"They never fail to amaze me, Jacob," she said quietly as she started towards the ship. Jacob matched his steps to hers and clapped his hand on her shoulder.

"We all want you t’ be happy, Mor’, and we’d all be blind if’n we didn’ know what ya needed for that." Morgan glanced up at him and shook her head slowly before walking up the gangplank and climbing over the railing. As Jacob swung himself over the railing he let out a sharp whistle and Morgan glanced at him with a frown. He smiled at her reassuringly and motioned her towards the stern where the first of the men had started swinging down from the rigging. Morgan took a seat on a coil of rope and glanced at Jacob, wondering what her friend was up to. They had talked long into the night about how to steal Allison from Joseph, but despite Jacob’s assurances that the crew would be willing Morgan had not been able to come up with a way to ask them to help her since there would be no loot involved. Soon all of the men were gathered around her and Morgan felt her stomach tie into knots of anticipation. She started to push herself to her feet and was stalled by Jacob’s hand heavy on her shoulder. Jonathan stepped forward and smiled at her.

"Cap’n, Ah’ve been voted to speak for all of us, and we want ye ta know tha’ we all want ta help ya go fetch yer lass." A murmur ran through the men and Jonathan flashed a cocky grin at her. "None o’ us think tha’ any one, ‘ceptin’ maybe tha’ she-devil, Car’lyn, deserve tha’ man." Morgan stood up and looked at the men surrounding her, speechless for a long moment as she absorbed what she was being told.

"Thank you, all of you. You have no idea how much this means to me. But I want you all to know that I wasn’t planning on taking anything from that ship but her," she warned. Jacob nodded, but Jonathan spoke up again.

"Cap’n, Ah think we ought to…else stories get back ‘bout just a kidnappin’. No one thinks a thing ‘bout tha’ kind o’ thing if it’s a whole ship…but it’d look a bit suspicious if we just take the girl." Morgan frowned for a long moment and exchanged a look with Jacob before nodding slowly.

"Alright…you have a point. But we can’t bring the bounty back here…it came from here!" Jacob chuckled low in his throat and waved the men away.

"We’ll figure out that part later, Mor’, fer now we need to get out on the ocean afore we lose ‘em." Morgan nodded and Jacob strode off down the deck, shouting orders as he went. Morgan crossed her arms and glanced down at the docks, frowning as she spied a familiar form walking up the wharf. She quickly made her way back across the deck and down the gangplank, reaching the dock just as John reached the ship.

"Hello, John," she said quietly, "what brings you down here?" John pulled a satchel from over his shoulder and handed it to her.

"Your log, Captain, and anything else that Mrs. Stromwell thought you might need while you were at sea. I’m also to bring your horse back up to the house if you’ll let me know where you’ve stabled him?" Morgan laughed softly and peaked into the bag, shaking her head as she noted the various things that her friend had managed to pack into it.

"I put him up at the stable two streets back, John, and thank you for bringing this down to me. Would you please relay my gratitude to her and let her know that I will come see them as soon as we get back into port." John nodded solemnly and backed away, bowing slightly before he turned and headed for the alley that led back to the stable. Morgan strode back up to the deck and pulled the gangplank up behind her, smiling as the ship was released from its moorings and shoved away from the dock. Soon the ship was pointed towards the harbor mouth and she gave the order to loose the sails, smiling with enjoyment as she felt the surge of the ship beneath her feet when the sails filled with wind. After only a couple of minutes they were maneuvering out into the waves beyond the breaker wall and she heard Jacob holler for the main sail. She glanced up at the big mast and laughed out loud as the huge sail billowed out, the wind shoving the sleek ship along at a fair clip. She pulled her spyglass out and made her way up to the foredeck, unconsciously bracing herself against the roll of the waves while she scanned the horizon for her prey. Finally she spied the striped sail of the smaller ship and quickly strode back to the stern, quietly relaying the bearing to the helmsman and leaving her spyglass there for him to check the other ship’s course every hour.

Morgan’s body twitched with nervous energy and she prowled the ship looking for things to occupy her. Soon she was helping furl the large sail as they started to close the distance between the two ships much too quickly, her empty hold allowing the vessel to fairly fly over the water. Her crew shot her amused looks occasionally as she labored alongside them until she finally gave up hope and headed to her cabin. With a heavy sigh she threw herself into her chair looking back out the open door as she heard footsteps in the hall. Jacob paused in the doorway and crossed his arms over his chest.

"I’m going to go nuts waiting until we’re out in the open sea, my friend," she said quietly. Jacob chuckled a little and nodded.

"Mor’, none of us’re goin’ t’be patient about this. We all want t’get Miss Allison back for ye." Morgan shook her head in amazement and leaned her head back against the chair.

"You all amaze me, Jacob, you really do. Don’t they realize that if she is willing to stay with me that everything will change?" Jacob moved deeper into the room and crouched in front of her desk, resting his arms on the surface.

"Morgan, ya’ve been plannin’ t’retire fer a while now, an’ even though ye’ve tried to hide that, we all know that." The captain’s eyebrows shot up.

"So…what does that mean they plan to do?" she asked hesitantly. Jacob’s face split in a smile and he pushed himself to his feet, heading for the door.

"They plan t’get yer woman fer ya." His answer drifted back to her from beyond the door and he was well down the hall before she could come up with a response. With a wry laugh she shook her head and pulled her logbook out of her bag, deciding to drown her impatience in updating it.

The wind whipped her cloak around her ankles and Allison tugged the heavy fabric tighter around her, gripping it closed in front of her. She shivered within her hood but refused to retreat to their cabin, unwilling to be alone with Joseph. She had spent all of the last two days up on the deck, indulging in the memories of her time spent on Morgan’s ship to distract her from her current dilemma. The sun was dipping towards the horizon and, seeing that, she knew that soon Joseph would send a crewman up to the deck to bid her join him for dinner. He had spent the previous evening attempting at chivalry and gallantry, but her unwillingness to share his bed had brought out his true nature. Her body was still stiff from sleeping in the chair in the cabin, but she would sleep there again this evening, and every evening she could to put him off. Absently she rubbed at the band on her finger and felt a sad smile tug at her lips. Her heart ached every time she thought about the previous morning, when she met Morgan’s amazing blue eyes across the dock and saw her recognize the ring on her finger. The emotions that had been written so clearly on the Captain’s face had made her heart jump into her throat, and she had wanted nothing more than to flee the path she was on and run to her. But the older woman had stopped her with a gesture, and one of Morgan’s crew had stopped her from coming to her, so her goodbye had been only a whisper. She knew that if she had been able to touch Morgan she never would have left, no matter what Joseph tried, and she wished now that she had ignored Morgan’s warning and ran to her.

Allison heaved a deep sigh as she heard a throat cleared behind her and glanced over her shoulder at the crewman standing there. Before he could say anything she nodded her head resignedly and started towards the steps that led below deck, her stomach twisting with every step. She passed a couple of the crew and the captain as she went and resolutely ignored their sympathetic looks. Walking slowly down the hall she tried to brace herself for the ordeal to come, tried to tuck her emotions away deep inside where her husband couldn’t touch them. She paused for a moment outside the door and took a deep breath, then turned the knob and stepped through the doorway into the small cabin.

Joseph sat at the table, their meal spread before him, leaning back in his chair with a book open before him. Allison closed the door behind her and hung her cloak on a hook next to it then joined him at the table, quietly laying her napkin in her lap before uncovering the dishes and serving the two of them. She had quickly learned how to appease him without giving herself to him, still using womanly complaints as an excuse to keep him away, an excuse that he no longer believed valid but still allowed her to hide behind. He watched her with hooded eyes as she ladled out the food onto both of their plates, making her skin crawl until he finally set his book aside and started eating. The meal passed in heavy silence, the tension making Allison’s stomach twist in fear and ruining her appetite. Finally she gave up and pushed her plate away, mostly untouched, then left the table, retreating to the chair where she had slept the night before. Joseph watched her for a long moment as she tucked her feet under her and picked her book of Shakespeare from the shelf next to her, opening it to her bookmark and stubbornly refusing to acknowledge his scrutiny. He finally returned to his meal and she let out a soft breath of relief as she turned the page, hoping desperately to avoid another confrontation with him, her arm still sore from the one that morning. After he finished he shoved his chair back with a loud scrape and stomped out of the cabin, the wall vibrating as he slammed the door shut behind him. Allison sighed softly and turned her book upside down on her lap, reaching up to move her sleeve aside and rub softly at the dark bruise there.

Allison looked up in surprise as the door opened and a crewman stepped in heading for the table. He caught a glimpse of her and stopped suddenly.

"Sorry, ma’am, Ah didna know any one was in here," he stammered. She tugged her sleeve back down over her bruise and waved his apology away.