Chapter Sixteen
Elizabet stood on the dock, mesmerized by the waves that pounded in time with her heart. She took a deep breath and licked the salt from her lips. Whether it came from the sea spraying on her face or from her tears, she didn’t know. Leaving Alice had been gut-wrenching. She had been her closest friend and confidante for so many years. The thought of not seeing her again, perhaps ever, was a bitter sadness. But the thought of turning around and going back to her life as though nothing had happened was intolerable. She would miss Alice, desperately. But she couldn’t bear to be without John.
“Are you coming aboard, my lady?”
Elizabet looked up at the crewman who’d addressed her and stepped onto the gangplank, pointing to her trunk. “I—”
“No, she is not.”
Elizabet looked up. She met John’s furious gaze and thrust her chin in the air. She’d known he would object. He was too protective of her by far.
“Oh yes I am.” She tried to pass him, but John blocked her path.
“Elizabet.” His harsh whisper nearly broke her heart, but she wouldn’t let it deter her. In fact, it made her more determined than ever.
The crewman looked back and forth between the two of them. “Is there a problem, sir?”
“Aye.”
“No.” They answered at the same time.
Elizabet thrust her satchel into the man’s hands. “Please put my bag in my husband’s cabin.”
She flushed hotly at John’s surprised intake of breath but forced herself to keep eye contact with the young crewman until he bobbed his hat at her and scurried back on board. She tried to shoulder past John, but he grabbed her arm.
“I dinna ken what ye think ye are doing, but I’m not going to allow ye to throw away yer life to come traipsing along with me.”
“I’ve never traipsed in my life, thank you very much. And I’m not throwing away my life, Jack. I’m living it, for once.”
“Elizabet—”
She rounded on him, her desperation to be with him melting into a frantic anger. “You won’t change my mind,” she said. She stuck her finger in his face like a nursemaid scolding her charge. “I’m not going to lose you again, do you hear me? If I have to follow you to the ends of the earth, then so be it. But I will never go through that again.”
John stared at her and then slowly brought his hand up to cup her face. “My brave, sweet, beautiful lass.” He leaned down and kissed her so gently her heart nearly broke all over again. “Ye do me great honor.”
Elizabet smiled. “Then let’s go aboard, my love. Our future awaits.”
She climbed onto the tilting deck of the ship, grateful for the firm grip John kept on her arm. He steered her to where the crewman had disappeared with her bag, drawing her in to whisper in her ear. “Ye told the crewman to place yer belongings in my cabin, which creates something of a problem.”
“What problem? I know that I’m not truly your wife yet, but no one needs to know.”
He smiled. “Well, aye, that would be wise, however that was not the problem I meant.”
“Which would be?”
John stopped in front of a narrow door and opened it. “This is what I meant.”
Elizabet crammed her skirts through the door of the tiny cabin and looked around. Light poured in through a porthole. A small desk and chair were against another wall. John’s trunk with her trunk atop it sat beside the desk and opposite everything was a very small, very narrow bed. Her eyes lingered on the bunk. John crowded in behind her and shut the door. Suddenly, all Elizabet was aware of was the heat of him against her and the fact that they would be crammed together in this very tiny cabin for several days, at least. Alone.
“Now do ye understand?” he asked.
She shivered at his breath on her neck and leaned back against him. “No. I still don’t understand the problem.”
“Don’t ye?” He turned her around, his hands gripping her arms.
Elizabet licked her lips and prayed she could keep her voice steady when she answered him. “Well, the space is very limited to be sure, but I’m certain we’ll manage.”
John’s chuckle filled the tiny space. “Ye must think me made of iron if ye believe I am strong enough to keep myself from ye when we will be forced to share such close quarters.”
It was Elizabet’s turn to look surprised. “The thought never crossed my mind.”
John pulled her even closer and leaned in to nip at her earlobe. “Nay?”
“We have…indulged before,” she said, putting her hands on his chest to keep some distance between them. “I don’t expect, or want, you to keep yourself from me.”
John’s hold on her tightened. “Aye, but I didna wish to presume I ken yer mind on the matter. Succumbing in the heat of passion is quite different from choosing such…recreations, without the benefit of a priest.”
Elizabet laughed quietly. “Well, I admit, I have been spending a fair amount of time with a notorious outlaw. I may have picked up a few bad habits.”
“Is that so? What sorts of things did this brigand teach ye?”
Elizabet smiled slowly and leaned in to him. “I’m afraid it would be utterly inappropriate to share that with anyone but my husband.”
“Ah, so ye still want to marry me?” He leaned down and brushed his lips across hers.
She shivered and rose on her tiptoes to deepen the kiss. His arms wrapped around her waist, lifting her off her feet. The sudden lurch of the ship knocked them off-balance, and they bumped into the door of the cabin. She laughed and then took his beloved face in her hands. “Of course, I still want to marry you,” she murmured against his lips.
“Well then. We can quietly take the captain aside, once we are safely out to sea, and ask him to marry us. Or we can wait until we reach France and marry there. Whatever happens between us before we get there makes no difference.”
“Because you are my husband.”
“And you are my wife.”
“The actual ceremony might have to wait a bit, that’s all,” Elizabet said with a laugh.
John gave her a slow, smoldering smile. “I love ye, Elizabet Harding.”
“That would be Elizabet MacGregor, if you please.”
He leaned forward and kissed her. “I pray ye dinna ever regret choosing me.”
“I’d never!”
“It may not be an easy life, Elizabet. We won’t be able to return. Charles could only help me so far. I maintain some of my smaller holdings in Scotland, but my lands in England are forfeit. We may be able to return to Scotland one day. But even that may be too close for comfort. Will ye be happy never returning home?”
“My home is with the man I love. I will gladly take remote hideaways, flying bullets, and all the uncertainty that has come with loving you, as long as I can lie in your arms every night and wake to you every morning. I will never regret choosing you.”
John released the breath he was holding. “I’ll try not to disappoint ye,” he said, as he claimed her lips once more.
She pulled away long enough to gaze into his eyes. “You never could. As long as I have you. That’s all I want.”
The ship lurched again and John pulled Elizabet down to the bunk with him. “Well, my love, have me ye shall.”
A cry rose from outside the ship, and John went to the porthole to look out. A group of soldiers led by a furious-looking Fergus stood on the dock, shouting at the ship. Answering shouts came which seemed to make Fergus angrier.
“John,” Elizabet said, slipping her hand into his. “Am I discovered so soon?”
“Aye, my love. It looks as though ye might be.”
She tried to keep her hand steady but couldn’t help the slight tremor that ran through her.
John brought her hand up to his lips and gently kissed it. “Nay worries, my love. Look.”
He pointed out the window…at the receding shoreline. Hope burst in her breast.
“Does that mean…”
“Aye. We’re safe for now. The ship is already underway, going out with the tide. There’s no turning her around now, and I doubt Fergus took the time to get the necessary authority to take a smaller boat to meet us.”
“We’re safe,” she said with a smile.
He nodded, though Elizabet recognized the crease in his brow that spoke of his unease. He’d stolen Fergus’s prize possession. And Fergus was not a man who would let that go. But for now…she shoved that thought aside and wrapped her arms about her love.
His lips covered hers as the ship left the harbor. Neither of them noticed as England slipped away.