"I…I..will take the boat," he said, his eyes flickering from George’s cold expression to the two women watching from behind him and back. "I will just leave then," he said quietly and turned for the hallway, stopping as John stepped into view. He glanced over his shoulder at George who smiled at him.

"John will accompany you while you pack, and he will take care of the arrangements with the captain. We wouldn’t want you to make any sudden detours, would we?" Henry swallowed hard and nodded then turned and followed John out of the room, head bowed in defeat. Isabelle and Anne stepped around George and he smiled at both of them.

"Well, dear, you certainly handled him well. Did you already have all of that arranged?" Isabelle asked with a smile. George nodded and smiled at the two women.

"Why of course! In fact, John and I were going to deliver those options to him tomorrow evening at dinner, so, Anne, dear, there was no harm in you blowing off some steam." Anne laughed and hugged her father.

"Thank you, but what about the marriage?" she inquired. Isabelle smiled.

"Why, dear, we’ll just get it dissolved!" George nodded. Anne hugged both of them then glanced out the window.

"Any word about Morgan?" she asked worriedly. Isabelle shook her head.

"No…but I’m sure she has Allison by now, I certainly hope anyway." Anne nodded then bid her parents goodnight, heading to her room upstairs. George and Isabelle returned to their chairs in front of the fireplace and looked at each other for a long time before George chuckled softly and shook his head, opening his book again.

"All we can do is wait, Bella. Soon both of our girls will be home and hopefully happy." Isabelle nodded and sighed softly before picking up her needlework and returning her attention to it.

Allison woke slowly, reluctant to let go of her dream. Her head ached and her body was sore, but she frowned in her sleep as she realized that she was in a bed. She blinked one eye open and peered around the lamp-lit room. Her brows tugged together in confusion as she recognized the familiar cabin then suddenly realized that her hand was enveloped in a warm grip. She glanced down to see a tussled head resting on the edge of the bed next to her and reached her other hand. With a ache in her heart she threaded her fingers through the silky hair, wondering if she was still dreaming.

"Morgan?" she said quietly. Eyelids twitched then blinked and she found a pair of bloodshot blue eyes fixed on her. "Are you really here?" she asked hesitantly. Morgan sat up and nodded.

"Yes, I’m here, darling. You’re safe now." The dark-haired woman’s voice was husky with emotion and Allison tugged on the hand still wrapped around hers. A smile tugged at the corners of Morgan’s mouth as she stood up and sat on the edge of the bed, pulling Allison up into her arms for a long, heartfelt hug. "I’m sorry I didn’t get there sooner, Allison, I’m so sorry," Morgan whispered into her shoulder. Allison wrapped herself more tightly around Morgan and shook her head, clinging to her lover.

"I’m just so happy you came, Morgan," she said softly. Morgan slid herself deeper into the bed and leaned against the wall, tugging Allison into her lap. The redhead pulled back for a moment and looked down into a pair of brilliant blue eyes. Morgan winced and lifted a hand to touch the skin around her right eye gently, a pained look crossing her face. Allison reached up to flatten her hand over Morgan’s and kissed her palm. "It’s alright, that’s the worst he did," she said softly. Morgan’s eyes took on a fierce look.

"He’s lucky. I should have killed him." Allison’s eyes widened and Morgan nodded. "There no reason for anyone to be treated the way he treated you." Allison dropped her gaze and toyed with the laces on Morgan’s shirt, feeling a strange joy fill her that she was able to do that again. Morgan took Allison’s hand in hers and ran her thumb across the spot where her ring had once been, a confused frown flitting across her face. Allison looked at her hand then lifted her eyes to Morgan’s.

"He noticed it…so I took it off so he wouldn’t take it from me," she explained quietly. "I put it back in the box…I knew he’d never be able to get it open." Morgan nodded. Allison curled herself up on Morgan’s chest and heaved a deep sigh, wondering how to ease the tension she could feel between them. Morgan’s fingers automatically started tracing small patterns in the small of her back and Allison smiled against the fabric of her shirt. "I’ve missed you," she said quietly. She felt Morgan’s breath catch.

"I’ve missed you, too, Allison," came the soft answer. Allison lifted her head up and looked deep into Morgan’s eyes, hoping the older woman could see the emotions that were running rampant through her. Morgan smiled at her and brushed her fingers against her cheek in a tender caress before brushing a soft kiss across her lips. Allison pushed herself upright and twined her fingers through the fine hairs at the base of Morgan’s neck, pulling her into a deeper kiss that left both of them breathless. As she pulled away Allison felt a soft chuckle shake Morgan’s body and cocked her head at her. The older woman shook her head and shrugged a little before leaning closer for another long, slow, thorough kiss. Allison reveled in the feel of Morgan’s body beneath her hands, soaking in every detail of her lover that she had missed for the previous twelve days.

A soft knock sounded on the door and Morgan groaned low in her throat before reluctantly ending the kiss. "Come in!" Allison leaned her head on Morgan’s chest and sighed softly, watching the door out of the corner of her eye. Jacob poked his head around the corner of the door and smiled brightly as his eyes met hers.

"Hello, Jacob," she said quietly. The tall man stepped through the door and smiled at Morgan before returning his attention to her.

"Hello, there, Miss Allison, welcome back!" Allison laughed softly and tried to ignore the slight frown that tugged at his mouth as he took in the condition of her face. Morgan wrapped her arms more firmly around her as if she was afraid she was going to disappear.

"How are things going, Jacob," the captain asked quietly. Jacob smiled at her.

"Well, Cap’n, they’ll be much better now tha’ Ah can tell t’men tha’ Miss Allison is awake and lookin’ much better than t’last time they saw ‘er," he answered. Morgan chuckled softly.

"I’m sure. I know I’m doing much better now." Allison felt a slight shudder run through Morgan’s body and rubbed her hand softly against the dark-haired woman’s side. "What did Samuel end up doing?" Morgan asked quietly. Allison frowned slightly, not recognizing the name as Jacob laughed.

"Well, Mor’, I think you’ll be happy t’know tha’ when ‘e came around to give us t’lass’s luggage ‘e said t’make sure ya knew tha’ he dropped a lil dingy in t’water and left some water in it, jes’ like ya suggested," Jacob answered, a twinkle entering his eye as he continued, "Course, Ah do believe ‘e left that dingy a fair distance away from that flailin’ man, and e’ still hadn’t managed to get into it when we last checked on ‘im." Morgan laughed.