Part 6 (1/2)

”What's wrong?” Sparrow asked her old nanny.

”Sparrow, this is my sister. She traveled here to tell me our grandmother has died. The family would like me to return home to settle some affairs, but I told her I didn't want to leave you alone right now due to our situation.” Shea-Ann glared in Lock's direction.

”I'm so sorry,” Sparrow said to Shea-Ann's sister. ”How sad for your family. It's not a problem for Shea-Ann to go home with you. I have everything under control here.”

”I doubt that,” Shea-Ann said.

Sparrow embraced her old nanny. ”He's chained up, and I have no problem running this farm on my own. He even cleaned up. See.”

Shea-Ann glanced around the clean house. ”I hate to leave you, but it's important for me to go home.”

”Go. Really.”

”I could be gone for a couple of months. It will take time to sail there, then there are the family affairs to see to...”

Sparrow shook her head. ”Please, don't worry. When will you be leaving?”

Shea-Ann's sister spoke in a soft voice. ”In the morning. I'm sorry to arrive with such bad news.”

”Not at all. Both of you sit down and I'll bring you something to eat. Lock and I will get along just fine while you're gone, won't we?” Sparrow glanced at the pirate and tingled with uncertainty when she saw the strange, half-smile on his lips.

When he spoke, his voice was uncharacteristically soft and polite. ”I'm certain we will.”

He ran the tip of his tongue over his top lip, and Sparrow s.h.i.+vered. How could she live alone with Lock and not give in to the incredible desire to kiss him again a or perhaps do something even more regrettable?

The next morning, after seeing Shea-Ann and her sister to the edge of the farm, Sparrow walked back to the house, already missing her nanny, but with a giddy feeling deep in her gut. She knew Lock was tied up, and no matter what he said, he couldn't escape or hurt her. Still, now that the pathetic weakness due to the torture had worn off, something about him terrified her. Maybe it was her own desire she feared. How could she find a pirate-a thief and a murderer-attractive? She might be a farmer, but she was still of royal blood. She had been raised as a princess: educated, cultured, taught right from wrong. Lock was her opposite in every way. Not that she doubted his intelligence. He was well versed in languages and his piercing eyes reflected a quick mind, but he was a criminal. He cared nothing for justice or the law. He was rough, arrogant, and possessed a tongue vile enough to sour a vulture's stomach. What was it about him that made her legs weak and her heartbeat quicken? She wondered how such a man could excite her, how any man could excite her after what had happened to Thea. Perhaps she was still naive, but when Sparrow looked into the pirate's eyes, she didn't see the coldness that had shone in the eyes of the fiend. Lock had a soul and a heart. She felt it.

”So, we're alone.” Lock leered at her as soon as she stepped into the house. ”This worked out well for you, didn't it, girl?”

”The last person I want to be alone with is you, but circ.u.mstances can't be helped.”

He tossed her a roguish grin as he washed dishes from the morning meal. ”I think you like a man in your kitchen, was.h.i.+ng your undergarments and feeling those plump little b.r.e.a.s.t.s of yours.”

”Not only are you completely wrong, but why must you be so rude?”

”I've been on my best behavior, Princess.”

”I don't have time to argue with you. I've got a farm to run.” Sparrow took her hat from the table and left the house, slamming the door behind her.

She spent the day caring for her animals, two pigs, two horses-usually three, but Shea-Ann had taken hers-several chickens, a goat, and Daphne. Sparrow liked animals, but she admitted to a special fondness for Daphne. There was something sweet and soothing about the cow's large, dark eyes, and Sparrow couldn't help thinking of her almost as a pet.

Sparrow usually enjoyed working her farm. At times it was difficult with just her and Shea-Ann, but her life was her own. When she'd been a princess, everything had been planned for her, and Sparrow's heart had always been independent.

When she reached the garden, the two girls Sparrow hired from the village were already weeding. The girls were sisters, Ginny, age eight, and Emerald, fifteen. They were nice children from a decent family, and their banter often reminded Sparrow of her relations.h.i.+p with her own sisters. She hadn't seen much of her remaining family members since their banishment, but she'd heard both her other younger and older sister had married and had several children. Only Sparrow remained alone. Not that she felt she was really alone. After all, she had Shea-Ann.

”Sparrow,” Emerald brushed wild red hair from her dirt-stained face and offered a toothy smile, ”we heard you bought a man.”

Sparrow sighed. ”I'm afraid it's true.”

”Some of the women in the village said he was a pirate, that he's seven feet tall and has hair like a warlock.”

Ginny wrinkled her freckled nose and said, ”Yuck.”

”He's not quite seven feet tall,” Sparrow couldn't restrain her amused smile. The warlock's hair she couldn't argue with.

”They say he was whipped and racked, and he didn't even scream.”

Sparrow's smile faded. In spite of how much Lock irritated her, she still felt sick whenever she thought of how much he'd suffered.

”Our aunt was at the village that day,” Emerald continued. ”She said he was handsome-before the whipping.”

”He's still handsome,” Sparrow spoke before she thought.

”Can I see him?”

Ginny looked at her older sister as if she'd sprouted a second head. ”What do you want to see a man for? Ma says men are mean, stupid, and dirty. She says pigs make better company.”

”When you get older, you'll understand,” Emerald said. ”Can I see him, Sparrow?”

Sparrow looked hesitant. ”I don't think that's a good idea. He's dangerous.”

”Where is he?”

”Chained in the house. Look, when you girls finish weeding, I have to get money for you, so you can look at him from the doorway.”

Emerald beamed, and Ginny shook her head. ”I still say yuck.”

The girls worked almost each day until late morning. Sparrow and Shea-Ann paid them a weekly fee, and usually provided them with a meal before sending them home. When they'd finished their work that morning, they followed Sparrow back to the house.

She opened the door, and Lock's pale eyes riveted to her from where he'd been sitting on the floor.

”I have children with me, so try to behave yourself,” she told him.

Emerald and Ginny lingered shyly in the doorway while Sparrow opened the trunk at the foot of her bed.

”He does have hair like a warlock,” Ginny said to Emerald in a loud whisper. Emerald motioned for the girl to keep quiet. They stepped over the threshold and approached Lock.

Sparrow leapt between them. ”Stop there! Don't get any closer to him. That's as far as his chains reach.”

The girls jumped back, their eyes wide.

”I don't believe this,” Lock muttered. ”I'm not going to hurt a couple of children.”

”I wouldn't put anything past you to get your freedom,” Sparrow said.

”Maybe you're not as dumb as you look,” he told her.

”You don't smell,” Ginny said to Lock.