Read Pirates! for Free Online Page B

all about.
    I thought that there would be time to talk in the interval, but as the last dance ended he told me that he had to go.
    ‘But why?’ My eyes filled as if I had received a sudden blow. To have such happiness offered and then snatched away was cruel.
    ‘I have stayed longer than I intended. I only came to deliver a message. My captain’s wife is here. I had a letter for her. Now I must get back to my ship.’
    I looked at him. There was no opportunity even to say farewell. Our words were lost in the din of those around us. We were being pushed apart by a crowd of people, all struggling to gain the refreshment rooms at the same time.
    ‘Meet me!’ I whispered in his ear. ‘Meet me outside!’
    William went to collect his cloak and sword, and I went back for my wrap. I tripped down the stairs and out of the doors. I stood looking about, ignoring the link boys’ curious looks, fanning myself as if I needed air, although it was scarcely cooler outside than inside the building. Then I heard his whistle.
    He was at the archway that marked the beginning of Harrison’s Walks that ran down by the Avon.
    ‘Will you walk with me, Miss Nancy?’ He offered me his arm. ‘How long have you been in Bath?’
    ‘Three weeks or so,’ I replied.
    ‘And do you enjoy yourself? With all the entertainments, music, dancing, and so on?’
    ‘What do I want with dancing? I despise dancing.’
    He laughed. ‘Come, Nancy. That’s not true! You seemed to enjoy it well enough just now.’ He was teasing, his mouth curved up in a broad smile, but his eyes held a deeper seriousness, a sadness even. He knew as well as I did why young ladies were taken to Bath.
    ‘That’s because I was dancing with you.’
    ‘What about all the other young men that you have met? Do you not like to dance with them?’
    I shook my head. ‘I like to meet young men rather less than I like to dance.’
    He smiled again. ‘I thought the two things went together.’ He was silent for a while, running his hand over the nodding heads of the roses that lined the walk, releasing their scent. ‘Perhaps you already have a young man, and do not want to meet another.’
    ‘Perhaps I have,’ I said.
    He blinked as if at some sudden sharp pain, then he looked away. He walked in silence, eyes cast down in resignation, and he sighed as if he’d heard what he most dreaded and most expected, all in the same breath.
    We went on for a few paces, then he turned to me.
    ‘In that case ... ’ He looked about, at a loss for what to do, what to say.
    ‘No.’ I gripped his arm tighter. ‘That’s not what I meant. I meant ... ’
    I stopped. I’d suddenly run out of words as well. Perhaps I had no words for it.
    ‘I have no young man. Other than ... ’
    ‘Other than?’
    He was looking at me now, his dark eyes bright and intense.
    I took a deep breath. ‘Other than you.’
    ‘Do not trifle with me, Nancy.’
    ‘I’m not trifling with you. Why would I trifle? I do not trifle.’
    ‘Truly?’ He looked down at me, his face still serious.
    ‘Truly. Of course. I am not the trifling sort.’
    He began to smile again and his smile spread wide, reaching his eyes.
    ‘I have thought of you every night, and every day since I went away.’ He paused, as though to collect his thoughts. ‘If it had not been for you, I would never have obtained a place with Captain Robinson on the frigate, Colchester , and he’s been like a father to me. You were my saviour, Nancy, but you are more, much more.’ He stopped again, as if these words were hard for him. ‘You had always been there, from our earliest years, like a sister. Always a friend: strong, and brave, and loyal. When we were playmates, do you remember?’ I nodded. ‘But when I came back, you were different. You were dressed like a lady, in silks and satins. You seemed to have gone so far above me, a common sailor, and you a rich man’s daughter. I thought that I could never ... ’ He shook his head. ‘You