The Pirate

'So we just have to wait for a storm?'

'For now. Until we figure out another way.'

Griffin pulled in the reins on his temper. She didn't deserve another of his angry outbursts. He had put her through too much already. 'You told your friend, Kelsey, about me?' he asked evenly.

She shook her head. 'I just gave her a hypothetical situation. I told her I was thinking of writing a novel. If I'd told her the truth, she would have put me on the first bus to the funny farm.'

Griffin opened his mouth to ask just what a 'bus' and a 'funny farm' were, then realized he was still in the dark about 'nooky.' He ignored the impulse to investigate further. Instead, he pushed himself off the bed and began to pace the room. He felt her eyes following him. 'What time of day did you find me?' he asked.

'Midnight,' she replied.

'And what were the conditions?'

'Very weird,' she recalled. 'The storm was raging outside, and then all of a sudden, it stopped. It became so calm it was frightening.'

'And how did you find me?'

She frowned. 'I'm not sure, but I remember feeling compelled to go outside. I was just looking around and there you were.'

'Where?'

'In the backyard.'

He stepped to the bedroom window and pulled back the lace curtain. 'Where, precisely?'

'About five yards straight out from the big cedar,' she replied. 'The water was really high. The waves were almost halfway across the lawn.'

Griffin stared out into the dark and considered all she had told him, trying to remember something, anything, about that night. But from the time he'd fallen overboard and hit the water until the time he'd woken up on her sofa, his mind was a blank.

'There is one other thing,' Merrie said softly.

'What is that?'

'I-I was thinking that maybe my beach isn't the place this started. Maybe it's just where you ended up.'

'I don't understand,' Griffin said.

'I called a charter service after I spoke with Kelsey and I've rented a sailboat for a few days. If the weather is good, we can leave tomorrow. I thought we could sail across the Sound, up the Pamlico River and find the spot where you fell in. We might find a clue. It's a long day's sail, so we can moor the boat in Bath and spend the night there, then sail back the next day.'

'That is a clever plan, Merrie-girl,' he said, turning to her in surprise. 'Do you know how to sail?'

'My father and I used to have a little boat when I was a child. And what I don't remember, you can fill in. I don't think sailing has changed that much over the past three hundred years.'

For the first time since he'd arrived in this place, he felt a sense of hope. If he could get back within a week, he might be able to salvage his plan to bring Blackbeard down. He would be glad to leave, for there was nothing of interest to him here… except Merrie.

Over the past few days, he'd been surprised at the depth of her spirit and resolve. Though he'd been in a foul mood, she hadn't backed down from him. She didn't run to her bedchamber, weeping at his surly treatment. Nor did she pout for days on end, or send for her mother and her sisters. Instead, she constantly challenged him, forcing him to see this place for what it had to offer.

She was a strong woman, a woman that a man could depend on. And he couldn't deny his feelings for her any longer. He cared about her and her happiness, and he didn't feel at all comfortable about leaving her here alone. But he had a task that he must complete and nothing must stand in his way.

He slowly let the curtain drop and returned to sit on the bed, his back to her. He scrubbed at his eyes with the heels of his hands, then raked his fingers through his hair. 'What if I can't get back?' he murmured.

He felt her hand on his shoulder, warm and reassuring, and he closed his eyes, giving in to her gentle touch.

'We'll think about that if and when the time comes,' she said.

Griffin turned and looked into Merrie's eyes. As long as he was determined to return, she would support his choice, of that he was certain. His gaze dropped to her mouth again, her lips so lush and ripe. 'Why are you alone?' he asked.

She blinked, confusion clouding her expression. 'I-I don't understand.'

'Why is there no man to protect you? When I leave, you'll have no one. Are you not afraid?'

A winsome smile curved the corners of her mouth. 'I don't need someone to protect me, Griffin,' she said. 'I'm all right on my own.'

'But you are well past the age of marriage, and-'

'And where you come from they'd call me a spinster or an old maid, right?'

'A thornback,' he added.

'Well, I wouldn't care what they called me.'

'Then you prefer to live this way. Alone?'

Her cheeks took on a pink glow and she shrugged. 'I don't know. I guess I don't think about it, Griffin. It's not that important to me. The sexual revolution gave me, and all women, choices. I have my career and if I want, I can have a husband, also.'

He was going to ask what the sexual revolution was, but decided to return to more pressing matters. 'Well, I believe it is important. You must choose a husband. You must not put it off any longer.'

'It's not as easy as that,' Merrie said. 'There are many things to consider.'

'What about this Muldoon? He seems like a good man, he is even-tempered and healthy, he owns a large establishment with many patrons. He would make you a fine husband. I could approach this man with an offer if you would like.'

'Tank Muldoon and me?' Merrie considered the match for only a moment before she laughed, a warm musical sound that filled the room. 'Tank is a very nice man, but he's not my type.'

He pressed her hands between his. 'He is strong and honest and wealthy and his appearance is not in the least objectionable. I know it is important to a woman to have a man that bathes regularly and has good teeth.'

'Let me put it another way. I'm not Tank's type.'

'He would be a lucky man to have you.'

As would I, Griffin thought. But it could not be, for he and Merrie had been doomed from the start. They came from different lives and places, sharing only this short moment in time before all would be set right.

She pulled her hands from his and idly fussed with the bed linens, tucking them snugly around her. 'Griffin, don't worry about me. I'll be fine after you leave. I was fine before you came, wasn't I?'

He nodded then cupped her cheek in his palm, tipping her gaze up to his. 'If I lived in your time, I would offer for you.'

She covered his fingers with her own. 'That would be very noble of you. But I wouldn't want you to offer for me, unless you loved me.'

'Many marry without love,' he said. He hadn't loved Jane when he'd offered for her. In fact, he had barely known her. Yet over the two years they had been married, they had grown to care for each other. And when he'd lost her, he felt as if his heart had been torn from his body and buried beside her and their baby. Maybe he had loved her, but then, he would never truly be sure.

She had died alone, in their small house in Williamsburg, three days after the fever had taken his infant son- the son he'd never seen or held. And where had he been, but on his way home from London, busy with his duties as captain of the Spiritand gloating over the fine price he had secured for his cargo of Virginia tobacco.

'Griffin?'

He blinked and found her staring at him.

'Are you all right?' she asked.

Slowly, without speaking, he bent forward and touched his mouth to hers. She didn't pull away or play the coy maiden. Instead, Merrie returned his kiss, parting her lips slightly, inviting him totake more. And when he didn't, she did, touching her tongue to his lower lip, gently tempting, teasing.