After a glorious day of reunion with my staff, I retired to my office to begin work on putting my memories to paper. I had taken some notes in a journal when time allowed. But much of my adventure lived only in my mind, so I wanted to get it written down before I forgot it. This would become my evening ritual for the next few months.

Two days after my homecoming, Andelbert and Maria arrived. Amelia was just as emotional when she greeted Andelbert, and I had a good laugh at his expense.

“Amelia, if you will stop kissing my face, I will introduce you to my wife,” Andelbert said.

“Where are my manners? Please do,” Amelia said.

“Amelia, this is Maria. From Versaille, France.”

“I am ever so happy to meet you, my dear. Baron Britpop told me you were a maid at the Royal Palace. We will have so much to talk about. I can’t imagine what it must be like to work in a King’s palace.”

“Thank you, Amelia. I look forward to getting to know you better.”

“Maria will be joining the staff here. I trust you will show her the way of things,” I said.

“Of course! You will love it here, Maria. Kapri is a wonderful place, and Baron Britpop is a kind and generous employer.”

“I think we should have a celebration this evening. I would like to invite the whole village and reacquaint myself with the local gossip,” I said.

“A celebration would be grand. I shall start preparing food straight away,” Amelia said.

“May I help you?” Maria asked.

“There is no need. You just arrived. You should take some time to relax,” Amelia said.

“I have been doing nothing but relaxing on the ship. I really would like to help.”

“And I would like to bake bread in a proper oven,” Andelbert added.

“The more, the merrier,” Amelia said.

I couldn’t help but smile.

That evening I hosted a grand celebration in the garden of my estate. Nearly everyone in town attended. It was a night full of joy and laughter. And stories.

Goatbeard’s Gift

As the months passed, we all settled into a routine. Maria seemed very happy. Although she suffered a couple of bouts of homesickness, she seemed more than content to remain in Kapri. Which pleased me. I did not like the thought of her and Andelbert moving back to France.

I worked every evening, writing down my adventures. I made the decision to write them as a tale for all to read and hoped to one day publish them as a book. Since Maria had excellent penmanship, I enlisted her to copy my scrawling into neat, readable writing. She made two copies of each page and corrected my continual grammar errors. Andelbert read each night’s output. He gave me his recollections when I forgot something important.

Finally, it was complete. It was enjoyable to relive the adventures, but I was glad to be finished with the project. It proved to be a lot of work. Once Maria had made her copies of the last page, I gathered them together and placed them in a satchel so I could present them to Grand Duke Goatbeard.

The following day, I made my way to Goatbeard’s office.

“Good morning, Britpop. To what do I owe the pleasure of a visit?”

“Grand Duke, I have completed the writing of my adventures and would like to present it to you as a gift.”

“How wonderful. I am excited to read it. Thank you, Baron.”

“It is my pleasure. I hope you enjoy it. I have written a dedication to you in the beginning.”

“I am honored. And now I have a gift for you.”

“You do?”

“Indeed.”

To my complete surprise, Elise Boissonneau walked into the room.

She smiled and said, “To answer your question from our last conversation. No, I don’t always do what’s expected.”

My heart nearly exploded.

“It appears you are a bit of a pirate also,” I said.

“Indeed.”