The couple moved on, but Anne waited until the sound of
their footsteps disappeared. Her fingertips and toes were numb, and she slid silently out from her hiding spot. She saw from her vantage point that Teach was still conversing with his father.
Anne had just stepped onto the balcony when a fleshy hand
grabbed her wrist. She shrieked as William leered at her.
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“I thought it was you!” he snarled, dragging her along behind him.
Fighting desperately against his hold as he attempted to
yank her back toward the gardens, Anne looked frantically over her shoulder, trying to catch Teach’s attention. But the balcony was in shadows from the large trees surrounding it. Even in her ivory dress, it would be hard for Teach to see anything while the library was lit from within.
“Let go of me!” Anne yelled, hoping her voice would carry,
but the sound of the orchestra in the ballroom drowned her out.
“I’ll not have you running off to tell Teach about us,” he
said. “You will keep your mouth shut.”
“If you love Patience, why don’t you marry her yourself?”
Anne cried. It didn’t make sense. Upon his father’s death,
William would become a duke. Surely he had more to offer
a baron than a merchant?
William did not respond, but Anne managed to escape,
lifting her skirts and flying back the way she’d come. William tackled her from behind, and Anne fell forward, her head narrowly missing the edge of the balcony stairs.
If she didn’t get away, he might kill her. She searched the
ground, looking for something, anything, to throw that would capture Teach’s attention, but there was nothing at hand.
The watch in her pocket.
Anne kicked out, her foot connecting with William’s face.
He fell back, his hands clutching his nose as blood spurted
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everywhere, like a fountain. Jumping to her feet, Anne reached into her pocket and grabbed the watch.
Taking aim, she threw with all of her might. Both she and
William remained motionless as the watch sailed through the
air. It pierced the window in the library, shattering the smooth surface and breaking the reflection of the moon into a thousand shards.
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C H A P T E R 3 0
Teach
Glass rained down from the window, and a familiar gold object
landed on the carpet near Teach’s feet. It was Anne’s pocket
watch. Alarmed, he scooped it up and looked out, to where he
saw a flash of ivory in the gloom. Two figures battled outside, and an overpowering rage swept through Teach as he realized it was Anne. And William.
“What the devil?” Drummond snapped
Throwing open the French doors, Teach nearly pulled them
off their hinges. The cold air rushed in, as well as the sounds of Anne’s struggle. Teach flew across the balcony, his arms out-stretched as he reached for William’s throat.
He would kill him for this.
Teach’s blood roared in his ears, and he tackled William to
the ground in a confusion of limbs and cloth, his fists pum—
meling his former friend with coiled strength. William could
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only lie there, trying to protect himself as best he could.
“Edward, stop this at once!” His father’s hands gripped
Teach around his shoulders, attempting to pull him back, but
Teach was not prepared to stop. After one particularly hard hit, William caught his breath in a gasp of agony.
Only Anne’s voice was able to break through the haze,
piercing Teach’s rage as she cried out to him.
Slowly, like a man waking from a dream, Teach fell back, his
chest heaving, finally aware of a number of people surrounding them. William lay curled in a ball, openly sobbing, his clothes bloodied and soiled.
“Get her out of here,” Drummond said. “I’ll deal with this.”
Teach scooped Anne into his arms and carried her away
from prying eyes. The rips in Anne’s dress along with the grass stains painted a condemning picture.
He set her down once they were out of sight, his eyes and
hands running over her, trying to assess how much damage had
been done. She trembled uncontrollably, clearly in shock.
“Are you all right? Did he hurt you?” Teach asked.
Anne shook her head. “No, no,” she whispered, her voice
quivering. “I was trying to get to you—”
It was all Teach could do not to return to beat the remaining life out of William. If Teach ever saw William again, he
swore to himself he would finish the job.
But not now. Right now Anne needed him.
Teach gathered her close, pressing his lips against her hair,
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desperate to convince her that she was safe. “Let’s get you home,” he said, taking off his longcoat and placing it around her shoulders.
As they neared the front of the house, Teach was careful to
shield Anne from curious looks. He hailed his driver and then
climbed into the carriage beside her, shutting the door soundly behind him. Once inside, he brought her close, running his
hands up and down her arms in an effort to stop her shivering.