Blackhearts (Blackhearts, #1)(46)

they leapt into the ocean in an attempt to douse the flames

burning their flesh.

Anne reached out and touched his arm, seemingly aware of





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his haunted reflections. “I’m sorry,” she said. “I shouldn’t have asked.”

Teach looked down at the hand on his sleeve, overcome with

a sudden urge to cover it with his own. Instead he cleared his

throat and looked out across the gorge. It took him a moment

to answer. “I have since come to terms with that event,” he said, his voice raw.

“You saved their lives.”

Teach met her eyes and saw in them understanding and

compassion.

“Yes, by taking the lives of others.”

“If it hadn’t been for you, more men on your ship would

have perished, yourself included,” she said.

Teach shrugged. “If it’s God’s will for me to go, who am I

to stop it?” he asked.

Anne gave a short laugh. “That might be, but God also gave

you a brain and intellect. Would you rather have stood by and

let them kill the lot of you?”

“All I know is that I never want to watch a man suffer like

that at my hand again.”

The silence that followed was pressing, and Teach realized

that whenever the two of them spoke, he revealed more about his

past than she did about hers. He was determined to change that.

“Enough about me,” Teach said. “Tell me, do you have any

family?”

“No one to claim me.”





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Teach was amazed at her ability to avoid answers. “What does that mean, exactly?” he pressed.

“My parents are dead.”

He studied her face. There was an unmistakable look of

sadness in her eyes, and he regretted his insistence that she clar-ify her statement. “I’m sorry for your loss, but that means there is no reason for you to leave my father’s household.”

“It does not matter whether I stay there or not. Once you

marry Miss Patience, you will live with her at her estate.”

His head jerked back as if he had been slapped. “Why do

you insist on bringing Miss Patience into every conversation?”

he demanded.

Anne frowned. “I only speak the truth. Am I wrong in

assuming you will soon be married?”

His mouth twisted into a bitter smile. “No. If my father has

his way, we will be wed within the year.”

“And if you had your way?”

“If I had my way, I would leave tomorrow on the first ship

sailing out of Bristol, regardless of its destination.” And never return. Afraid that once more he’d said too much, Teach stood abruptly. “I believe we should go back.”

Anne waited as he placed the chairs once more inside the

cottage. He led the way through the trees, and they found their

horses exactly as they had left them. Lifting her back up into

her saddle, he allowed his fingers to linger slightly longer than 16 4

necessary on her waist. She glanced at him sharply, but Teach pretended not to notice.

He did not truly desire to return to the house, but knew it

would not do to remain any longer in the woods.

They rode back in relative silence. Teach was tired. Perhaps

it was a lingering effect from his illness.

As the house drew nearer, he felt the familiar bands of tight—

ness settling around his heart. Anne’s own face mirrored his, for her eyes were no longer shining, and her cheeks were no longer flushed.

At the weeping willows on the outside of his father’s property, Anne stopped and dismounted. “Just in case the others

have returned, I do not think it’s wise for them to see us arriving together. I will return the riding habit as soon as possible.”

“You may keep the garments. My only concern is if they see

you in them. They’ll know we were together.” He realized too

late that he hadn’t thought things through.

Anne bit her lip. “Perhaps if you went in first, you could

arrange some kind of distraction? I could slip in through the

kitchen and head upstairs to change.”

If she entered through the back way, there would be too

many opportunities for her to be discovered. Teach shook his

head. “No, I will go in first and return the horses to the stables.

You go through the front door and enter your quarters from

the other side of the house. They’ll be less likely to see you.”





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He paused. “Unless they’ve already determined that you aren’t in your room.”

“No, they aren’t so concerned for my welfare that they

would go and inquire after me.” Striding away, she disappeared

around the corner of the wall.

Teach led the horses in through the garden, searching for

movement near the back of the house. There was no sign of

the groom as Teach entered the barn and unsaddled the horses,

giving them a cursory brushing before heading for the kitchen