Frantically she searched out the discarded sheet to cover her nakedness. Scarcely had she found it and shielded herself when the door opened. The light from a single lantern spilled into the cabin. It was McCarney. A frisson passed down Jessie’s spine as the man spoke.
“Hawk, ye asked me to tell ye when we’ve arrived at the mouth o’ the Ashley. We’ve come in as silently as the mist, as ye said we should—none ha’e seen us, I’m certain.”
Christian nodded. “Lower the boat... we’ll be there in ten minutes.”
“Aye, sir, will do.”
When McCarney would have peered into the cabin, Christian slammed the door in his face. Turning to the bed, he saw that Jessie was sitting, facing him, the sheets pressed protectively to her bosom. His head pounded fiercely—his conscience worse.Unable to face her, he turned from her, seeking out his breeches in the darkness, not bothering to light a lantern.
The less light, the better, for they were not so far from land that they might not be discovered yet.
“Get up and get dressed.”
“I don’t understand... It is the middle of the night,” she protested.
“Just do it,” he directed. “Or I shall do it for you.”
She moved hesitantly from the bed, drawing the coverlet away, and came away with a torn fragment of her gown within her hand. Her face contorted, and his heart twisted. “Why must we go about in the dead of the night, when only thieves and rogues prowl about? I cannot bear to be part of such depravity!”
Christian had no need of light to know that she was weeping now. He could hear the sorrow plainly in her voice, and he had the sudden urge to go to her, but then she spoke again and her anger kept him at bay.
“How can you do treason against the Crown, Christian? And my cousin—my God! I cannot fathom what would make Ben follow?—”
“The likes of me?” The implication was clear. “Can you not?” Hearing only her grief for Ben’s sake, he taunted, “Poor, poor Ben. And so you believe I’ve corrupted him?”
Jessie turned away, unable to face him, but it was an unnecessary gesture, for the room was too dark to see more than shadows. “I don’t know what to believe anymore.”
“Well then, allow me to enlighten you,mon amour.”
Fastening his breeches, he came closer, until he could see her face more clearly—pallid in the light of the moon. “Like me, Ben is appalled by the lack of justice in The Colonies. But I cannot begin—nor have I the time or inclination—to give you all the arguments for what I do. I make no apologies for what I am, Jessamine.”
And yet, giving lie to his words, he sat beside her upon the bed. Prying the tattered gown she held from her hand, he stroked it meditatively between his own fingers, looking down upon it with genuine regret. “I’m sorry, Jessie... this should never have happened between us.”
He peered up at her then, dropping the tatter of her clothing in favor of a strand of her hair, rubbing it wistfully between his fingertips. Her eyes were such a brilliant green, luminous with unshed tears. For a long instant their gazes held, and he felt himself transported in time, to a sweeter moment he’d found beneath an old elm tree. He’d loved her even then, he realized, for she’d made him yearn to be that man she saw in him. Only that man didn’t exist. He almost looked away then, so much sorrow and regret did he feel... and still...
Ah, but Christ... even now, he felt the need to explain himself to her when never before had he even thought to doubt his motives, or himself. He tried to conceive of a way to explain... some way to make her comprehend.
Recalling a certain conversation they’d had once, so very long ago, he said, “Do you remember, Jessie... once, some time ago, we discussed at length Adelard of Bath’s questions on nature?”
She nodded and Christian lifted her chin gently with a finger, searching her eyes through the shadows. “What did he speak of? Being guided by reason? Of authority as a halter?” As he spoke, he never lifted his gaze from her shadowed face. “‘For what else should authority be called but a halter?’“ he recounted, his tone soft but impassioned as he spoke. She closed her eyes, refusing to see him, but he continued nonetheless, “‘Indeed, just as brute beasts are led by any kind of halter, and know neither where nor how they are led, and only follow the rope by which they are held, so the authority of your writers leads into danger not a few who have been seized and bound by animal credulity. For they do not know that reason has been given to each person, so thatwith it as the first judge he may distinguish between the true and the false. And whosoever does not know or neglects reason,’” he finished, “‘should deservedly be considered blind.’ Is that not what he wrote, Jess?”
A tear slipped through her lashes, silent and wretched, and it tugged at his heart.
She opened her eyes to him then.
“Well, I am not blind!” he told her with feeling, gripping her jaw a little harder to gain her full attention, though not hard enough to hurt her. “Nor am I an animal to be led blindly by a halter to my grave! I am a man, Jessie, and only a man, but with a heart and mind that tell me things are not as they should be. I merely do my part to change what I cannot abide—and I am not alone! Our number is great. Your cousin is only one of many, so do not fault him—nor myself—if you would, until you know and understand our grievances.”
She gripped his wrist firmly. “Then tell me,” she pleaded. “Explain them to me... Make me understand, because I do not!”
He let his hand drop from her face, but still she did not release his wrist. “I’ve not the time just now, but aye, I shall... and soon... just not now.”
Freeing himself from her grasp, Christian rose to stand before her. Jessie averted her gaze, staring at her hands. She clasped and unclasped them, holding them fast in her lap.
Christian shook his head, his jaw working. He couldn’t be weak, knew he couldn’t be weak, but he was. “Dress yourself. We are awaited and the hour grows late. Morning comes swiftly, and I would see you safe at Shadow Moss before the first light.”
She turned her face upward in question, her brows furrowing softly. “Shadow Moss?” She shook her head, uncomprehending.
“My home, Jessamine; ’tis where you’ll stay until such time as Ben heals... and then you’ll return to your uncle.”
