Page 113 of Exile's Return

Daniel tightened his grip on the child. ‘Yes, I really am a pirate.’

He glanced down at Agnes, who smiled up at him. Nothing and nobody would ever separate her from the children again, not if they valued their lives.

‘Thank you,’ she whispered.

Chapter 48

Preston, 30 November 1659

Daniel leaned against the doorjamb, watching Agnes as she bent over the bed to kiss the two small heads that rested on the bolster. The only light in the room came from a single candle and the warm, reassuring glow of the fire.

‘Are they asleep?’ he asked in a low voice.

She looked up and started as she saw him. ‘How long have you been there?’

‘Long enough,’ he said.

He crossed to the narrow cot shared by the two children and looked at them, all care and trouble now banished from their soft, round faces. Something stirred within him. They were not his children, but as he had held Henry’s small, trembling body in his arms, he knew he would have killed Tobias Ashby and even Leah Turner without a second thought if it meant keeping the children safe.

Sarah Truscott came into the room, carrying a tray. She set it down on the table. ‘Some broth, mistress. You’ve not eaten all day.’

Agnes nodded and carried the bowl across to the fire. She sat on the stool as Sarah busied herself tidying up scattered clothing before excusing herself and leaving them alone together.

Daniel crouched down beside Agnes, poking the fire into life. It gave him something to do, something to keep his hands busy.

‘Kit and Jonathan?’ Agnes asked.

‘Kit’s asleep. The doctor gave him some sort of draught that knocked him out in minutes. Jonathan’s reading a book.’

‘I keep thinking, if Turner hadn’t turned on Ashby we would all be dead,’ Agnes said. ‘Why did he do it?’

‘For completely base reasons. Jonathan bribed him.’

‘When?’

‘Jonathan let himself be captured and demanded an interview with Turner. He put a business proposition to Turner and the man agreed. From what Jonathan tells me, I think Turner could see that there was no future tied to a man like Ashby, or he would not have acquiesced quite so readily.’

‘I’m almost sorry he’s dead,’ Agnes said.

Daniel shrugged. ‘We’re here and we’re safe. We have the gold, and you have the children. Turner’s death was the price we had to pay.’

She set the wooden bowl down. ‘You’re right, Daniel. We’re here. What now?’

Daniel straightened and leaned his hands on the mantle.

Aboard theArchangel,his plans had been quite simple. Return to England, find his brother, seek out Tobias Ashby, kill him, return to Eveleigh, and pick up the threads of his life. The reality had proved more complex. Yes, he had found Kit, but the price Kit had paid for his freedom was more than he could ever repay. Yes, he had found Tobias Ashby, but killing the man in cold blood would have reduced him to Ashby’s level.

He shook his head. ‘I don’t know, Agnes.’

He turned to look at her. The firelight bathed her in gold and shadows. She had not slept in over twenty-four hours and her eyes seemed lost in dark circles of absolute exhaustion. A meeting of mutual convenience had become so much more. He couldn’t imagine his life without her, but the children had always come first with Agnes, and, rightly, always would.

He wondered if there was still a small part of Agnes that had room for someone else.

‘What are you thinking?’ she asked.

‘I am thinking that is a foolish question that women always ask. A man’s thoughts are very simple.’

Her mouth quirked into a smile. ‘Food, and…’ she lowered her eyes, ‘How to get the next woman they meet into bed?’