Behind Your Eyes

by Susannah Woods

  Anne felt his presence the instant she heard her doorknob click open. She remained where she was, feigning disinterest. When he sighed, Anne detected a myriad of emotions.

  “Anne, we must go now. Are you ready?” His voice was still cold, detached.

  “I don't want to leave. I thought you said you would leave me for a year? What business do you have coming into my bedchamber in the middle of the night?! You, sir, are a blackguard,” she shot back.

  “I have business. We must go now. I'm sorry, I cannot afford to lose more time.”

  “You expect me to leave my house at, what, four in the morning?” She asked, checking the clock on her mantle, “And for your business!” She added for emphasis.

  “I am asking you to trust me, Anne.”

  “No,” she shook her head furiously. He wasn't going to take her anywhere without good cause.

  “You have no say. You are my wife to be and you will obey me. Get your valise and let's go. Now. Or I shall remove you bodily.” His tone was uncompromising.

  When she refused to move, he started towards her but when he came near her, she sank her teeth into the soft flesh between his thumb and forefinger.

  Alex let out a silent but urgent yelp as Anne's teeth made contact with his hand. He recovered quickly, placing his hand over her mouth.

  “Ow!” He said, shaking out the pain in his hand. “I will not hurt you, just be still!”

  Anne was not about to listen to this. She kicked, wiggled, and squirmed as hard as she could as he tried to pick her up.

  “Miss Stafford, stop wiggling or I shall have to tie you up,” Alex threatened in a low but commanding voice.

  Pretending to acquiesce, she stopped momentarily. Once his hand left her mouth, she jumped out of his reach, heading for the door.

  “Anne, please be reasonable and do as your told,” Alex hissed.

  The remark was like a slap in the face. Sending eye daggers his way, Anne refused to move again.

  “You are a villain who has clearly lost his mind,” she decided coolly.

  Alex was not about to get into a debate over his sanity or his morals. Rather than say more things to incite her, he simply picked her up and threw her over his shoulder.

  CHAPTER SIX

  “I loved your mother most for her spirit.”

  The night was chilled as Alex hurried to the waiting carriage, unceremoniously dumping Anne inside. Charles, Sophia, and a good number of trunks and valises were already piled into the coach. Scrambling up into a small, available space, he signaled for the coachman to get moving. They had to reach the docks soon. It was near five o'clock and he wanted to be safely on his ship by sunrise.

  Racing for the docks, the coachman urged the team faster and faster. Alex sat in unsettled silence, staring out the window. Anne was too stunned to attempt speech, merely swaying with the coach lanterns as they swiftly rounded corners. No one bothered small talk as they hastened to their destination.

  They arrived at Alex's ship at quarter five. The sun was not up yet, but the sky was colored with grays and pinks, signaling the day's imminent entrance. Alex jumped from the carriage, pulling Anne with him. Handing the coachman a heavy purse, he dragged Anne over the docks, up the plank, onto his ship, Maria Rosa. The others followed behind, wordless. Alex didn't care. He was in the middle of making a point and he would have brooked no arguments at this moment.

  Signaling to a lone man on the deck, Alex continued to pull Anne along with him as he hastened to the stairs and into a cabin.

  “This is your cabin. Your chests and valise will be here shortly. Settle in. My man, Thomas, will bring you and your mother some food. We will be pulling anchor soon and rolling out with the tide. It will be a long voyage, I suggest you be patient,” he warned her.

  Anne had plenty of time to think of insults on the ride over and finally came to her senses enough to let them fly.

  “You are a miserable wretch, you know that?”

  He shrugged, “I am so sorry you feel that way, princess,” irony and ice dripping from every word.

  Anne flinched but refused to be cowed by her future husband.

  “Look, I told you how I felt! It was you who refused to believe me. That does not give you the right to practically kidnap me. I thought you wanted to take your time with this engagement? You sure have a funny way of showing it.”

  “Kidnap you? Ha!” He barked, “You wanted to be my wife? Now you will be.” At that, he left without giving Anne a chance to respond.

  There is a spot on his cheek that would look great with my hand print on it, she thought, spiteful.

  “Anne, darling, these quarters are not acceptable. I must speak with the earl at once.” Sophia breezed into the room as if her daughter's life had not just turned upside down.

  “Mother, this is the captain's cabin,” Anne said quietly.

  “Yes. And it would do nicely for one person, however, there are two of us. Be reasonable, dear.”

  Hot, miserable anger bubbled up in Anne. No one ever bothered to really listen to her. And she could now add fiance to that list. A man she had seriously thought a friend. As her thoughts tumbled in her head, her anger suddenly exploded.

  It took Anne all of two seconds to flee the cabin, run up the stairs, and burst onto the deck. Luckily, Alex wasn't far and she stomped right up to him.

  “Don't think for one minute that I will stand for this!”

  Alex turned around to face Anne and had to smile. She had come barging up to him looking like a crazed animal. Her hair was tousled; her eyes, wild. She looked angry. And....oh no....completely adorable.

  Alex had come back to the deck to find his first mate, Thomas, after he had shown Anne to her cabin. He had only managed to ask him if everything was ready when Anne had interrupted. She had not demanded anything of him yet but her look told him his reprieve was over. He excused himself from Thomas and grabbed Anne's hand, pulling her downstairs once more but this time to another cabin. He removed his coat, moved to his desk, and sat in his chair. Rubbing under his chin with his fingers, he assessed her. Suppressing a groan, he smiled his most charming smile.

  “Miss Stafford, we need to talk. Please have a seat,” he invited in a forced polite tone.

  She nodded and took a seat.

  “Whether or not you manipulated me,” he gave her a pointed look that left no interpretation as to what he believed, “the fact is we are to be married. I live in Colinas Verdes, not England. You knew that. I am just speeding things up. I apologize for the haste in which we have to leave. Nevertheless, I assure you every comfort while aboard.”

  “Thank you very much for your belated courtesy,” she spat, “I just don't understand why you want me with you? I thought we had come to an agreement about our situation? That we could not possibly be married so soon?” The sight of her head bowed, her hands twining in her lap, stirred Alex.

  He examined her through a heavy lidded gaze. If he was honest with himself, he would admit the real reason she was here. He wanted to punish her for toying with him. It wouldn't have been so bad, had her kiss not knocked the breath out of him. He hadn't meant to kiss her so thoroughly, so completely. The kiss was meant to throw her off balance; to drop her guard. Instead, he had dropped his and opened himself up to more heartache. It was Louisa all over again. And it nearly killed him that he would be so stupid again. So sure Anne was different, so positive she was honest with him. So gullible he was.

  “All right,” he said, resigned, “Why don't we start over? Let's forget about how we came to this...arrangement....and just accept it for what it is.”

  He never failed to surprise her. She wanted a fight and here he was, ready to make amends. She thought he rather enjoyed keeping everyone off guard. Especially her. She refused to accept his peace offering. In her mind, he had insulted her too much.

  She composed herself and demanded, “Why did you kidnap me?”

  “I have not kidnapped you. I removed you from your home in the middle
of the night. You had warning. It's not like I appeared in your bedchamber while you were asleep with a gag and a rope.”

  Anne huffed, sputtered. This was going nowhere. It was obvious he cared little for her feelings and that just made it easier to hate him. Hate was much cleaner anyway. Best not to like him. She loved her mother and that didn't bring her much peace.

  Instead of arguing, Anne requested a bath. Surprise flicked over his face but he agreed and let out a breath. The distrustful tension remained in the room as Anne excused herself.

  ***********

  After a quick bath and change of clothes for both Anne and Sophia, Thomas brought in tea and assorted breads for breakfast. Sophia grumbled the entire time about everything being 'unacceptable' and also noted that the Earl was 'mad' and she didn't know why her daughter wanted to marry a crazy man in the first place. Anne almost burst at her mother to remind her this marriage was never her idea, but knew she could never win that argument. Once again, she held her tongue and focused on getting into a clean, comfortable morning dress. Throwing a shawl over her shoulders made her feel a little more at ease and her stomach reminded her she had not eaten for some time now.

  Alex followed a few minutes behind Thomas, just enough to allow the ladies to pour the steaming liquid into their blue china cups. Anne reached for a piece of bread to calm her now-ravenous stomach.

  “I am sorry that we do not have anything more substantial to eat. We will have a hearty dinner, though. Best to eat the bread now, at the beginning of our journey,” Alex explained.

  Glancing around the cabin, he inspected the space to be sure his guests were comfortable. Anne munched on a buttered biscuit as she followed his eyes.

  “My dear Redbridge,” Sophia began and Anne rolled her eyes, “this cabin is just too small for the two of us to occupy for such a long journey. And I refuse to leave England, you see.”

  “And why is that?” A perfectly arched eyebrow told Anne he was going to enjoy this explanation.

  “My...my youngest daughter, of course. I cannot leave England without my little girl, Janey.” Her smile radiated the room and Anne knew her mother was internally celebrating a victory.

  “Where is she now?” Alex asked carefully.

  “Near Bath.”

  Anne watched Alex's face change and wondered what emotions were rolling through him at this moment. If he had to leave here in all due haste, there was no way he would wait for Janey to get here. But Sophia was a formidable woman. She would have her way.

  “You may go back into London with Charles to summon your daughter. You three will follow this ship. Your eldest and I will sail immediately. That is my decision,” he said amidst Sophia's protests.

  Anne shrugged as Alex left them to their quick goodbyes.

  “He is mad,” Sophia decided. Worry creased her brow as she looked, really looked, at her eldest child. In all her haste to marry her off, she had actually not had an honest conversation with her daughter in some time.

  “Anne,” she sighed heavily, “It appears you are to sail this morning. Don't do anything foolish on this voyage. Now that we have him, don't let him slip away. You may want to ensure he sets a wedding date.”

  The look in her mother's eyes gave Anne no doubt to what she was thinking. Seduce him. Anne snorted internally. No way in hell.

  Anne just nodded, kissed her mother goodbye, and turned away before Sophia could see the tears in her eyes.

  Halfway out the door, Sophia softly proclaimed, “I love you.”

  This made Anne smile sadly. She knew this. Knew her mother loved her and really did want her to be happy. She was just too busy meddling. No, that's not right. She was too busy running Anne's life to bother with how she was feeling. A single tear slipped out of Anne's eye and rolled softly down her cheek.

  *********

  Charles had sent a missive right away for Janey and told his aunt to get some sleep. It would be a while before they could leave.

  Sophia emerged from her bedchamber late in the afternoon and Charles braced himself for her tongue-lashing.

  “That friend of yours is a lunatic. Why didn't you tell me?” Sophia spat out to Charles as they sat in library. He was staring, unseeing, at the rows of books in front of him.

  “Aunt Sophia, please,” Charles tried to reason with her, “he is not mad. He had to hurry and you didn't help.”

  Sophia snorted delicately, “I did no such thing. I just hope he doesn't try to back out of this wedding.”

  “He won't. He is a gentleman,” Charles replied, puzzled.

  “It will take weeks, nay months, to catch them,” Sophia reminded him.

  “Then we should make haste,” Charles nodded.

  CHAPTER SEVEN

  “I tried to court your mother properly. But there were...complications.”

  Reluctant to sort out her feelings for her mother or her intended, Anne decided it was best to try to take her mind off of them as much as possible. She regretting leaving in haste, for she had forgotten her sketch pad and pencils. Unwilling to speak with the earl, Anne requested drawing materials from Thomas. Crude substitutes were provided for her that were not perfect, but functional. So, she tried her best to keep occupied; dividing her time between drawing and reading one of the books she found in a trunk in her cabin.

  After a few days at sea, they docked at Tenerife, a bustling port in the Canary Islands. Anne woke to find the view from her window had changed from sea to land. Thomas arrived, carrying breakfast.

  “Where is the captain this morning?” Anne asked, not in the least interested.

  “He has business this morning on the island. I will have a bath drawn for you, if you wish. When the captain returns he will want to take you ashore. He asks that you be ready to accompany him,” Thomas replied kindly.

  Anne nodded. “I will be ready, thank you, Thomas.”

  He bowed and left. Anne enjoyed her breakfast of biscuits and kippers. It wasn't as good as her normal breakfast but she would take it. She knew she would get no coddled eggs and sausages here. Anne ate heartily, praying the trip would be short. After all, she had no idea what Alex had in store for her.

  *********

  “Tio!”

  “Buenos dias, Alexander,” Don Francisco Medina greeted him warmly; embracing him and kissing his cheek.

  Alex's good looks were definitely from his mother's side of the family. Don Francisco was a tall, muscular, handsome man; with dark features like Alex's with one exception. His eyes were not a sparkling emerald but a chocolate brown. His clothes were impeccably neat and he wore a colorful waistcoat, as Alex preferred on himself.

  Alex preferred to just address him as “uncle” in his relative's native Spanish, though his knowledge of the language was rudimentary. That did not prevent him from trying to speak to his uncle in Spanish. This provided a great deal of amusement for both of them. Luckily, Alex's uncle spoke English very well. Normally, Don Francisco would ask Alex to conjugate some verbs, but today they skipped over the language lesson and cut down to business.

  “Tio, my friend, Chris, has been kidnapped. I am heading home. Oh, and I am to be married,” Alex finished in haste.

  “Married?” His uncle asked, a huge smile on his face and amusement shinning in his eyes.

  Alex nodded but something in his uncle's eyes paused his next thought.

  “Tio, it is complicated,” Alex sighed.

  Don Francisco laughed heartily.

  “Alexander, love is always complicated.”

  “This marriage has nothing to do with love,” Alex explained.

  Don Francisco nodded in understanding, “We are, of course, invited to your nuptials?”

  “Of course, Tio,” Alex smiled warmly. We included his uncle and aunt, their daughter, and her husband. He had been in attendance at his cousin's wedding a few years ago. Ava had made a beautiful bride.

  “Who do you suppose is behind this kidnapping?” Don Francisco asked suddenly, pulling Alex out of his memories
.

  “I think the same person who killed my brother,” Alex affirmed.

  “I was sorry to hear of his death,” Don Francisco shook his head sadly. “From what you had told me, he was a good man.”

  “Yes,” Alex nodded, “he was.”

  “You still miss him?”

  “Very much,” Alex said sadly.

  Tio sighed, “As I still miss your mother. She was a good lady. I loved her very much.”

  “I know, Tio. From what you told me, she was very great lady,” Alex replied. Don Francisco had told him a lot about his mother when he had first visited. Alex found out after his father's death that the older man had been writing to Don Francisco since Alex was a small boy. Don Francisco had joyously welcomed the letters with news of his nephew. After Alex's time in the army, he had spent almost a year with his newfound uncle. Alex had loads of questions for him and Don Francisco was very patient, answering all of them and adding information when necessary. Alex had treasured every word his uncle had spoken; knew the story of his parent's romance from his father's point of view. Now he had the whole story of the doomed love affair. It made him sad to think his parents never had a chance in this world. All because they were from different countries and worshiped in different houses. They had loved each other. That was all that should have mattered.

  Today, though, Alex had little time to reminisce with Tio. He really had to get back to his ship. Which was, of course, named for his mother.

  “Well, Alexander, tell me what I can do for you,” Don Francisco said, sensing Alex's impatience.

  “Just come to the island as soon as possible. And keep your guard up. If these people are after me, they will surely try to hurt you. After all, you are the one who lent me the money to start it. And gave me the island, to which I am extremely grateful,” Alex added sincerely.

  “God go with you, Alexander. Keep your young lady safe. I can see she means a great deal to you,” Tio nodded sagely.