Hi All! I am officially the worst. For those of you who have stuck with this story, I am eternally grateful! More updates coming soon!

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It took Vane a moment to realize that the girl was in his arms and not because she wanted to be. Her slap had caught him off guard, and he had moved on instinct. It was only after she had ceased her struggles when his hand was around the slender column of her throat and his grip bruising her wrists that he realized what he was doing. The heavy feeling in his gut that he had begun to know as guilt over the last few weeks started to unfurl once more. Recognizing the feeling for what it was Vane started register other sensations. The light scent of lavender in his nostrils. The tickle along his skin as a long lock of ebony hair caught around his forearm and last, the press of something firm yet soft hitting at the base of his throat. The prickle of his conscience continued, yet the very thought that he felt anything but indifference toward the dark head of hair in front of him grated on his nerves. The hands around the slender wrists and mottled throat tightened reflexively. However, instead of fighting him, the slim figure before him seemed to melt into the hardness of his body. A moment later, the pressure of her cool cheek against the naked, heated skin of his chest and the telltale trickle of a residual tear along his collarbone left him feeling oddly empty.

It was disconcerting.

As a man, he was no stranger to the alluring curves of a woman's body or the warmth that such a body could bring. He was experienced in the calculated caresses and the true motives that usually accompanied the gentle touches.

This however felt altogether different. He could feel it, sense it on some basic human level.

She hated him, she had said as much moments ago. Vane would deny it with his next breath, but he knew the pain that she and her sister had suffered stemmed from his treatment. Yet why now did she seem to almost…he dropped the thought almost as soon as it began to form.

He stared. He could not see much of her face from his current vantage point, the delicate curve of her jaw and the generous sweep of dark lashes over her bruised cheek. The dark curtain of hair hid the rest of her face from view.

It was almost as though on some basic human level the girl was seeking comfort…from him of all people.

She sighed, so lightly that had she not been pressed against him he would have missed it. The slight exhalation prickling across his suddenly sensitive skin. Time seemed to slow, yet she did not move, did not fight the harsh embrace.

As though acting upon its own accord, his callused hand reached out and lightly brushed through the curtain of hair covering her bruised cheek. Washed and cleaned after weeks of neglect, the long strands rippled through his fingers like water.

At the slight sensation, a sharp sense of disgust spread through him. At who he was not entirely certain.

What the fuck was he doing?

Clenching his hand into a tight fist, Vane dug his short nails into his palms trying to extinguish the feeling of her hair ghosting through his fingertips.

Distantly he registered the protest of rusty hinges, the cacophony of multiple voices shouting at once. The sudden commotion in the room sounded far off, tempered, as though he was hearing it underwater.

In the space of a breath, sheer pandemonium erupted.

"What are you…?" A male voice trailed off.

"Stop it! Let my sister go!" Came a heightened, decidedly feminine shriek.

Vane shook his head in a physical attempt to shake the previous moments.

"Charles what in god's name are you doing?" charged Jack barging in through the back door, followed closely by Anne, Bellamy, and Ginny. All four had their eyes glued to the two figures against the far wall.

The girl started violently and shoved against his chest, attempting to extract herself from his embrace with a desperation that surprised even him.

"Let go." This time when the request came, it was firmer, and had lost its previous desperation. Yet, somehow, Kati could not manage to meet his eyes. At first, Vane did not budge, letting her know just how ineffective her struggles could be when matched against his strength.

But then, he slowly lowered his arms, freeing her from the cage of his body and the wall.

Just as he was dropping his arms, Vane felt a hard thump right between his shoulder blades. Turning quickly, he observed what could only be described as a golden haired sprite staring him down from her perch atop the large four-poster bed. The younger Miss Annesley towered over him in her too large nightgown, golden hair all a tumble standing on the edge of the large bed with a determined look on her young face. The second of a mismatched set of leather shoes held aloft in her small hands.

"You leave her alone or I'll hit you again!" As an added warning, the little bedraggled sprite cocked her arm back as if to let the second shoe fly.

The situation would have been comical had all the attention in the room not been focused squarely on him. "Anything else anyone would like to throw my way this evening?" He ground out.

Ginny jostled her way to the front of the group. "Get yer pawin 'ands off 'er! The las 'as been through enough." She was having none of him, his reputation be damned.

Sizing up the girl, Vane narrowed his eyes before turning to address the rest of his audience. "She was attempting an ill-conceived escape endeavor."

"Oi!" Ginny was truly riled, "what th' bleedin 'ell do you expect from 'er? Stuck with the likes of you!" To emphasize her point, she thrust a bonny finger against his chest.

Squaring his jaw and ignoring the bevy of enraged females Vane leveled his gaze coolly at his quartermaster. He, like Vane did not look like he had slept much the last twenty-four hours.

"Charles, what the fuck?" Jack spoke again, this time with less surprise. His tone more beseeching. With his windswept hair, face drawn into a tight frown, and the tails of his colorful coat flying Jack resembled more of an overblown nursemaid then his quartermaster.

Vane ignored him, still keeping one eye on the younger Miss Annesley, not entirely convinced she would not heft the shoe in his direction. "Is the wind in our favor?"

Jack sighed, gingerly rubbing at the back of his neck. "Aye. The men are back on board and our other…bodily problem is taken care of…as it were"

Sidestepping Ginny, who was still glaring at him, Vane missed the apprehensive look exchanged between both Jack and Anne.

"Charles, seein as I 'aspect you ta take better care a ye cargo, I've a taken it upon m'self ta aquire ya some of what ya be needin with ladies aboard." Vane gave the large, linen sack Bellamy deposited at his feet a cursory once over.

Anne arched an eyebrow at the grizzled sailor.

"Ahem, right proper gentle ladies that 's," Bellamy clarified.

Despite the situation, Jack's lip curled up in an involuntary smirk trying to picture Anne in a proper dress and corset. In the strictly biological sense, he was well aware that Anne was a woman. However given the fact that he greatly appreciated his own male attributes and their current position on his person, he dared not comment on the implication that any and all said "ladies" required such rigid societal constructs.

"Oi! Just ye wait there ye old goat," said Ginny, shoving her finger back into Vane. "I don't right bloody care if yer the king of England or 'th good lord above, nothin gives ye the right 'a treat either of 'ese two 'a way ye did."

He was reasonably certain he'd have a bruise tomorrow. Vane observed the furious young woman coolly. At first, he had wondered what the grizzled sailor had seen in the young woman aside from her obvious and amble physical attributes. He had never known Samuel Bellamy to keep a woman for longer than a night. However, upon closer inspection, it was clear the girl was a force to be reckoned with. Few men would stand even with him. Fewer still would accuse him of blatant misconduct to his face. The deceptively sweet miss was the first person he had met who looked ready to box his ears for his transgressions.

He had no doubt that she would, if given such an opening.

Vane began to wonder if maybe it was the opposite and Bellamy was the lucky one. Having finally found a woman who could stand his equal.

Before he could reply to Ginny's accusation, a raspy cough sounded behind him. "It wasn't him." He had almost forgotten about the elder Annesley sister in the immediate commotion.

"Miss?" Ginny's gaze changed from one of accusation to concern.

Turning slightly, Vane glanced at the girl. The familiar steely determination had slipped back into place, cloaking the earlier signs of weakness. She stood tall and erect, with her shoulders back and her lips pressed into a severe line. He reflected briefly on her ability to change so quickly. From the square of her shoulders to the defiant tilt of her jaw, all trace of the supple, teary-eyed creature who had melted into his arms mere moments before was gone. If it had not been for the memory of silk brushing against his forearm, Vane would have believed he had imagined the brief interlude.

"It wasn't him," the girl repeated again. "The…" she paused coughing with a wince and reaching for her throat, "he, the man, who did this…he…he will not do so again…."

"Oh miss," Ginny whispered eyes widening slightly.

"I ensured it would be so."

Vane and the Kati exchanged a look that was missed by all except Jack who frowned.

Clearing his throat, Vane looked at Ginny, "as she has just indicated, no such situation will befall her again." Turning towards the door once more, Vane rolled his eyes skyward, praying to god that this time he would be able to walk through it without further interruption.

"Excuse me, Captain Vane," Kati said, as she gingerly continued to rub her neck. "But you seem to be laboring under the misapprehension that my sister and I will now be accompanying you."

"Fucking hell." Vane straightened, his effortless grace reminding her of his raw vitality. "Miss Annesley, let me be clear, you will be accompanying me through that door if I have to hog tie you and your sister and drag you across this godforsaken island myself."

"No."

Vane stopped his progression towards the door for the third time that evening, turning to face her more fully.

Bellamy raised his bushy brows.

A vein slowly began to tick in Vane's jaw. "I'm sorry Miss Annesley, but I fear my hearing may be off."

"You heard me sir," she said softly though no less resolved.

The speculative gleam in his eyes deepened. "And how exactly do you intend on accomplishing such a feat?"

"Captain Bellamy," her beseeching gaze was winsome enough to melt a heart of stone.

"Not through him apparently..." The wayward thought almost made Vane chuckle.

Kati continued, "You are an intelligent man. I know that you know who we are, and as of now, I am sure that you are aware of the predicament in which my sister and I find ourselves. Additionally, the circumstances of our detention have been made more than clear. My father is a wealthy man, and if you help us, he will make it worth your while. Of this, I have no doubt."

Bellamy sighed, his head beginning to throb. "I know of yer father lass, and as mucha, I wuld luv 'is gold ta line ma pockets, 'is not 'nuff in all 'e realm a make me cross old Georgie nor the 'gent a cross 'he..."

"ENOUGH!" Vane roared cutting off the older man and making Kati jump.

Kati could only gape at Bellamy. "What? King George? Sir…"

Vane was beside her in an instant, yanking her roughly in the door's general direction. "Jack, the sack. Anne, the little one." He was done making pronouncements; they were getting off this forsaken spit of sand now.

"Charles...a word" The voice of his quartermaster sounded oddly strangled.

"What." Vane ground out through clenched teeth.

Jack winced in anticipation of sharing the most damning bit of news he'd gleaned after accompanying the men back to The Ranger. Saying his Captain would not be pleased was an understatement. "Ahem…there is a generally recognized belief among the men that…well it seems as though…what I mean to say is that…"

If looks could kill Jack would without a doubt be dead. Of that, he was unequivocally certain. "It would seem that congratulations are in order."

"Come. Again." Silence so thick punctuated each word that Jack was sure he would be able to hear a pin drop.

"Ah, it would appear that our good country doctor was neigh more talkative this last evening then intended after patching up our two captives….errr….ladies. Which has resulted in ah, some of the men ascribing to the mindset that your circumstances have now been irrevocably altered in the state of, um, ah, the union of two persons…coming together…in ah…" At the last pronouncement Jack seemed to lose steam.

"Oh for gods sake, put him out of my misery," Anne whispered to no one in particular.

"Out with it!" Vane had gone eerily quiet, like the calm before a particularly violent storm.

"Good lord," Ginny whispered covering a hand over her mouth.

It took Bellamy a moment; however, he soon cracked a grin that grew into a chortle, which turned into a fully bellied laugh. Soon tears of mirth were leaking from the old man's eyes quicker than he could wipe them away.

Jack looked as though he was going to be physically ill.

Anne reached into the folds of her doublet, searching for her worn flask.

"What?" Kati was observing the group with a sickening sense of dread. No one would meet her eyes.

"Ahem, Miss Annesley, "it would appear that congratulations are in order." Jack said with a grimace. "Or um, Mrs….as it where…"

Kati blinked up at him then, reminding him distinctly of a befuddled owl.

"Oi!" Bellamy barked out between laughs. "Condolences, more like, Charles it 'eems ye 'ave got yerself leg-shackled to a' child bride."

The room went silent.

Bellamy continued to chuckle. "Yer young, 'ardly in your dotage yet. I should a think yer'd 'ave ta stamina a satisfy 'er."

"Jack." The single syllable conveyed more menace than any weapon ever could.

Jack gingerly stuck a finger through the silken sash tied lightly at his throat, the colored fabric reminding him suddenly of muscled fingers. "Charles, the men are under the impression that you've recently taken a wife."