Changing Kitty

Chapter 10

This chapter is from Captain Aubrey's POV. I refer to him as 'William' so there's no confusion :)

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Chapter Ten

William couldn't believe how stupid he'd been to even entertain the thought of a romance with Lady Kitty. It wasn't right for many reasons. First and foremost, he did not have a title or a home to offer her. Second, she was a beautiful, young debutante who most likely had more desirable suitors and third, she was more naïve and innocent than he had originally thought.

Walking away from the church he felt like a great fool. He'd been trying to prove himself worthy of her all week. He'd been trying to change her to show her how lovely she was when she was just being herself, and not the silly girl she was at parties.

He could see the change she had made in the short amount of time she had been trying, she was really making an effort and he appreciated that. And that's where it all had gone sour. It was hard for William not to shake with anger as he pictured Sir Walter with his hands on Kitty. It had taken every ounce of strength within him not to quickly flick his wrist and watch Sir Walter bleed to death, but if he'd done that he would hang and not him. Even so, the man still walked free.

The way she had looked at him afterward though made him sure that even she, the beautiful Lady Kitty Alcott fancied him. Kitty trusted him, and that was something he knew she would not be able to do with many men after what she had been through.

"I should not have been so short with her," he said to himself as he walked towards the docks. "It is not a crime to be oblivious to a man's intentions, especially when he is a blind fool like me." He knew he had not been clear with his intentions. He was not good at expressing his feelings, especially towards someone like Kitty Alcott, who was beautiful in every sense of the word.

The first time he had seen her in that ballroom he had felt something inside of him change. She was stunning, the loveliest girl he had ever laid his eyes on. Her hair was chocolate brown and so clean and shiny and her eyes were the strangest shade of dark blue that he'd ever seen so it made her completely unique. But then he had seen how she behaved in public. He did not dismiss her for his own enjoyment; he wanted it to be a wakeup call to her. She didn't need to flirt and tease to receive attention; he knew she was better than that. And it had seemed to work.

William felt as though he had changed as well. He was no longer so self - orientated. He'd never worried about another human being before ... not like the way he worried about Kitty. He worried about his parents if ever the rains were particularly ferocious and his father was out on the sea and he worried about his crew whenever they ventured into dangerous waters, but he'd never worried about someone like Kitty.

The thought of something bad happening to her was unbearable. If he'd arrived a few minutes later to find Sir Walter raping her then he would have felt as though he'd failed her in every way a man could fail a woman. He had to protect her, there was no other way. She was it; she was the only one he would ever worry about from this day on. If she was gone ... then he might as well be gone too.

But how could he ever ponder these feelings when he was about to ship out for a very long time. It was a miracle if they ever made port in England, let alone London. He was being ridiculous.