Cadence

Twelve

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Systematically Curtis searched every nook and cranny of the dock and when he turned up no sign of ‘Cam’ or a pretty young woman with blond curls he ventured into London. What had he been thinking to leave her alone on board the ship? She’d been threatening to disappear once they reached London all along.

And now he might never see her again.

He didn’t want to never see her again, but moreover London was a rough city. Lord only knew what fate could befall a beautiful young woman like Cadence who was entirely without means or experience.

All the thoughts that had swirled endlessly through his mind for the last weeks seemed now to reach a single point of clarity. He’d hurt her, used her, and it was time to make it right. Instinctively he shied away from the thought of marriage. For years he’d been reminding himself what a miserable, undeserving wretch he really was. Even now his mind screamed, murderer! You can’t have her… You don’t deserve her… You’ll burn in hell…

The thoughts tormented him mercilessly.

But he’d moved so far beyond deserving her.

The moment he’d succumbed to weakness and bedded her he’d known the pattern of guilt and self-loathing in his uncommitted life would have to be amended. It wasn’t until now he’d been forced to make the decision. In light of her father’s murder—whatever the truth of that might be—she neededhim. No one had ever needed him before…

Even as he searched for her a plan formulated in his mind. A rather brilliant plan if said so himself. He would marry her, take her home to Charleston, and see her through this mess with her father’s murder. Once that was behind them he’d buy her a house, clothes, whatever she wanted, make sure she was set for life and then escape back to the sea.

For Curtis the sea was a necessity… Running was a necessity…Escape was essential. If he stayed in one place for too long memories of the past would drive him mad. This plan could be perfect. She could be Mrs. Langston and go shopping and entertain guests. Isn’t that what women wanted? And he… well, he could continue on as before, only now there would be something worth coming back to. Surely it wasn’t too much to have a beautiful wife waiting in port a few days at a time between voyages.

Yes, it would be ideal. Perfect. Provided he could findher. “Bloody hell,” he muttered.

Darkness was settling over the city and a deep despair that she may be truly lost crept into his conscious. Stepping wearily into what must have been the twentieth Inn in White Chapel district Curtis brushed off the brazen hands of the hackneyed tavern maid and strode purposefully to the desk where the landlord sat. He hated to think of Cadence in a slum like this. A stale musty odor hung in the air of the dimly lit tavern, and the clientele appeared a less than reputable bunch. A woman like Cadence wouldn’t last a day before some tragedy befell her.

“Good evening, sir,” Curtis approached the desk. “I am looking for a young boy and a young woman with curly blonde hair traveling alone. Have you seen either of them?”