He was uncomfortable. Wary. And she knew it was because of her.
Because of that kiss.
For a second, some of that joyful certainty wavered at the memory of the way he’d meant to apologize. Of course he would apologize. For all his uncouth manners, he was a gentleman at his core.
Not that he would ever admit to it.
He was more of a gentleman than most actual gentlemen she’d met.
His brows came down farther as he stopped before her. “What’s with that grin?”
“This grin?” She pointed to her lips.
“That’s the one.” Poor fellow looked torn between amusement and disapproval. When the brisk wind picked up and whipped her cloak about her shoulders, he bent over her as if to shield her from it.
“What are you doing here?” he asked. “And where is your chaperone?”
“Chaperones again,” she murmured. “Really, Caleb. You’re supposed to be a pirate, not a society matron.”
“A privateer,” he corrected.
Her smile grew. “A privateer, then. All the same, I do wish you would stop worrying yourself. I hardly imagine my reputation is our biggest concern today, do you?” She moved past him to enter his home. “After all, it’s not as though Roger will tattle. Who would he even tell?”
“Roger? You mean—” He growled as he stormed in behind her. “You cannot mean to join me for this...this...”
She waited with wide eyes, curious as to how he would phrase it.
He seemed just as stymied.
“Interview,” he finished.
She sank down before the fire. “What were you doing out there?”
“Fixing the roof. What did it look like?”
“Yes, but, shouldn’t that be Mr. Laslow’s concern? You are his tenant, after all. And you do not intend to stay here forever.”
She was prying, and it was beneath her. But she couldn’t resist flicking her gaze in his direction to see his response. Surely he had some plans for the future. But he’d told her nothing of what his plans might be. “You must be anxious to find a home of your own.”
He ignored her just as studiously as she’d ignored Hattie just moments before.
“Don’t try to distract me, Abigail. You’re not coming with me, and that is that.”
She blinked over at him, a laugh so close to the surface. He truly was rather adorable when he tried to be stern. He did it so well, but she knew him now. She knew him better than he knew himself, she suspected.
He wasn’t angry with her but scared on her behalf.
“I am coming,” she said as she straightened. “I must.”
“Don’t use that voice with me,” he said, wagging a finger like an old granny.
She blinked in surprise. “What voice?”
“The one you use to reason with stubborn children.”
Her brows hitched high and her lips parted in surprise. “I didn’t...I don’t...” She clamped her lips shut as a flicker of amusement crossed his eyes. “Oh, all right, fine. I suppose I do.”
She tilted her head to the side as she considered that perhaps he knew her just as well as she knew him.
For a moment, they faced off. She loved the fact that he did not give ground or that he did not try and talk down to her. He treated her like an equal.
“I’m coming,” she said.
“You’re not,” he said.
She crossed her arms. “I already met with him once—”
“Which was once more than I’d like.”
“He didn’t hurt me.”
“He could have.”
She narrowed her eyes and he sighed. “I do not doubt your bravery for a moment, Abigail. But if it comes down to sheer strength, he could overpower you and harm you before you have a chance to scream.”
“But you will be there.”
His mouth clamped shut as his frown intensified. She had him there and they both knew it.
“What if he’s brought other men?” he asked.
She shook her head. “He won’t. He wouldn’t.”
“How could you be so certain?”
“Because he’s clearly a desperate man, Caleb.” She moved closer and he tensed. She tried not to take it personally. “I might have been fooled by him before, just as everyone else was, but Roger is not such a talented actor. We just had no reason to mistrust him.”
He eyed her warily. But he was listening.
“I know what I saw, Caleb, and the man was pitifully desperate.”
“Or you’ve just got too big of a heart,” he added.
She drew in a deep breath as she prepared to tell him that last bit. The remark she’d carefully avoided mentioning the day before. “At any rate, I must go.”
His eyes narrowed. “Why?”
“He’s requested that I be there.”
“Why?”
Now it was her brows that drew down as she remembered his cryptic words. “Apparently all this has something to do...with me.”
Truth be told, Abigail was rather relieved when Roger arrived at the assigned meeting location an hour later.
Alone, as she’d predicted.
Nothing he could say would be nearly as aggravating as Caleb’s persistent questions. He hadn’t ceased until she’d related every cryptic word.
In the end, he too had been just as confused as she’d been by the comment, and yet he agreed to let her come along.
With conditions, of course.
“Really, Caleb. I don’t see why I need this.” She held up a dagger that he’d forced her to hold before her. “I don’t even know how to use it.”
He glanced over at her as Roger crossed the open field to meet them. “Minerva said your father taught you how to defend yourselves.”
She pursed her lips as she studied the dagger with its pretty jeweled hilt. “He did, but only with our fists and our wits, not with weapons.”
One corner of Caleb’s lips quirked up and she caught a hint of mischief. “Pointy end goes in his belly.”
A shocked laugh escaped her. “You’re enjoying this.”
“Nonsense.”
But she could feel it. She could sense it. The closer Roger drew—the closer they came to danger—the more alert he seemed to be. The more alive.
Rather like Minerva.
“Will you miss it?”
He glanced over again in confusion.
“The fighting. The danger. Life out on the open seas?”
He made a short scoffing sound but didn’t answer.
And then neither of them could speak
