Saving The Pirate (Book Two)

9. A Courtship And The Navy

Christopher got up from the bed and paced around the room, silently thinking to himself. He'd been doing that since I said Skip's name.

After some time of neither of us talking, Christopher stopped and looked at me. His eyebrows clashed together furiously, and his lips formed a thin line.

"Skip told you everything, did he? Well, what did Skip say?" Christopher said.

I didn't know if that was the reaction I was expecting. Was that how it was supposed to go? Was he supposed to act defensive?

I fumbled with my words, trying to put them in the right way without making myself look like an idiot.

"He told me you bring women here, use them, and then dump them."

Christopher didn't say anything after that, so I continued.

"He said you're going to do the same to me. He said that you'd use me and then leave me, just like all the other girls you had."

Fear had found its way into my words, and I felt my throat tighten as I was saying them. There was no way to stop them when Christopher neared the bed, standing at the very edge.

"Is that what you think? You think I'll use you and leave you?" His golden eyes looked like sparks in the dim light, and it was hard not to cover myself with sheets and forget I even saw them.

I swallowed and nodded bravely. If I was going down, if I was going to face Christopher, I wasn't going to look like a coward.

Christopher narrowed his eyes. "I can't believe this. You believe Skip over me. Skip, the man that tried to hurt you! What are you thinking!"

"I can't be so sure, can I?" I shouted back. "I barely know you! For all I know, you could be using me!"

"Whatever gave you that impression! For God's sake, Anne, you're listening to a man in a cell!"

I didn't say a word for a moment, and then very silently, and hardly audible, I said, "how do I know if he's telling the truth?"

Christopher sighed and lowered his tone too. "Because I have the letter, " he said and walked to the bathroom.

In the darkening bathroom, I watched Christopher grab his folded trousers and reached inside its pocket, pulling out an envelope.

He came back, opening it up and handing it to me.

I took it embarrassingly and read it out loud.

"Dear son, " it said. "I am welcoming you back to my manor in Scotland. Though I have not addressed you in years, and it is out of place now, I must see you for reasons that I will explain when you arrive. I hope bad blood between us will not get in the way of your decision. You are my flesh and blood. Yours humbly, your father."

I gazed up at Christopher after reading it, clutching the letter in hand, wordless.

Christopher sighed. "I apologize if I didn't show you before. I was embarrassed by my relationship with my father. He and I do not get along very well since I...left, " he said.

I folded the letter back up and handed it over to him. He took it and placed it on the nightstand.

"And for the record, I don't use women. A woman has not stepped on this ship before you. And I do have my share of lovers, women I use to pursue, but I had not met a woman that caught my interest."

Christopher looked up, his face still serious.

"Except you, " he said. "And with your permission, Anne Rachels, I would like to court you. Will you grant me the honor of maybe becoming my wife?"