Shipwrecked (6 page)

“How old are you,
Malcolm?” she asked.

“Old enough,” he
responded, squaring his shoulders and knitting together his eyebrows as if
insulted.

Anna chuckled at
his attempt to look more grown up.  She had a quick flashback to her own
teenage years, remembering vividly what it felt like to yearn to be all grown
up.

“Fifteen?” she
asked, deciding to guess if he wouldn’t tell her his age.

“Sixteen and a
half,” he huffed, dismayed by her badgering.  “I had to grow up fast,” he added
for extra measure, “After Mam and Da passed, I wasn’t given much choice,” he
said, eyes downcast.

“I’m sorry,” Anna
offered and reached out to pat him reassuringly on his knee.

“I’m no a child,”
Malcolm spoke sternly, green eyes lifting up to hold her gaze intently. 
Malcolm grabbed hold of her hand; she was still patting his knee.  “I’ll show
ye that I’m no a child if ye give me the chance, Anna,” he said, squeezing her
hand and leaning closer to her on the pew.

Anna squeezed his
hand in return, “I know that your not a child, Malcolm,” she whispered,
treading carefully so as not to hurt the boy further.

“Give me a chance
tae love ye, give me a chance tae show ye…”

“How could you
possibly love me?  You just met me!”  Anna exclaimed, taken aback by the boy’s
proposal.

“It’s just that yer
sae beautiful, and I…”

The door to the
chapel swung open noisily, and Quinn and Rowan romped jovially up the aisle.

“Still hungry,
Malcolm?”  Rowan asked, voice brimming with enthusiasm.

“More than ye can
imagine,” Malcolm looked longingly at Anna and gave her hand a final squeeze
before releasing it.

Anna knew that
Malcolm was not talking about the needs of his stomach, and swallowed hard, not
wishing to hurt the sweet boy further with her rejection of his attentions.

“Did ye pray for
our souls?” Rowan asked Anna as she stood from the pew and smoothed the fabric
of his shirt, which she was still wearing to cover her shift.

“Not yet, but I
have a feeling that I’ll need to pray for all three of your souls regularly,”
she responded, chuckling slightly.  “I understand why you had to gamble, but it
sure looks like maybe you enjoyed it just a little too much,” Anna said,
appraising the victorious smiles that reigned on Quinn and Rowan’s faces.

“Aye, there are
few things better in life than removing a man’s hard earned money from his
purse over a good game of cards,” Quinn smiled, playfully socking Rowan in the
arm.

Rowan laughed. 
“There are a few men who will not soon forget the night when the Murray
brothers came tae town!”

“Aye, it was
rather costly for them,” Quinn responded, still reveling in their victory.

“Welcome tae North
Carolina!” Rowan exclaimed, and tossed a purse heavy with coins to Anna. 
“Let’s go get something tae eat, and buy ye a dress so that I can have my shirt
back.”

                                                            ***

“I told them that
you’re our sister,” Rowan whispered, eyes sparkling devilishly over his bowl of
steaming stew.  “I wasn’t sure what you would want me to tell them, or if ye
had decided tae go forward with getting’ married, or…”

“At this point, I
don’t care what you told them,” Anna answered wryly, the toll of their
adventure beginning to wear on her.  She was tired to the bone, and ravenous
with hunger.  Never in her life had she tasted such delicious food.  She took
another deep sip of ale, and enjoyed the warm feeling of the alcohol spreading
through her body.

The innkeeper’s
wife approached their table in the small tavern, carrying a bundle of cloth.

“I hope it fits,
it was all that I could find given the late hour,” the elderly woman said,
pushing the bundle into Anna’s hands.

“I’m sure that it
will be perfect, thank you,” Anna smiled, excited by the prospect of being
properly clothed.

“Can I show you
the way up to your room so that you can change?” the woman offered.

“Yes, please,”
Anna said, pushing away from the table and following behind the woman.  “And
don’t you dare touch my supper,” she called over her shoulder; freezing
Malcolm’s had mid-reach towards her bread.

The woman laughed
heartily as she bid Anna to follow her up the stairs.  “I grew up with a
houseful of brother’s myself…loved them dearly, but they sure can be a pain in
the arse!”

Anna snorted in
surprise, and giggled as she followed the woman up the stairs, never having
heard a woman speak in such an open fashion in England.  She just might like
this New World after all.

“Is there anything
else that you might need?” the kind woman asked as they stood inside of Anna’s
room.

“Actually, there
is,” Anna said, eyes scanning the room and noticing the small writing desk the
corner.  “I need to write my… my Uncle a letter, to let him know that we made
it safely and will be at his residence in a matter of weeks,” Anna said, the
words catching in her throat.  Calling Murdock her Uncle made her skin crawl.

“I’ll bring some
paper and an ink well up directly,” the woman nodded, and closed the door
behind her.

She returned a few
minutes later with a sheet of paper, an ink well, a quill and an envelope. 
“Just drop it by the desk when ye come down to the tavern, and we’ll make sure
that it gets to your Uncle,” the innkeeper’s wife said kindly, closing the door
again so that Anna could write her letter in peace.

Murdock,                                                                                
17 April, 1756

            I
surmise that by the time this letter reaches you, you will have heard of the
sinking of the Mary Catherine.  Miraculously enough, I survived the shipwreck
unscathed, and I have found myself in a place called
North Carolina
.

            I
have made the acquaintance of some other survivors of the shipwreck.  They have
graciously agreed to escort me on my journey north to
Williamsburg
,
and have been quite accommodating and attentive to my needs.  I trust that they
will be compensated for their efforts upon my safe arrival into your care.

            Please
tell Jonathon that I fully intend to carry forth with our betrothal, and
although my present circumstances have delayed my arrival, I want no further
delay in our marriage.  I expect that my Mother has received the first
installment of the funds that were promised upon my departure to the
New
World
, and I wish to see documentation confirming her receipt of said
funds upon my arrival in
Williamsburg
.

                                                            Sincerely,

                                                            Miss
Anna Stanton

                                                            ***

Anna walked down
the stairs feeling like a new woman.  Surprisingly, the homespun dress fit her
perfectly, accentuating her small waist and allowing just the right amount of
skin to show about her neckline.  She had brushed her hair, and it floated in
loose golden waves about her shoulders, cascading down her back.

The Murray
brothers had certainly wasted no time in her absence; they were laughing
robustly, moods substantially repaired after a few mugs of ale and a warm
supper. 

“Thank you,” Anna
said, tossing Rowan his shirt, which he immediately shrugged on over his
shoulders and tucked into his pants.  Her senses were heightened as she felt
Rowan’s eyes lock with her own for just a moment longer than was proper.  Even
though the room was crowded and bustling with people, her eyes only saw Rowan,
and when she felt his gaze linger on her, her skin felt hot and her chest began
to tighten. 

Does he feel
this too?

“Aye, now I feel a
bit more civilized,” he smiled, settling back into his shirt and reaching for
the pitcher of ale.  “Care for some more ale?”

“Sure,” she said,
resuming her seat at the table and extending her mug so that Rowan could refill
it.

“Here, Anna,”
Quinn said, sliding a dagger across the wooden table in her direction.

“Thanks,” Anna
smiled, modestly lifting them hem of her gown and tucking the dagger safely
into her garter.  “Where did you get it?” Anna asked skeptically, wondering if
she was now the owner of stolen property.

“I
bought
it off the innkeeper when I got yer dress.  I got weapons for Rowan and myself
too” Quinn said, maintaining his innocence.  “Ye can ask him if ye don’t
believe me,” Quinn invited, eyes flashing defensively to the innkeeper who
stood behind the bar, seeing that Anna wasn’t completely buying his story.

“What in the hell
does she need
that
for?” Rowan asked angrily, feeling left out of the
apparent understanding between Quinn and Anna.

“I don’t ken…she
asked me tae get it for her, sae I did,” Quinn said shrugging nonchalantly and
taking another long dreg off his ale mug.

“Don’t talk about
me like I’m not here!” Anna cautioned, suddenly angry that Rowan was
questioning her need for a weapon.  “Have you looked around, lately Rowan? 
This New World is not exactly a safe place for a woman.  I need it to protect
myself with,” she said, placing extra emphasis on the word
myself.

Rowan openly
laughed at her, sputtering some of his ale onto the table.  “So ye think that yer
going tae protect yerself with that?” he asked incredulously, shaking his head
in disbelief.

Anna nodded
harshly, eyebrows knit together with determination.  She was angry that Rowan
had laughed at her intentions, intentions which sounded pretty logical in her
mind.

“Why don’t ye
leave the protectin’ part up tae us?” Rowan asked, working to compose himself
and flashing his eyes over at his brothers.  “We’ll keep ye safe,” he added for
good measure, insulted that Anna didn’t think that the Murray brothers were
capable of seeing to her welfare.

“I can protect
myself
,”
Anna said firmly, hazel eyes challenging Rowan from across the table.

The smile slipped
from Rowan’s face.  “We’ll see about that, Anna.  In my experience, a lass with
a dagger is often more harm tae herself than good.  I’ve a feelin’ that if ye
tried tae protect yerself with that, any man could swiftly remove it from yer
possession and use it against ye,” he said, steely gaze glaring at her across
the table.

Anna was fuming
mad.  She took a big swallow of ale and pushed back from the table, standing up
abruptly and almost knocking over her chair.  “Outside, Rowan Murray,” she
said, already heading for the door.

“I think yer in
trouble, brother,” Quinn laughed with amusement, watching Anna stomp out the
door of the tavern.

“Holler real loud
if ye need our help,” smiled Malcolm, chuckling softly under his breath.

Rowan pushed away
from the table, eyes sparkling mischievously, and followed Anna outside.

She had walked
over to the courtyard in front of the chapel, and was leaning up against the
trunk of a large tree, arms crossed and an angry expression shrouding her
face.  As Rowan approached, she lifted the hem of her skirt and drew out the
dagger, holding it firmly in her left hand.

“I didn’t ken that
ye are left handed,” Rowan said, surprised as he watched which hand she held
the dagger with.

Anna ignored his
comment and got down to business.  “Do you have a knife?” she asked with an air
of challenge in her voice.

“Aye,” Rowan said,
noticing how small, how beautiful and fragile Anna looked as she was bathed in
the light of the full moon.

“Well, get it
out,” she prodded impatiently.

“Why?” Rowan
asked, not following Anna’s train of thought.

“Because I’m going
to show you that I can protect myself,” Anna said, looking at him angrily as
she held the dagger firmly in her hand.

Rowan chuckled. 
“You want me tae fight ye?  With a dagger?” he continued to laugh, not able to
believe that Anna actually wanted him to spar with her.  She was most certainly
a head strong lass, he thought shaking his head and pulling his dagger out of
his belt.

Anna bent her
knees and settled into an active stance, gripping the dagger firmly in her
fist.  Wasting no time, she took a stab at Rowan’s chest.  Always light on his
feet despite his tall stature, he easily moved out of the way of her blow.

“Hey!  Watch it,
Anna,” he cautioned, now knowing that she meant business.  Rowan didn’t want to
hurt her on accident.

She sliced at him
again, and he easily spun out of the way, grabbed her arm that held the dagger
and backed her up against the trunk of the tree.  He held his own knife up to
the skin of her throat in warning, showing her his superior skill at knife
wielding.  He moved in close to Anna, using his body to restrain her against
the tree, stopping when his lips were just inches from hers

“As I said before,
a lass with a dagger is often more harm tae herself than good,” he spoke
sternly, challenging Anna and asserting his dominance.  He held his knife
against her throat, being ever so careful not to actually cut her delicate
skin.

  Her soft
feminine smell overwhelmed his senses, and for a split second he felt dizzy
from being so close to her, so close that he could just reach down and kiss her
lips.  He felt her relax against the tree, and began to slowly release his grip
on her, still holding eye contact with her, waiting for her submission.

“I admit that you
are stronger than me…” Anna trailed off, breathing raggedly and looking into
his eyes.

Rowan’s lips
curled up into the beginning of a smile.