“Dare I hope there was a pistol involved while you were doing that convincing?”
“Too right there was, but . . .” Annaliese glanced around, taking in the lush tropical forest that bordered the beach, as well as a flock of birds that was perched in a tree bedecked with pink flowers. “I find myself wondering if it would be safe to release those forty-seven birds here.”
“It would indeed as this island is a treasure trove in and of itself with the birds that live here.”
“What about plume hunters?”
“Those won’t be an issue since I’m intending on purchasing this island as soon as I get back to the mainland. I’ll hire a caretaker to stay here because someone needs to look after my turtles. Since I’ll certainly make sure that caretaker is armed, there won’t be a threat from plume hunters.” She caught Annaliese’s eye. “As you already have forty-seven birds to release here, perhaps we should consider having this island designated as a bird sanctuary—and a turtle one since I take care of more than a few of those.”
Annaliese’s lips curved. “That’s a wonderful idea and would solve the problem I was recently considering about how tropical birds I intend to rescue from plume hunters would fare in a colder climate.”
“Probably not well.”
“I agree, although I’m still going to have an aviary constructed because, sadly, plume hunting is alive and well in America, and those birds are accustomed to a cooler climate.”
“Another wonderful idea,” Ottilie said before she took hold of Annaliese’s hand and gave it a squeeze. “I must admit that I’m having a difficult time believing you’re actually standing here, on my island, in the middle of the ocean.”
“And I must admit I’m having a difficult time believing we were actually able to find you after running across Charlie and Howard.”
Ottilie nodded to the sky. “The very idea that out of all the people you’d happen upon, you’d run across Charlie and Howard, the only two people on earth beside the captain’s men who know how to find me, seems to be a clear instance of divine intervention, and an intervention I have to believe is because of a prayer I prayed just last month or so, asking God to send me a way home.”
“You’ve been missing for two years. Surely a month or so ago wasn’t the first time you prayed to get home, was it?”
“It was, but only because during the first eight months after I said goodbye to you in New York, I didn’t have a reason to pray to get home as I was pursuing the first two out of the three treasure maps the captain and I acquired and enjoying quite the adventure.”
“Because you found treasure?”
“The enjoyment was mostly due to the excitement gleaned from being on a treasure hunt. Frankly, we didn’t find much on those two islands, just a few gold coins, some broken pottery, and a slew of abandoned items, mostly rum bottles.” Ottiliesmiled. “The bottles definitely lent credence to the stories about pirates and their love of rum, but when we didn’t uncover anything of more significance, we headed north, our destination being the island on the third and final treasure map.”
“And that map led you here?”
“I’m afraid not. That island is a good hundred miles from here, but I spotted this island as we were sailing past and decided, since it was right in front of us, that we should stretch our legs and just look around a bit.” Ottilie blew out a breath. “That was a huge mistake on my part because, unbeknownst to me, the captain’s crew had accepted money from an underworld crime boss to do away with me and the captain. They obviously realized that if they didn’t do away with us, their lives were going to be in jeopardy. Luckily for us, though, the crew, even with them being comfortable with staging a mutiny, didn’t want to murder us. This island gave them the perfect means to do away with us but still leave us breathing.”
“Where is that crew now?”
“They’ve been on that third island, scouring it for treasure for the past year.”
“How do you know that?”
“They sail by every other month to drop off supplies, not that they step foot on the island anymore because, again, I found those flintlocks, along with a few cannons.” Ottilie grinned. “After I threatened the second mate—who’s now the captain of that motley band of sailors—with my flintlock, which, unfortunately, jammed when I tried to fire it, they now just let a dinghy filled with essentials float to shore on the tide. But at least I haven’t had to exist on seafood alone all these months.”
“That’s a small consolation, I suppose, but I’m still curious as to why you didn’t ask God to send help directly after you found yourself marooned here.”
Ottilie gave an airy wave of a hand that was no longer lily white and would have left society matrons back in New York allaflutter. “That’s due to the fact that I’m familiar with that underworld boss who paid the crew to murder me.” Ottilie shook her head. “He’s a nasty piece of work and if I would have returned to Chicago too soon, well, I might not still be breathing.” Her eyes began to twinkle. “Besides that, though, as the captain and I began investigating our surroundings, we discovered that we were marooned on what had, at one time, been a pirate’s lair.”
“Do not say that you’ve actually found a pirate’s treasure.”
“Oh, but I can say that,” Ottilie said. “The captain and I have spent months unburying gold doubloons, chests of jewelry, bottles of rum, and a myriad of other trinkets. But even though there’s still a good bit of the island left to explore, I began missing home two months ago. That’s right about the time I asked God to send me help, and ... here you are.”
“Weren’t you getting worried that God might not have heard you since almost two months have passed since you prayed that prayer?”
“God is never on our timetable, dear. He organizes things exactly how they need organized, and if I were to hazard a guess, I’d say He organized my rescue in a way that not only benefits me, but you, and perhaps those people we’ve been rudely ignoring but who have kindly given us time without interruption to reunite.”
Turning, Annaliese’s gaze settled on Seth, who was bending over to look at something Norma Jean had found in the sand. Louisa, Miranda, and Flick were sitting back from the surf with a man who was obviously the captain, chatting away with him, all of them seemingly content to continue allowing Annaliese a long overdue reunion with her aunt.
“I think they’re fine for now,” Annaliese said, returning her attention to Ottilie. “And I do still have so much to tell you, especially about Chicago and your castle.”
“Should I assume you need to tell me that some unscrupulous developer, or that crime boss, got their hands on my castle?”
