Dearest Walter,
It fills me with great sadness to read the sorrow in your most recent letter. My heart goes out to you and Marla. May she and the baby be safe and blessed. It is my greatest wish for you.
The job for Liam Connely seems a good one. He is an honest and fair man and you can trust him. Just never get between him and a bottle of whiskey!
Of course, once the child is born and you are able to leave your family for awhile, I hope you will consider rejoining the Hannu.
Sorry this letter is so short. It is storming greatly tonight and the boat churns endlessly. Hopefully you will be able to read this.
All my best,
Capt. Bosworth
Wednesday
Sunday
December 5th, 1744
B,
The cold weather has entered me in such a way this year that I'm starting to think that my heart it's self has frozen over. Marla suffers greatly with her pregnancy and the money from the shipyard is proving insufficient for the time being. I was approached by a Mr.L.Connely about a job in Scotland. He said he was a friend of yours and had recalled how highly you spoke of me. Apparently there is a lighthouse near the Orkney's that needs a keeper. If i accept i will leave at the end of January with my darling and our new edition.
I think i shall take the job as it pays double the shipyard salary. Then, perhaps, the Hannu will dock there and we can see each other again.
I hope you are well.
Walter.
Friday
November 25th, 1744
Walter,
Forgive me; it has been so long since my last communique. As I told you in my last letter, I was headed to Italy to join the Hannu. I arrived there safely in mid September. The crew of the Hannu and I had stocked the ship at planned to depart on the 30th. But as fate would have it the Battle of Madonna dell' Olmo broke out on that very day. We were held captive as unfortunate bystanders as the Franco-Spanish armies and The Kingdom of Sardinia waged war on each other. The Bourbons lost almost 3,000 men. We were finally able to depart on the 1st of October, as rains began to fall, destroying roads and flooding the trenches.
But now we are safe and sound and I eagerly await your return to the Hannu in the coming July. Congratulations on your marriage! I hope some day to meet your beautiful wife. When is the child due to arrive?
Yes, Walter, I am a father. But hardly have I earned the title. I have a daughter named Rose who lives with her grandmother (her mother's mother) in London. I have not seen her since she was a baby and she would be a young woman now. I will be honest Walter, the life of a sailor is not always conducive to that of a good father. But it is a job with the opportunity for much financial gain and Rose has never wanted for anything. In that (if only that) I have done right by my child.
All the best,
Captain Bosworth
Forgive me; it has been so long since my last communique. As I told you in my last letter, I was headed to Italy to join the Hannu. I arrived there safely in mid September. The crew of the Hannu and I had stocked the ship at planned to depart on the 30th. But as fate would have it the Battle of Madonna dell' Olmo broke out on that very day. We were held captive as unfortunate bystanders as the Franco-Spanish armies and The Kingdom of Sardinia waged war on each other. The Bourbons lost almost 3,000 men. We were finally able to depart on the 1st of October, as rains began to fall, destroying roads and flooding the trenches.
But now we are safe and sound and I eagerly await your return to the Hannu in the coming July. Congratulations on your marriage! I hope some day to meet your beautiful wife. When is the child due to arrive?
Yes, Walter, I am a father. But hardly have I earned the title. I have a daughter named Rose who lives with her grandmother (her mother's mother) in London. I have not seen her since she was a baby and she would be a young woman now. I will be honest Walter, the life of a sailor is not always conducive to that of a good father. But it is a job with the opportunity for much financial gain and Rose has never wanted for anything. In that (if only that) I have done right by my child.
All the best,
Captain Bosworth
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