BEAUREGARD'S CONFIDANT

Some things you want to forget, some things you never will.
There is a lot I saw and heard sitting on the shoulder of the man who was my master.
 I had been in his company since I was a tiny squab and so was he. His father gave me to him as a gift when he returned from one of his voyages.....or at least that is how the story went.

Jean Pierre's father was the first mate on the Ridderschap van Holland a fantastic ship owned by the Dutch East India Company.
In 1694 Jean Pierre's mother stood on the dock and with one hand waved goodbye to her husband while the other hand lay across the budding abdomen where Jean Pierre was growing.
The ship was never seen again, it was thought that it was stolen by pirates, others claimed it ship wrecked off the coast of Australia.......

The year was 1704, a leap year birthday for the boy. He was excited. His mother was making a cake, something very uncommon for them. Struggling like they had been for so many years it was a real treat. She said it felt like a special birthday and she wanted so much happiness for him.
While the cake cooled on the table, he and his mother went out to the pump to bring in some water to have with it. He was bending over to pick up the bucket when he heard hard shoes on the cobblestones of the street. Then he heard his mother gasp. He quickly looked up at her. She looked like she was seeing a ghost. Her eyes where wide and wild and there was a slight sheen of sweat across her brow. In a second she had gathered her skirt up and was running down the street towards a tall shadowy figure. What was she doing?

The next thing I knew she jumped into the arms of a strange man and was crying like her heart was breaking and he was crying as well. Over and over I heard him say "ne criez pas mon bel amour je dois ici vous emmener à la maison"
I ended up being the boys best birthday present or at least that is what he always told me.................I also was the only one that really knew what happened in the end.