Chapter 29: Epilogue

There are many loose ends to my story. Like real life, things don’t end at a tidy line drawn in the sand. However, if we quickly span a few months of time, and in no particular order, I can describe the fortunes of those who played a major part in my story.

Brigitte Thibald ... who I now only rarely call Mama ... survived the social scandals that my escapade caused. Brigitte had to good grace not to blame me for the scandal, since it was she who falsified my birth and adoption records in the first place. In reality the fallout from her pretending that I was her natural child, rather than being adopted, caused her more social damage than Henri’s attempts to enslave me. However, she is a born survivor in the cut-throat upper echelons of society, so she floated to the surface like a cork on the ocean.

Henri Thibald decided to retire and find a quieter life in Central America. He clearly did not want Jacqueline’s expedition investigating his past. Before leaving Henri signed over the Ladybird plantation to Randolph, who, with his new bride, Charity, took up residence a few weeks later. One of their first acts after taking ownership was to free Fleur from slavery. Now Fleur works for them as a cook and house maid for a modest wage.

Samantha is as irrepressible as ever, and she regularly breaks the hearts of the young men who fall at her feet. There’s no sign of her settling down and marrying. In that respect she is a lot like Jacqueline. She lives for the chase, and she soon loses interest in those whom she has captured. Samantha is probably the one of us who has been least changed by the events of my story.

I only hear the occasional rumour, and the even less frequent letter, from Jacqueline and Captain Allen. There are tales of battles and of pirates’ dens being put to the torch. Their letters don’t disclose many details and the rumours provide even less in the way of information. However, they both seem to be well and the overall mission is achieving its goals. I’ve an open invitation to visit Jacqueline when she returns to Boston, Massachusetts, but that may be a few years in the future.

Angelique proves to be very industrious. Even the short break she needed to take to give birth to her baby girl didn’t stop her for long. With my help, she finds a source of everything she needs to start manufacturing the oils and scents she and Guillaume sold on the east coast. She now sells her produce throughout the main centres of Martinique. To do that successfully, she needed to find someone willing to help with the sales. That’s where my illicit acquaintance with Samuel in Madame Baxter’s establishment came in handy. I admire Samuel’s discretion in not revealing how he and I first met, although I’m long past worrying about the impact that such disclosure may have on my reputation. There’s been no word about Guillaume, and I strongly suspect that there never will be. In any case, Samuel and Angelique are becoming close. It isn’t beyond the realms of possibility that they may marry one day.