Stowaway (A Pirate Novel) (Completed)

Chapter 5 In a Locket

Chapter 5

Elle knocked on the door her heart hammering against her ribs.

There was only one light on in the tiny cottage. Harve waited across the street.

Her dad opened the door. He blinked three times then exclaimed. "Elizabeth!" he engulfed her in his arms. "Where have you been? What is that smell?"

She should have anticipated the questions. "Inside daddy. Please, inside."

They moved inside and Elle explained how she had wanted to ask questions about wedding arrangements but had overheard Sir Travis and another man talking about her murder.

They had laughed and sipped brandy. They even made jokes about the wedding night. The maid found her outside the study. She had fled. For two days, she had hid and she changed her looks. The night she had jumped off the cliff, she had gone back to Sir Travirs' to get the papers for the death insurance. He heard her but didn't see her. By the time he broke down the door she was gone. He had sent the dogs and a tracker after her.

She told him that she had stowed away on a ship but said nothing about pirates.

"I'll never be safe. He'll kill me. Or have me killed. I have to go back to the ship," she said.

"We'll deal with him daughter. He can't get away with this." he pulled a locket from his pocket.

"Where did you get it? I thought i lost it in the ocean," she noticed the grief cross his face.

"He told me you committed suicide that he found it on the cliff. I thought you did it because I arranged the marriage." he opened the locket and touched the two tiny pictures inside. Her as a child and one of her mother.

An owl hooted three times outside. "I'm sorry, poppy. I've been here to long." she looked at the mantel. It had been almost two hours. They both stood and she hugged him tight. He tried to hand her the locket. She closed his hand around it.

"Keep it for me. I'll come back as soon as I can." she told him and kissed his cheek. When she walked into the dark street, she felt her anger rise. So much lost. She even felt the growing seeds of revenge.