Henry didn’tlook convinced. “Not everyone gets a second chance like you’ve beengranted. Some would give anything to see their mother again.Regardless of what may have happened in the past.”
My heartplummeted to the depths of my stomach. Henry’s mother. He’d lovedher so much and she was so brutally taken from him… by the verywoman I was too scared to find. If I didn’t track down Maria formyself, I at least had to do it for Henry. “I’m sorry,” I told himand pressed my body to his, letting the golden scruff of his face rub against my forehead. “I didn’teven consider–”
“You neverneed to apologize to me,” he assured quietly. “I will support anydecision you choose to make. I’m just trying to help you seeclearly.”
His strongarms wrapped around my back and hugged me tightly. The comfort andsafety Henry’s body provided was everything I could ever need inthis world. We’d been through so much in so little time, our liveshad become permanently welded together. Like two pieces of metal inthe void of space, colliding and fusing together, whether theywanted to or not.
But the more Ithought about it, the more I realized that our lives had alwaysbeen connected. Through my mother. There was an invisible threadthat linked us; from me to my mother and, unfortunately, throughMaria. In a morbid sense, our tortured pasts are what brought ustogether and for that I would be eternally grateful.
We stayed likethat for a while, silent and wrapped in one another’s arms as ourship quietly sailed along the coast of England. I didn’t pry myhead from Henry’s comforting chest until I heard the inevitablestomping of heavy leather boots making their way up the stairs.
“Captain,”Finn greeted happily. His grin spread far and wide across hisbearded face. “Be a matter of minutes before we begin to turn andhead to port. I’d get ready if I was ye.”
My heartfluttered at the thought of stepping onto land. Real land. Not justsome cursed heap of sand in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean.“Thank you, Finn,” I told him. “Ready the ship. Tell theothers.”
The eager Scotlooked to Henry then and raised an eyebrow. “Have ye given thoughtto where we be restin’ our pretty li’l heads tonight?”
Henry clearedhis throat and stood taller. “I’m sure we can manage to find alocal tavern with adequate lodgings.”
“Aye,” Finnreplied thoughtfully. “Er, our treasure. Best be takin’ it with us.Been too long since we stepped foot in Wallace’s port. I wouldn’tchance leavin’ it all aboard.”
Henry noddedcurtly. “Yes, you’re right. We shall have to pay a visit at somepoint, but not yet. You ready the crew. Dianna and I shall securethe loot.”
Finn noddedand bound back down the stairs like a happy child. I turned toHenry. “Who’s Wallace?”
“An oldfriend,” he replied, his face void of expression. “The dealer whoruns the port. All pirates who dock there must report to Wallaceand pay a duty.”
“A duty? Forwhat?”
Henry sighedand shrugged, as if the matter were simple. But his shoulderscarried a strange heaviness to them. “For many things. Protectionfrom the authorities, from other pirates. Wallace also has ways ofselling cargo that otherwise couldn’t be sold.” He tipped his headin my direction and cocked a prodding eyebrow.
It took asecond, but I realized what he meant. “Ah, stolen goods.Wallace can sell stolen goods for pirates?”
Henry onlynodded and stared out at the turning bow.
I chewed at mybottom lip. “Is that… is Wallace bad news or something? You don’tseem too happy about having to see–”
“It’s justbeen a while,” Henry told me. “Being back here, it’s…” he inhaleddeeply and gripped the edge of the railing. “I was a different manthe last time I stepped foot on English soil.”
My hand slidover the hard muscles of his arm and I leaned in to place a kiss tohis cheek. “That was a long time ago, Henry. People change. Youjust happened to change for the better.” He gave me a pained smileand I squeezed his arm tighter. “You did.”
His bodytwisted toward me as he slipped a steady hand across my cheek,pulling my face to his in a desperate motion. “I know,” Henry saidin a whisper before pressing his lips against mine. “I just needyou to keep reminding me.”
Our eyeslocked and I could see the wet film over his reflecting the ocean’ssparkling waves back to me. Like blackened mirrors, hiding hispain. “I will. I always will.”
***
I stared atthe full-length mirror that stood in my quarters and admired thebulbous shape of my belly, running my gentle hand over its perfectcurve. I took comfort in the fact that, as long as it was inside ofme, I could protect it. My precious baby. Part of me couldn’t waitto hold them in my arms, but another part of my rational brainwished it would stay inside of me forever, where it could never beexposed to the harsh realities we faced every day. A pirate’s life is grand, but it can be overin the blink of an eye.
Or the swipeof a sword.
The abruptsound of knocking at my door pulled me from my worrisome mind and Iturned around to find Lottie poking her head inside.
“Are youdecent?” she asked.
I laughed.“Yes, come in.”
The dooropened all the way and she stepped inside, tall and blonde, clad inher brown leather corset that fastened tight over a longcream-colored dress. She held up a hammer in one hand and a wide,thin board in another. “I’m here to help with your trunk. Henrysent me.”
“Oh, yeah,it’s over there,” I replied and walked with her over to my bedwhere my trunk sat opened next to a pile of neatly folded clothes.We peered inside and then looked to each other with a grin. I linedthe base with my share of the treasure, ready to be hidden with thefalse bottom Lottie brought with her. The idea came to me earlierafter Finn suggested we hide our treasure.
“This isbrilliant,” Lottie told me as she carefully lowered the board downinto the trunk.
I grabbed thenails from my friend’s hand and held them out for her as shehammered them in one by one. “I figured we could use one less thingto worry
