Destiny's Pirate Part 7

She ignored him. "I will love you for as long as I live. And I know that you can't love me, but I pray that there will be someone that you will come to love." She walked away from his and went to stand by the

huge canopied bed in the middle of the room. Idly she fingered the rich golden ta.s.sle hanging off the canopy. "I suppose you will have to marry, am I right?"

He cleared his throat again. "Yes. It will be expected."

She turned to look at him with clear eyes. "Will you promise me, that you will marry for love."

He looked away. "You must know that love doesn't enter in to it, in my circles. You marry for wealth or

cla.s.s, not for love."

"Look at me, Spencer." She waited until his eyes met her own. "Promise me."

He swallowed past the lump in his throat and told her what she wanted to hear. "I promise to marry for

love," he lied.

Pain filled her eyes and she nodded, looking away. "Well, that's good. I won't have to worry about that."

But she would grieve. Grieve for the love that might have been, and for the life they might have had, if

only he could love her.

If only the man realized that she would stay in a heartbeat, if only he would tell her that he loved her. She

would give up family and friends and every twentieth century convenience just to remain with him for her lifetime. But she couldn't make him love her.

"Well," she said after a moment. "We'd better go and talk to your father."

He nodded distractedly. "Of course."

"Oh, and while we are going down there to meet him, I thought of a way to get you and your father

communicating."

Spencer raised his brows in inquiry. But she could tell his mind wasn't on what she was saying.

It soon would be.

"I think you should tell your father that you were a pirate."

Yep. That got his attention.

"You must be out of your b.l.o.o.d.y mind!" he stormed.

She took his arm and pulled him towards the door. "Trust me on this, Spence. You'll see. It will open up

all kinds of doors!"

"Yes, to boot me right out on my a.r.s.e!"

"Come on, doubting Thomas!" With that she escorted him down the hall.

"I suppose that pushing the wedding off a fortnight, will cause no harm. But I forbid you to share the same chamber! Destiny will be put into the chamber next to mine. I think we are beyond protecting your virtue, but at least we shall keep the appearance on the up and up."

Destiny sighed. "My 'virtue' is still intact, thank you very much. Although, I doubt that you will believe me."

"My dear, with you, I could believe anything!" he declared with a laugh and a quick pat on her hand lying next to his.

Spencer marvelled at how quickly Destiny had completely charmed his father.

Destiny laughed a little nervously. "Well, if you can believe that, I hope that you will believe something

else. Uh...Spence has something to tell you. Don't you Spence?" She looked at him with innocent eyes.

Deviously innocent eyes, they were!

"I want to tell you what I've been up to for the last twelve years."

The duke let out a 'hrumpt'. "Is that all. Well, you can save your news. I already know what you've been

up to."

Spencer's eyes flew to Destiny's where they met in confusion. "You...know?" he asked carefully.

"Spencer, dear boy, do you think that I'd allow my youngest son to dilly dally about the world without the

singlest knowledge of what he was up to? Really, son. You do me a discredit."

Spencer felt like a scolded little boy. "So you ... uh... know that I was a..."

"A Pirate. Yes, I know that," the duke stated calmly.

Spencer once again looked at Destiny and helplessly shrugged his shoulders, as if asking "What now?"

Destiny moved closer to the duke. "In other words, your saying that you wanted to make sure that your

son was safe. That you didn't forget about him. That you were concerned about him."

"Good G.o.d! I wouldn't put it like that. You've made me into some sentimental fop! But as a father, I

have certain obligations. Who do you think kept Spencer out of trouble all those years! He would have been arrested a long time ago if it wasn't for me!"

"The Devil you say!" Spencer barked, ignoring the glare from Destiny.

"Come now, boy. You were never a very clever pirate. But I knew that if I let you have your fun and kept you safe that you would come home soon enough." He then frowned at his son. "But you never did, did you. Too much pride, there boy. I had to come and get you. Which I would have done anyway whether your brother had pa.s.sed on or not."

Spencer was fuming with indignation. "I cannot believe I'm hearing this! How can you say that I was not a good pirate? We may not were the richest on the sea, but we were b.l.o.o.d.y well close!"

The duke merely smiled. "If it pleases you to think so, son, then you go on thinking it."

Spencer turned his anger towards Destiny. "Do you have any more ideas from that silly brain of yours?"

And before she could say anything, he had stormed out of the room.

Destiny groaned, "Oh, great! I've really messed things up, now." She then frowned at the smiling man.

"And you weren't helping matters any, either. Why couldn't you have just gone along and pretended that you didn't know. Now, you've made him embarra.s.sed and scolded like a child!"

The duke stopped smiling. "Well, Good Lord, I was just telling the truth!"

She shook her head. "I'm trying my best here to help you two get along. But neither of you are helping."

He looked at her with speculative eyes. "You love my son, very much, don't you."

She looked down at her hands. "Yes. Very much so."

"And so do I, my dear. So don't fret. All will be well," he told her without so much as a care.

Destiny looked worried. She didn't have a lot of time for 'all to be well.' What would she do, if they were

still not getting along, by the time she had to leave?

Chapter 12.

Spencer resumed his pacing once he reached the gardens. The fragrant flowers and the bountiful array of colors were lost on the brooding man.

Actually, it wasn't what his father told him that got him so riled up. He'd always wondered why he'd been so b.l.o.o.d.y lucky, while others were getting caught left and right. Perilous times these were for pirating! And his heart had not really been in it. It had all been a game. A foolish one at that, though he supposed it allowed him to sow his wild oats.

But what was his life to become? He was destined to live the life of a duke and all the responsibilities that

went with it. Maybe he would be reclusive peer of the realm! Stay at the country estate...

No, his anger was not set off by his father or at Destiny. It was just that he began to realize just how short their time together was. And G.o.d forgive him, but he didn't want her to go. He wished that he knew the magic words that would make her want to stay.

But he didn't. He was not so selfish that he would keep her here when her family and friends were in another time, another world. It would not be fair to ask that of her, of anyone.

And then there was the task that he could not dismiss. He had to find a wife.

Now that he'd found Destiny and known true love, he didn't know how he would live with another woman, but he knew that he must. The line must go on and all that.