“James?”
He opened his eyes. After a few blinks he lifted his head away from the glass. He let his face muscles relax before he turned his face toward me. “What is it, Love?”
“I just wanted to know if you were all right.”
He smiled. “Why wouldn’t I be?”
“The expression you just had on your face would make me think otherwise.”
His expression changed slightly. His smile faded a little and then disappeared altogether when he clicked his tongue and looked out the window again. “I’m just thinking about some things.”
“Some things you don’t want to tell me?”
“No. It’s not that. It’s just…” He sighed. “Captain Brown is supposed to be back today, and I’m not sure of what his reaction will be about us.”
“He hasn’t been here?” I was surprised. I was sure I’d heard him once or twice out in the hall. “Didn’t he know we’d been kidnapped?”
“He did. And I already told him everything that happened.”
“Then why hasn’t he come by?”
“He’s giving you space. He’s also not sure what to say around you. You make him… nervous.”
I raised my eyebrows. “I make everyone nervous, don’t I?”
He grinned for real. “Not me.”
“So, he hasn’t been here then. He’s been avoiding the house?”
“He’s been here, but he left again, keeping up appearances.” He tilted his head toward me, and a small smile appeared on his lips. When I didn’t smile, he frowned and looked out the window again. “He doesn’t know that I asked you to marry me, let alone that you said yes.”
I leaned forward. “Does it really matter?”
He chuckled before he turned back to me. “Yes, it really does. I know you don’t care what he thinks, but I have a lot of respect for him, and I need him to be approving of all of this.”
“But you’ve already been making plans. What happens if he doesn’t agree? Will you not marry me then?”
He got up to come over to the bed. He sat down and leaned back so that his head was lying on my lap. He looked exhausted as he reached his hand up and stroked the side of my face. “I will marry you no matter what he says. I’d just prefer it to be approved.”
“So what would you do if he says no?”
He sat up and stayed close. He put his hands on either side of his face. “I don’t foresee this as a problem. So instead of asking his permission, I’m going to ask for his blessing. He knows me fairly well, and I’m pretty sure he knows that I’ve been planning this anyway.”
“So there’s nothing to worry about?”
His charming smile appeared on his face which gave me butterflies. “No. There is no need to worry.”
“I’m glad.”
He kissed me softly on the lips. “As much as I’ve been enjoying this conversation, I need to get going back into town. I have a couple things I still need to get done before the day is over, including getting your dress.”
I looked at him. “I get to see it, right?”
“Of course you do.” He placed his hand on the side of my face. “But in order for you to see it, I have to go get it.”
He slid off the bed. He seemed to be in a much better mood than he had been when he’d been sitting at the window. He went over to the door but then stopped. He turned around and leaned against the doorframe before he said, “I took your dresses back to the tailor for him to put a higher collar on them.”
I had never said anything to him about the scar on my chest or how it made me feel. I shouldn’t have been surprised that he’d figured it out, but then he seemed to understand everything about me. “Thank you.”
He smiled and left. I got off the bed and went over to the window seat. The sun was rising over the town, and I could see some ships getting ready to head out to sea while others were pulling in to dock. I hadn’t realized how busy the port was. Of course, I hadn’t been around the docks since I had been brought here so I wouldn’t have noticed anyway.
James had said he’d be gone for several hours, but when darkness started to fall and he still hadn’t come back, I started to worry. Will had already gone to the fort, and once again Captain Brown hadn’t come back so I was alone in the house. When the moon started to rise over the town, I knew something was wrong. I got off the bench and slowly went down the hall. I went down the stairs without making a sound and then went out to the barn. The moon was bright enough where I could see without a problem, which helped settle some of my nerves.
Buttercup was in her stall, and when she saw me coming, her ears perked up. I opened the stall and put the bridle on the way James had showed me months ago. I didn’t know how to put the saddle on, so I used the sides of the stall to get up on her back. I clicked my tongue and gently kicked her sides. She trotted out of her stall, and when she got out of the barn I clicked my tongue again and she started to gallop. I hadn’t realized how much a saddle helped until that moment. I cringed as I held tight to her body with my legs. However, she got me to town quicker than any time James had taken me. I rode her toward the docks, and when I arrived there I couldn’t see anything. I had a feeling James had to be close, so I slowed Buttercup to a trot. We passed the piers, and when we hit the beach, I felt like we were getting closer. I couldn’t explain what drew me to this conclusion, but I followed it all the same. I saw another dock farther down the beach, one that looked like it had been forgotten about. It was piled with crates which blocked the view if anyone was on it. I nudged Buttercup again, and she flew toward the dock. As we got closer, I started to wonder what would happen if James wasn’t there. Then I wondered where else he could possibly be. I found myself looking out at the sea. I thought I could almost make out the shape of a ship. I got a bad feeling in my stomach as I brought Buttercup to a stop at the edge of the dock. I slid off and stepped forward. I peered around the crates. I could see some men standing down at the other end of the dock by a small boat. One looked to be bound by the wrists with one man standing behind him and the third man stood in front of the bound man. I looked a little closer, and it looked like the one standing behind the bound man was Jason. I couldn’t believe my eyes as I realized that the bound man was James and the one standing in front of him was Shawn. Shawn suddenly pulled a gun out and held it at James’ head.
“No!” I screamed as I took off down the dock. I stumbled and barely caught myself before my foot struck a plank of wood. I flew forward and landed at James’ feet. I immediately cried out in pain. I was pretty sure I had re-broken something, but I didn’t think about it. I rolled onto my side to gaze up at Shawn.
“Andrea? Where did you come from?” Shawn asked with the gun still held toward James’ head.
“Don’t hurt him.” I gasped. I winced when I took a breath.
Shawn looked confused as he stared at James. “Isn’t he the one who kidnapped you?”
“You don’t understand.” I gasped for air.
“What is there to understand about someone kidnapping you?” He glared at James.
“Because he kept me safe. He never harmed me.”
Shawn started to bend over to help me up, but I put my hand up to stop him.
“What’s wrong, Andrea?”
“I can think of a few things,” I snapped. Very slowly, I sat up. I gasped again. It must have been a rib I’d broken. I carefully sat on my knees. Nobody said anything as I progressed to a standing position. It took everything in me to stay standing without help.
All three of them were watching me closely, but it was Jason who spoke. “What’s wrong with you, Andy?”
“I’m hurt.”
“Hurt?” Jason and Shawn shouted at the same time. They whipped their eyes to James.
“It wasn’t him! It was Mark.”
“What?” Shawn turned back to me.
“He worked for Peter.”
Shawn flinched.
“That’s beside the point. James didn’t do anything to me. He
helped me. He got me out of there.” I looked at him. His eyes were soft, but I knew even if he could have said anything, he wouldn’t have. “He saved my life.”
“You could just be saying that so that we don’t kill him,” Jason said quietly.
I turned my attention to him. I knew my anger was starting to show. “But I’m not.”
“Why does his life matter to you, Andrea?” Shawn asked. He was looking back and forth between James and me. “How can you care about a man who kidnapped you?”
I was furious. How could he act so innocent when he’d done the same thing all those years ago? “I’m not sure. How could I possibly care about anyone who’s kidnapped me, Shawn?”
He slowly turned his head toward me as his arm holding the gun dropped to his side. “What are you talking about?”
“Let’s think about it. You kidnapped me ten years ago. But what you don’t know is that when James kidnapped me, he took me to my real father. So my question for you is why? Why did you kidnap me instead of taking me back to my family all those years ago?”
Jason looked at Shawn, confused. “I thought you had left her with her mother, but then she died so you had to bring her aboard.”
Shawn slowly shook his head, but still didn’t say anything.
“I want to know, Shawn. Why did you take me?”
“You were in such bad shape when I found you,” he said quietly, but he wouldn’t look at me. “I was on the run from someone, and when I saw you, I knew you were in trouble. I didn’t have time to find your real family, so I just took you with me.”
“Why didn’t you take me back then, after you had gotten away I mean?” I stepped closer.
“I couldn’t imagine what your father would do to me. I had found out through a line of people that you were the daughter of Captain Brown and that he was looking for you. I couldn’t deal with him. So I just made sure we stayed out to sea as long as possible.” He was looking at me, but it was as if he didn’t really see me. “You never questioned your past. It helped you didn’t remember, but everything came so naturally to you. You wouldn’t have believed me if I had told you anyway.”
“Were you ever going to tell me?” This was the big question.
He slowly brought his gaze to mine. “I don’t know. I hoped you would remember eventually. I didn’t want to keep you from you father, but I had no choice.”
“What do you mean?”
“What would your father have said if I had showed up on his doorstep with you? He would have put me in jail. He wouldn’t have listened to me if I had said I took you to protect you. Who would have believed that? And you didn’t even know who you were. Would you have believed me if I told you that I wasn’t your father?”
“No, I probably wouldn’t have. I didn’t believe it until I saw my brother.”
Shawn blinked and brought himself back to the present. “You have a brother?”
I nodded. I looked at James, who was still patiently waiting for whatever was going to come next. I turned back at Shawn. “Now, will you let James go?”
He glanced at James then at Jason. “Let him go.”
Jason looked back and forth between us. “Are you sure, Captain?”
“Release him!” Shawn snapped.
Jason stepped back, then released the binding around James’ hands and took the gag out of his mouth. James rubbed his jaw as he stretched it, but kept his eyes on me. I walked over to him, and stood between him and Shawn.
“So what now?” Jason asked as he looked at Shawn.
Shawn shrugged before he turned away. “We leave and she stays.”
“That’s it?” Jason looked at me. “You want to stay here?”
I glanced up at James, who was looking at me with an intense gaze. I turned back to Jason as I reached back and took James’ hand. “Yes. I want to stay here. “
Jason shook his head in disbelief. “I can’t believe you, Andy. After everything you’ve been through, you just want to go back with someone you barely know?”
“I know him better than anyone else, Jason. I feel safe with him in a way I’ve never felt before, and I know my life isn’t in danger every moment of the day.”
He was about to comment when he thought about it a second longer. He raised his eyebrows and nodded. “Understandable.”
I looked at Shawn. His focus was on his shoes. “Shawn?”
He slowly brought his attention up to my eyes, an uneasy expression on his face. “Andrea?”
“Can I ask you one thing before you leave?”
“What?” He took in a hesitant breath.
I stepped away from James. He let go of my hand so I could close the distance between Shawn and me. I looked up at the man who I had believed was my father for ten years. Even though what he did was wrong, he had still saved my life. He had done his best at raising me even though he hadn’t needed to. I still didn’t understand why, but then I realized that he didn’t either. He had no idea why he’d held onto me. He may have said it was because nobody would have believed him, but I could see the truth in his eyes. He was lonely. It was that plain and simple.
Before he could react, I reached my arms around him and pulled myself to him. It was an awkward hug. His back was straight as a board and his arms hung at his sides. But I still held onto him. I closed my eyes and whispered, “Thank you.”
“For what?” He asked, though his voice had become quieter.
I tilted my head up to see him better. “For protecting me. For doing your best to raise me when you hadn’t needed to.”
He stayed tense and swallowed loudly. “That’s not a question.”
“No, it’s not.” I started to step back, but he quickly wrapped his arms around my waist. He looked as if he was surprised he had reacted so quickly, or at all. It made me smile and gave me the last bit of courage that I needed. “Would you please come to my wedding?”
I could hear Jason gasp behind me, but I didn’t turn to glare. My attention was solely on Shawn. His arms dropped from around me, and I quickly dropped mine as well. But I stayed where I was. He continued to stare at me, as if trying to decide if I was serious or not.
“Please,” I whispered.
He looked up at the moon for a moment before he turned his attention back to me. “I don’t know. I can’t make any promises.”
I nodded. “I know. Just know that I want you there, either way.”
He averted his gaze and glanced at James. “He’s really worth this?”
I smiled. “Yes.”
He grunted. “He better make you happy. I don’t want to hear any different.”
I stepped back. “You won’t.”
He turned his gaze away as if this satisfied him.
“So…” Jason spoke up suddenly. I turned to face him. His expression surprised me. He was watching James with a curious expression, which James seemed to be giving back to him. Jason quickly glanced at Shawn, then me, then back at James.
“What is it, Jason?” I asked as I walked back to James.
“I, uh…” He glanced back at Shawn. “I think I want to stay too.”
Shawn snapped his head up, but didn’t say anything.
“What?” I gasped slightly at the sharp pain in my chest. James glanced down at me. His eyes quickly ran over my body and stopped for a moment when he saw my feet. I looked down too and saw the one was bleeding. I had forgotten how I had made my entrance. My eyes met his, but I shook my head before he could ask. I brought my attention back to Jason.
“I’ve been thinking for awhile that I was going to jump ship anyway, but I only stayed so that I could keep an eye on you.” He looked at James before he quickly added, “and Mark. He’s not to be trusted you know.”
“He’s dead.” James spoke up for the first time as his arm slid around my side.
“Well, that’s good I guess.”
I looked back at Shawn. He was standing uncomfortably and I could tell he wanted to leave. He brought his attention to me, but didn’t say any
thing. We stared at each other, neither of us making a move toward each other. I finally nodded to him, a small smile on my face. A faint one appeared on his lips as well, but he turned away before I could tell if I had actually seen it. He looked at Jason, who nodded to him as well, and then Shawn stepped off the dock into a boat that was tied there. He cut the line and began rowing back to the ship.
I felt James slide his arms around to my stomach. He pressed his lips against my neck and whispered, “I love you.”
I took my eyes off the boat to look at him. “How much?”
“More than you’ll ever know.” He kissed my forehead, and the three of us watched the boat fade into the darkness.
~~~~~~~***~~~~~~~
“How’s everything going?” Captain Brown stepped into my doorway.
“Well, it fits.” I adjusted the dress, then stood sideways in the mirror. I looked at him. “What do you think?”
He smiled. “You look just like your mother. Absolutely breathtaking.”
I smiled back at him as I looked in the mirror again. The dress James had made for me was the most astonishing thing I had ever seen. The dress started at the base of my neck, just high enough to cover the scar, but not actually around my neck, a personal request I had made. The bodice, as I had learned it to be called, fit snugly around my upper body until it flared out at my waist into a full, puffed-out skirt. The sleeves were tight to my elbows, and then flared out a little to midway down the exposed part of my arm. The dress was the color of sand on a bright and sunny day. Dark green swirls and curvy lines ran up the skirt, stopping at my waist where a cream sash was tied. I also wore dark green colored lace on my hands that went up to just below my elbows, but they weren’t gloves. I had pulled them on like I would have with gloves, but instead of having places for my fingers, a laced ring slipped over my middle finger to hold them in place. I had never seen anything like them, but I liked how they looked the moment I saw them on.
I couldn’t imagine where James had gotten the idea for my dress or accessories. He hadn’t seen me in it, not that it mattered to me, but he had wanted to do the wedding correctly. It was one of the few things that he had refused to adjust due to the time limit.
Forgotten Truths (The Forgotten Truths Series) Page 20
