Carried Home (22 page)

 

Addie studied Mr. Douglas, or Lord Trenton, as she supposed his real name was, through lowered lashes. She regretted nothing more than their last conversation, when she had been terribly rude and he had been terribly polite, considering the thoughtless things she had said to him. What did he think of her? Most likely nothing well.

She was also incredibly aware of how close he was as they strolled down the narrow sidewalk. Their shoulders occasionally bumped, sending sparks flying through Addie's body. She wondered if Adam felt the same sensation.

What was she thinking? She had no desire to bring another man into her life. Ever. It was out of the question. Even recently, she had been betrayed by her former employer, Mr. Faulke, when he had planned to hire another woman to replace her at her job. Men had a long history of being useless to her. There was no way she wanted to deal with another one of the inadequate species.

“Mrs. Poole?”

Addie's face heated. Now he was
talking
to her?
And
he was calling her by her married name. She was not certain she could handle that. A groan escaped her lips. “Yes, mister?”

“I am really, truly sorry for spilling the tea on you. It was an accident.” He reached out and grabbed her hand in a gentle gesture. “I hope your hand is healing well.” Addie glanced down, where his hand still held hers. Her skin was slightly pink, but there was hardly even a mark left from the hot liquid.

“Mr. Douglas, I know it was an accident. I wanted to apologize for how poorly I treated you.” The words were hard for her to admit, but it was right of her to apologize.

He swallowed hard. “Mrs. Poole…” Then cleared his throat. “Do you prefer to be called Mrs. Poole or Miss Thompson, milady?”

“Miss Thompson, I beg you, sir.”

He nodded. “Miss Thompson, you did not treat me poorly.”

Addie clenched her hands into fists. Only then did she realize Mr. Douglas still held her hand in his. She jerked it away. “I did treat you poorly. I was sitting there whining about hot tea spilling on my hand, when you…when you…” A sob in her throat tore her voice away. This poor man. She could not imagine what it would be like to be so scarred for the rest of her life.

“When I what, Miss Thompson?” He straightened to his full height. His voice rose. “When I was burned? When I was foolish enough to stand next to a building that exploded right at me? When my entire left side was scarred?” He gestured wildly to his face. “No, milady. It was not fair you complained about the tea to me. But
I don't care.
So stop worrying about me.”

Tears wetted Addie's eyes. She felt her chin quiver. A deep breath failed to steady her.

“Mr. Douglas?” Gage's voice sliced through the air.

Addie brushed the tears from her eyes with the backs of her hands and spun to face her brother.
Captain Thompson, Captain Archer and his wife, and Ivy had all stopped and were staring at Addie and Mr. Douglas.
Heat crept up her neck.

Gage stepped between Addie and Mr. Douglas, nudging her behind him. “What is going on here?”

“I-I apologize, sir.” Adam ducked his head.

“Nothing is going on, Gage.” Addie grabbed her brother from behind. He shrugged off her arm gently.

“Then why are you crying, sister? I trust Adam…he has been my closest friend on my ship since he signed on, but if he made you cry…” Gage's jaw clenched. Ivy came up and rested a hand on Gage's arm. His body loosened, but he still was as angry as Addie had ever seen him.

“Gage, this is not anything to worry about. Please do not concern yourself.” Addie tapped her foot on the ground.

Gage stepped closer to Mr. Douglas. Although Douglas was a tall man, Gage still was taller than him by an inch or two. Panic swept through Addie. Her brother would not punch a man, would he? “Why did you make my sister cry?”

“I am sorry, Captain. I was careless in what I said.” He nodded to Addie. “I hope you will accept my most sincere apology, Miss Thompson.”

“Mr. Douglas, you did not say anything that upset me. I don't know why I started crying. I have not cried in years. If anything, I was just upset with myself.” Addie laid a hand on Mr. Douglas's arm. He nodded and offered her a half smile.

“Well, I do not want to see you upset her ever again.”

“Gage!” Addie swung her fist into her brother's arm. He yelped, and caught her fist in his hand.

Adam offered her brother a friendly smile, but his gaze seemed fixated on nothing but Addie. “I will not, Captain. You have my word.”

****

Gage felt like punching the man square across the jaw. Addie had always been the one person that made him feel at home his entire life. She was his only true family left. And when he saw she had been hurt, he certainly wanted to hurt the man who made her feel that way, even if that man had been his closest confidant for the past few weeks. Adam may be a friend, but hurting his sister was not a thing for a friend to do.

He shook his head. Really, he was overreacting. Addie was fine. Adam had not done anything to hurt her. There was nothing wrong.

Caspian clapped Gage on the back, and then slung an arm around his wife's waist and continued forward down the sidewalk. Gage sped to catch up with them.

Ivy's hand landed on his elbow and slid down to his hand. Gage took a deep breath. The side of her skirt brushed against his trouser leg, making him even more aware of the ring in his pocket. He needed to get this woman alone for once so he could propose.

For a few moments, they walked forward in silence.

“The weather is lovely today, is it not?” Eden murmured, glancing back at the rest of the group.

Gage grunted.

Addie mumbled some pleasantry.

“Yes, it is. And I love the chance to walk on land again. I have been on a ship far too long in the recent past,” Ivy spoke up.

Gage furrowed his brow. He hoped she did not dislike sailing too much. Of course, once they were married, they would settle somewhere so they had a house to live in, but Gage needed to continue his privateering if they wanted any money to live off of. And he was not about to leave his wife home alone while he was out sailing. No, she would go on his voyages with him like Eden did with Caspian. If she wanted to. Hopefully she did not mind. He really needed to hurry up and propose to her so they could actually discuss all of this. They would probably need to take regular trips to London so she could see her family, but that was not a problem for Gage as long as she was happy.

He stopped in his tracks so suddenly that Addie bumped into his back in an effort to slow down. “Ivy and I are going to go check on the children. We can meet you all at the docks. I think I know of a shorter way to get there from the beach, so we can easily get back to you in time.”

“What?”

Gage gently nudged Ivy in the side before she could say she had never discussed going back to check on the children. She seemed to take the hint and closed her mouth.

Caspian and Eden turned around. “If it will make you feel better, you can. But I am certain they are all right.”

Eden smiled. “Reed is a good, smart boy. He will be able to take care of himself and little Emma.”

“Thank you, but I think we will check on them. Just to be sure.”

Ivy gazed up at him prettily, her stone-gray eyes wide in question. He offered her a wink.

****

“I never said we needed to go back and check on the children. Granted, I was worried about Emma, but as you and so many people have told me, Eden's son is responsible enough to handle the situation.” Ivy picked up the powder-blue skirt she had borrowed from Eden and sped up to catch up with Gage as he charged through the streets of Charles Town.

The man let out a long, low groan, whirled around, and grabbed her around the waist. He lowered his mouth to hers and suddenly he was kissing her there, right in the middle of the town. Ivy's arm made its way up to his shoulder and rested against his chest. She only pulled away when some bystanders whistled. She had not realized there were people watching. Ivy gently slapped the side of his arm. “You cannot keep kissing me like that when people are watching!”

He chuckled and tucked her hand in his elbow. “I needed some way to stop you from babbling and babbling on, my dear.”

Ivy resisted the urge to roll her eyes. He had dragged her away from her friends yet again, and for what? Why did he keep doing this to her?

They walked a ways out of town, toward the beach. There was no sign of Reed and Emma nearby, but they had probably just wandered off to the other side of the grasses. Gage halted in his tracks and faced her.

“What is it you wanted, Gage?”

He opened his mouth as if he intended to speak, and then closed it. Then he scrubbed his hands over his face. Shoved a hand in his pocket. Took a deep breath. “Ivy…I've been trying to ask you this question for a long time.”

Her breath halted in her throat.

“And I figured it is about time I finally go about doing it.”

“Yes?”

His face bloomed red. He opened his mouth and closed it again. “Ivy, I feel like I am bumbling like an idiot in front of you, but I don't know what exactly to say. I never seem to have the right words to use when I am around you.”

“Oh, Gage…you do not bumble around me.” She laid a hand on his arm. The poor man. He was really endearing when he got embarrassed like this.

“Well, I do sometimes. But what I am trying to say is—”

“Papa! Help!” The voice garbled. “Mama!” A cry rent the air.

****

Shock sucked the breath from Gage's lungs. That was Reed's voice. Reed was in trouble, and if Reed was in trouble, then where was Emma?

“Reed? Where are you?”

“Help me!”

Gage sprang forward, jogging across the beach. Ivy followed right on his heels. If he had time to think, he would have admired how quickly she could move in all those skirts.

His gaze landed on the ocean. The water was moving rapidly.

The tide was coming in.

Dread raced through his heart. “Reed! Are you in the water? Can you hear me?”

“Mr. Thompson?” The child's voice sounded ragged, as if he were gasping for breath.
Please, Lord, don't let him be in the water. Not with Emma, too.

Oh Lord, where is Emma?

With the strength of the tide, there would be almost no chance of locating them and bringing them back to safety.

“Reed, answer me right now! Where are you?”

“Emma!” Gage spared a second to look at his woman. She was sobbing, her voice raw. He did not have a moment to spare to comfort her, or he would. Truth was, he was pretty near sobbing himself.

“Mr. Thompson? I'm out on these rocks. The water keeps coming faster and faster. I can't hold Emma this high much longer, Mr. Thompson. You need to come save us.”

You need to come save us.
Worry nibbled at Gage. He had never been the one to save someone. Caspian had always been the stronger man. The better captain. Well, now Caspian was not here. It was quite possible Reed and Emma's lives rested in his hands.

“Gage. Go!” Ivy shoved him from behind. He surged forward once more. The tall grasses of the beach blurred by as he ran. How far had the children gotten?

Ivy let out a horrified screech. “Stop!”

Gage strained against her grip on his arm. What on earth was the woman thinking? Reed had said he needed help, now.

He shook his arm. “What is wrong with you?” He hadn't intended for that to sound like a growl.

She pointed straight ahead of them. A wild boar faced them with bared fangs.

“Mr. Thompson!” Reed might as well have been in the middle of the ocean, perched on a jagged rock, Emma balanced in his arms. The moment Emma saw him and Ivy, she wiggled, kicked her legs, reached her arms out, and wailed as Reed screamed once more, “Mr. Thompson, please help us!”

The child must have run off onto the jagged bar of land to escape the boar, and the tide had come in behind him and was still rising. Well, Gage could try to go out and rescue them, but he was not about to leave Ivy alone on the beach with an angry wild animal. Maybe if he just waited for Caspian to come, everything would be all right.

“Gage, you need to do something. Now. The water is rising. I don't know if Reed can stay there much longer with the waves crashing against his legs. Go save them!” Ivy shoved him forward.

God, help me. I am not going to abandon my woman on this shore without any protection from that beast. But I cannot leave the children to get carried off by the current of the ocean. I don't trust myself to save them on my own. I'm never good enough. Never strong enough. Let Caspian come. Adam, even. I don't trust myself.

Tears sprang into his eyes, but he quickly battled them back. What kind of man was he?

You are good enough for me. Trust me.

Gage sucked in a deep breath. He had been telling Ivy this whole voyage to place her trust in God. Maybe it was about time he trusted God enough to give him the strength to do what he needed to do.

His gun. His gun! Why had he not thought of that before? He knew why, though. Because he had been too paralyzed with fear to even hold a rational thought.

“Gage, you need to
help them!
”

Gage drew the pistol from his waistband. Caspian and common sense had taught him to carry the firearm with him nearly everywhere he went, and he was certainly glad he had today. He aimed at the sand next to the boar, and fired a shot.

The animal let out a roar and leapt closer to him. Panic surged through his veins. He did not want to kill the creature. It might have piglets, and the little ones could not go without a parent.

Still, the boar charged straight at him. Ivy screeched. It shoved at her legs with its head, and caught her skirt between its teeth. “Gage!”

The boar's piglets would have to do without their mother if it intended to hurt Ivy.

Gage reloaded his pistol with wavering hands, but quickly tried to steady himself as he aimed far away enough from the boar to not kill it, and fired. It hit the animal in the hoof. The creature let out a cry and jerked backwards. After a moment, it ran until it was completely out of view, yelping with each step. Ivy struggled to her feet and appeared unharmed. Gage's legs nearly collapsed out from underneath him with the relief that coursed through his body. But that quickly faded when he heard the children's whimpering. He longed to take Ivy in his arms and comfort her, to make sure she was not injured, but he needed to go out there and save Reed and Emma.

“Stay here, Ivy.”