acle I’m not sent to the gallows, you deserve better.”
She scowled, her eyes hard. “None of this would have happened if you hadn’t set sail in the first place.”
Teach’s own features hardened. She wasn’t at all affected by
the thought of him hanging, nor did she ask him if he was
guilty. She simply blamed him. Just like his father. “I will never regret my year at sea, but I know we would both have a lifetime of regret if we ever married.”
Jumping to her feet, she shook her head at him. “I won’t let
you do this. I won’t!” she cried, and fled the room before Teach could stop her.
Slamming his fist down onto the table, he caused the spoons
and other cutlery to jump. Some of the soup spilled out of the
bowls. Pushing back his chair, he nearly toppled it to the floor.
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With a sound curse, Teach strode from room, heading in the direction of the back entrance. He had to get out of the house, before he lost his sanity completely. He didn’t mind the rain, and he hoped that a ride in the country would do the trick.
Near the kitchen, he stopped when he found Sara alone.
“Has Anne’s meal been taken up to her yet?” he asked.
“She ate before she left, sir.”
“Left where?”
“She went into town with Elizabeth.”
“Did they walk?”
Sara gave Teach a strange look. “No, sir. They took the
carriage.”
Teach didn’t leave. For the next three hours he waited impatiently for Anne to return.
He retired to his room and sat in the large bay window
overlooking the courtyard, as the rain continued to pour down
from the skies. Although it was only four in the afternoon, it
was dark and gloomy, the storm clouds obscuring any light
from overhead.
He must have dozed off at some point, because the next
thing he knew, he jerked awake to the sound of voices. Looking
down at the muddy courtyard, he saw the carriage beside the
stable and two young boys holding the horses. The boys’ thin
shoulders were hunched forward in a futile effort to protect
them from the rain.
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He recognized Anne’s cloaked figure as she spoke with Margery on her way inside, while Elizabeth and another young girl, presumably Elizabeth’s other sister, scurried behind.
After racing down the hall, he took the back stairs, and
stopped in the doorway to the kitchen amidst a flurry of activity. Margery and Sara took the young girls’ soaking wraps and
placed them before the fire.
Out in the courtyard the two boys helped the driver unhitch
the horses from the carriage.
There was no sign of Anne.
Teach was anxious in his search for her, his heart tripping in
his chest. Less than three weeks ago he would not have believed he could need another human being this much, but the desire
to see her was overwhelming.
He trailed a path of wet footprints leading to the front of
the house. Anne entered the dining room, still dressed in her
traveling cloak. He followed behind. “Anne?”
She whirled, an object in her hand flying until it bounced
on the rug and landed on the hard wood near Teach’s feet with
a loud clank.
Looking down, Teach saw a silver goblet reflecting the glow
from the fire in the hearth.
It was the goblet his father had given his mother.
And it was one of the items his father had said was missing.
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C H A P T E R 2 6
Anne
Anne watched as if in a dream while a range of emotions crossed Teach’s face. Confusion, recognition, disbelief, and finally
anger. He picked up the goblet, his eyes glinting dangerously in the firelight as he turned it in his hand. “Why?” he asked.
The question pulled her out of her daze, and Anne blinked,
wishing she had a clever response to give. She was numb, her
mind unable to respond fast enough. She should have heard
him approach, but had been too intent on returning the stolen
items, her pulse racing.
It had been too easy. She’d gone to Elizabeth’s house and
spoken with her mother, explaining Mr. Drummond’s need of
a groom and another maid. Elizabeth’s two brothers, David and
Ian, had both volunteered for the job, as well as their sister Kate.
Leaving Elizabeth to help her siblings pack their meager
belongings, Anne had made a quick trip to the shop. There
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they had lain, behind the counter. The two spoons as well as the goblet. Anne hadn’t been able to believe her good fortune.
It appeared her good fortune had now run out. “Margery
said you and the Herveys were in your rooms resting.” She
could not help the accusatory note in her voice.
“Aye, I was, but when I saw you arrive, I came down because
I wanted to speak with you.”
“About what?”
His eyes were those of a predator. “I wanted to know if you
would accompany me on a ride.”
“In this weather?”
Teach ignored her question. “Were you aware that this goblet was among the items my father believed had been stolen?”