saw hue as though they were products for sale