“But—”
“I assure you that if your pirate is anywhere nearby, he will be found.” Roger’s tone was reassuring, and yet...Minerva did not feel assured at all.
“But—”
“He’s no doubt long gone by now, my dear,” Roger continued over her protest. “He must have slipped away in a rowboat the moment he saw my men coming.”
She frowned down at the dark ground beneath her feet. That was probably true.
And for the best, no doubt. No one wanted pirates on their shores.
Her sodden, ruined slippers kicked at the dirt beneath her feet as she allowed Roger to lead her home. At the doorway, he stopped, and she reached for the handle. “But Father should know—”
“I will tell him all in the morning,” Roger said. “No need to wake him from his sleep. Now, you go on inside like a good girl. I’ll be by first thing to fill him in on everything.”
She nodded, turning the door handle and heading inside. She could not shake the feeling of discontent. It wasn’t over. Her big grand adventure with a pirate. It could not just...be over. Could it?
Roger reached a hand out, touching her arm softly when she turned to thank him for his help and bid him goodnight. “It’s over now, Minnie. Rest easy, darling.”
She smiled at his term of endearment and because she felt it was expected. Minnie. She bit her lip to stop herself from telling him that while she did not mind Min, Minnie was a name she rather abhorred.
But there would be time for all that later. She forced another smile, one of gratitude, she hoped. “Goodnight, Roger.” She shut the door behind her, listening to the oh-so-familiar sound of her sisters getting ready for bed themselves overhead, and her father’s snores coming from the living area where he no doubt would stay for the remainder of the night.
Minerva let her head fall back against the door.
“Min, is that you?” Rebecca called from the top of the stairs.
“Yes, I’ll be up soon.” Minerva exchanged a few more words with Abigail, reassuring her as well that she was home safely and that they could all head to bed without worry.
Minerva stood there for a long while. She needed some peace to think over what had happened so she’d wait. Just until her sisters were in bed. Even better, until they were asleep. She did not wish to answer their questions about where she’d been or what she’d seen.
She shut her eyes as a smile grew, despite the sinking sensation in her middle.
She’d met a pirate. She laughed softly. A real, honest-to-goodness pirate. She gave her head a little shake as she tried to remember every detail.
Oddly enough, the detail that was most vivid was his smile when he’d first started his approach. She’d frozen in place, not so much out of fear, but out of shock.
She’d expected gruff, perhaps even brutal. But who on earth would have guessed that a pirate could be so congenial?
She bit her lip to keep that smile from growing into a grin. Before she could stop herself, a snicker escaped, and she clapped a hand over her mouth.
Really. Running into a pirate was no laughing matter. And yet...
Another laugh bubbled up at the thought of his expression when he’d finally seen that she was a woman.
And then another laugh escaped as she remembered his groan when her fist had found its mark. His look of surprise, and pain, and...admiration.
Her smile faded with a sigh as she gave her head a shake. She should not be so delighted by this. By any of it.
It was over, she told herself as she pushed away from the door and headed toward the stairs leading to her room. Roger was right. Her pirate was undoubtedly long gone by now.
She took a deep cleansing breath as she settled into bed and tried her best to let sleep take hold.
It was too bad, really.
She would have liked to see him caught.
Minerva didn’t wake until the sun was high over the horizon. She sat up with a jolt, confused and befuddled as she realized that she was alone in her room.
Abigail had already dressed and gone downstairs.
Minerva blinked sleep away as she reached for her clothes. Lessons would be underway soon enough. And no one had thought to wake her?
She did a hasty job of dressing and did little more than smooth a hand over her braid before dashing down the steps.
She’d overslept because she’d been up half the night reliving every second of her adventure. No, her terror, she mentally amended.
But now...oh now, she really must speak to her father before he left for the fort. Had Roger come yet? Had she missed everything?
It was a mix of terror and excitement that had her rushing past her sisters in the dining room, ignoring Abigail’s offer to make her a plate and Sally’s questions about where she’d disappeared to last night.
She would deal with her sisters later. But first, she had to speak to Father. He had to know about the pirate on his shores. Perhaps more importantly, or at least more selfishly, she truly needed him to understand that she hadn’t intended to find a pirate.
She cringed as she imagined her father’s fear on her behalf. His worry that she truly was her mother’s daughter, too driven by the lure of the sea and adventure than her own common sense.
She stopped short before the door, straightening her skirts and drawing in a deep breath.
It wasn’t true, of course. She was nothing like her mother. Her mother had been selfish—choosing her passions over her family. A mistake Minerva would never repeat.
With one last deep gulp of air, she knocked gently and then pushed open the door leading to her father’s office. She
