Anne felt sorry for the boy Teach had once been, blindly
believing everything his father had said. Her own upbringing
had been so different. “You couldn’t have known.”
“But how I wish I had. Who would have thought that
three years later, I’d care so little for appearance and prestige.
I’ve learned so much, Anne, about people and about life. You
seem to have had that understanding already, but I needed to
leave this place to discover who I was and what I truly wanted.
What’s truly important.”
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“You’re just upset about the inquiry. You’re frightened—”
“Yes, I’m frightened, but the inquiry is only part of it. If
I come out of this alive, as you so firmly believe I will, what will my future hold? I refuse to wed someone whose most
pressing thoughts are about the color of her gown or what
sandwiches she should serve for tea. I want a life, a partnership, with someone who has the same interests as I do. I want
to share something with someone that is greater and more
important than table settings and dinner parties. I want to
spend my life with you.”
“But that’s impossible,” Anne said, backing away from him.
He had no right to speak of such things, even if, deep down, she shared the same desires. “Your father . . . Miss Patience is quite intent on marrying you.”
“Of course she is. It’s not a marriage as much as it is a con—
tract.”
“She is a baron’s daughter. You are a merchant’s son. What
are they gaining from the agreement?”
“The baron has mismanaged his funds. A union with me
and my father’s money will benefit both families, for my father will have gained a title for his family, and the baron’s estate will thrive.”
Anne was quiet for a moment, his words sinking in. “All at
your expense,” she whispered. “You’re even more of a prisoner
than I am,” she said.
Teach took her in his arms. “More than you could ever
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know. From the moment I saw you, you captured my heart and I was powerless to do anything about it.”
Anne looked up, unable to bear the sadness in his voice, for
it mirrored her own. He kissed her again, hesitantly at first, but when she responded, he pressed his lips hungrily to hers. Teach held her close, and Anne sighed as he trailed kisses across her face to her throat.
“A life with Patience would be no life at all,” he murmured
into her hair.
“Don’t say that,” she said.
“It’s true. I would rather face the gallows than marry
her. It’s you I love. You with your tender heart and fierce
strength.”
Anne pulled away, leaning her forehead against his shoulder.
“No, you’ll see. Your father will have the charges dropped. And once that happens, you . . . you will do as you’ve promised and marry Patience. You’ll still have a roof over your head and someone to come home to.”
“But that someone cares more for baubles and trinkets than
she does for me. What good is a warm hearth when the heart of
my future wife is as cold as ice?”
“That’s a far cry more than what I will get. The illegitimate
daughter of a dead merchant and a slave. Do you think anyone
would have me, as different as I am? I have no prospects and no family to claim me.”
“I will take you! Come away with me, Anne. Just the two
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of us. The devil take my father and everyone else. You and I can leave this place, together.”
Hope flared within her breast at his words, but she quickly
extinguished it. As much as she wanted to leave with him, she
could not. “And where will we go, Teach? Where in the world
can we go where people will accept us? Until the inquiry is complete, you will be a wanted man. To leave now would only pro—
claim your guilt. But I cannot stay here. People will forever look at me and see our differences, not our similarities.”
“What I want more than anything else in this world is to
be with you.”
“But for how long? Will you tire of me, just like you tired
of Miss Patience?”
Teach regarded her with a mixture of surprise and outrage.
“I would never tire of you. We are too alike. Even you must
see that.”
“It would never work,” she said, desperate to stop this mad—
ness, for that was what it was.
He stepped forward, his face flushed with emotion. “Please,”
he whispered. “I love you, Anne. Nothing is more important
than that.”
Anne shook her head, shutting her eyes in an effort to clear
her mind. “No. I’m sorry. It’s not right.”
Teach stood still, his mouth a thin line. “I’m not giving up,”
he muttered through clenched teeth. “You belong with me, and
I will make you see that. I’ll talk to my father—”
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“You know he won’t change his mind. Please don’t make this more difficult than it has to be,” Anne pleaded, tears running down her cheeks. “Please, just stop.”
He studied her, anguish visible in every line on his face.
Without another word he turned on his heel and strode off,