Blackhearts (Blackhearts, #1)(64)

“I could tell you what happens next,” he said, his voice low.

Anne swallowed. Her blue eyes shone in the candlelight, and

Teach could not have turned away if he’d tried.

“Does he die?”

“He does not. At least not for many years.”





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“Is there any more sadness?” she asked.

He reached out and brushed her cheek with his thumb.

“No,” he whispered.

“Does he return to the sea?”

They both knew they were no longer discussing the book.

“That remains to be seen. There might be something that could

tempt him to stay.”

A shadow passed over Anne’s features, and she withdrew

her hand. Teach was surprised by the strength of his disappointment.

“I’ve heard your father say that temptation is of the devil,”

she said.

“Contrary to what my father believes, I do not think all

enticements are wicked.”

Anne gave him a sad smile, making her look older than

her sixteen years. “A wise man is not the one who knows the

difference between good and evil, but the one who chooses the

least evil.”

Before Teach could form a retort, she closed the door softly.

He braced himself against the frame until the light from her

candle was snuffed out.





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C H A P T E R 2 2

Anne

Wandering through the house the next morning, Anne found

Teach in his father’s library. He sat at the desk, tracing the wood grain with his thumbnail, but stood as she entered.

There was no sign of Drummond.

“What do you plan to do today?” Teach asked, leaning

against the corner of the desk.

“I thought I might go back to the city.” It had taken her a

while to fall asleep, even after Teach had brought her the book.

She’d been too distraught over the charges against him. If Drummond didn’t find some way to have them dropped . . . Anne didn’t even want to think about what might happen. No, she

had to continue to believe in Drummond’s abilities, for herself as well as for Teach.

For the first time in her life, she liked to think she had

a friend. She admired Teach’s intelligence and his drive. She





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envied his confidence and his ability to listen to others.

Of course, she also couldn’t deny her attraction to him. Last

night, when he’d given her the book, she’d been very aware of

him as a man. And more than once she’d caught a certain gleam

in his eyes, one that betrayed a deeper emotion than simple

friendship.

In order to put some distance between them, she had

decided to return to the city for the day. Every time she saw a glistening candlestick or spoon, it weighed on her. It was one

thing to steal from Richard Drummond, a cold, heartless master, but it was something else to steal from the man who had

opened up his home to her.

She also hoped to hear more about the charges against Teach.

“You should go. There’s no reason for both of us to suffer.

You are free to leave as you choose,” Teach said.

Anne walked toward the desk, her skirts rustling. She knew

she should leave, but his voice alarmed her. She’d never heard him so despondent. “In a few days you shall be free to leave as well.”

A wry smile touched his lips. “If only I had as much faith in

my father as you do, Anne.” His voice was soft and tender, the

sound of her name a caress.

“He obviously has faith in you. Otherwise he would never

have agreed to let you spend the year at sea.”

“He agreed to let me go only because I threatened to join

the navy.”

“You didn’t,” she gasped.





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“Oh, but I did. Not that I would have followed through with it, but my father didn’t know that. I’d sooner stay on land than be part of the Royal Navy.”

Anne had heard rumors about life aboard naval vessels. “Is

it as bad as they say?”

Teach nodded, his mouth turned down. “They’ll take anyone, willing or not, and will use royal press gangs if necessary.

On a naval ship, they rarely stock enough food and water. The

only thing possibly worse is life aboard a merchant ship.”

“Not my father’s ships,” Anne said. “I saw the way he kept

them.”

“No, not your father’s ships. Andrew Barrett was the excep—

tion.”

She noticed he didn’t say anything in defense of Drummond’s

fleet. “I’m sure your father’s aren’t terrible either.”

“How many of my father’s ships have you seen?” Teach

asked, his eyes narrowed.

Anne flushed. “None. But how bad could they truly be?”

“It depends on the captain. Anyone foolish enough to speak

out on a merchant ship will most likely be punished. The same