BPOV
I awoke slowly the next morning, feeling safe and warm. I slowly realized that I was held securely in a pair of strong arms and opened my eyes widely. I was met with an amazing sight. Two, twinkling emerald eyes stared back at me. Edward had a small, crooked smile on his face and was gazing intently at me.
"Good morning, future wife" he whispered. Gently, he begin raining small kisses over my face. I blushed remember the passionate embrace we had shared with one another. After he kissed me, he rested his forehead against mine and gazed into my eyes. "Are you still sure you want to marry me?" he questioned seriously.
"More than anything else in the world." I declared.
"You don't know how happy that makes me, love. If you don't mind waiting here for a moment, I must go fetch Jasper and Emmett. I will bring Rose and Alice here to keep you company. I don't want you wandering around the ship and feel here is the safest place for you. We must make plans. I will ask the captain to wed us today, but we must find a way off this ship before it is caught up to. I calculate that we only had a few hours start before they would have sent more men after you." He gently helped me to sit up. I noticed he was avoiding looking directly at me and blushed to realize that I was still wearing the very sheer chemise as a covering.
"Can you help me with my dress before you leave?" I hesitantly asked. Edward's cheek turned a deep pink color as well.
"Of course. Please don't be embarrassed, Bella. You have a beautiful body and I cannot wait until you are mine." I didn't think it was possible for me to get any redder, but I did.
"Edward, I have a question for you. If you think that the other ship with the men after me will catch us, what good will it do for us to be married? They will still be able to rip me away from you and you could be hurt. I will not allow that to happen." My voice was getting frantic as my heart sped up and I realized the danger Edward was placing himself in by protecting me.
"Hush, love. It will be alright. We will find a way out of this mess, either off the ship or we will find a way to fight when the time comes. I need you to be calm and concentrate on letting your wounds heal. I promise that I have no intention of leaving you in any matter now that I have found you." He soothed me as he gently held me to his chest and stroked my back. I felt him drop a few soft kisses on the top of my hair and relaxed into him. All too soon her released me. Giving me another kiss on the lips he helped me sit in the chair by the table and left the room. I heard the click of the key turning in the lock before his footsteps walked away. Dreamily, I sighed and waited for Rose and Alice. I could not wait to talk to them, to share my feelings about Edward with them and to ask just what was going on.
EPOV
I left Bella in our cabin sitting contentedly by the chair. I was amazed at the feelings that she so easily roused in me. After Waterloo, I had been an emotional wreck seeing my fallen comrades lined up for burial. I went through the ensuing days almost lifeless and depressed. Life didn't seem to have meaning when so many people could have theirs snuffed out so quickly and far too soon. Finally, I had come out of it and continued on with my life, but the memories would always haunt me. Somehow, Bella had made it seem alright, had made my life have a purpose again and possibly a way to atone for my inability to protect other innocents in the past. She was like a shining star brightening my very existence. I meant what I said when I told her that I would do anything to keep her safe. I doubted I could live very well without her in my life despite the fact I had only known her a few days.
I knocked on Jasper's door quietly, waiting for him to open it. I was planning on collecting Emmett and s1./CrazyPlace/search/?c5going with them to question the man that had attacked Bella. I did not trust myself to be alone with him, not knowing if I would be able to stop myself from killing him. Jasper opened the door with a wide grin on his face. Behind him, I noticed the lady Alice fidgeting excitedly as she sat on a chair. As soon as she saw me, she darted forward. "Oh, can I see Bella now? I have so much to tell her and we must ready ourselves for the wedding."
Before she could continue, I interrupted "Yes, I will take you too her now. Let us first collect Lady Rose." I walked off in the direction of Emmett's cabin, knowing that Jasper and Alice were following. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw him tenderly take Alice's hand and slip it through his arm. I was a bit shocked at the intensity of their feelings for one another so soon, but knew I shouldn't be considering how I felt about Bella. It occurred to me that fate had quite a hand in our lives by bringing us all together at this exact moment.
As I neared Emmett's door, I rapped sharply. It opened almost immediately, as if someone had been waiting for us. Rose was standing at the door tapping her foot impatiently. Emmett had flown around her putting himself in front of her. He turned around and they started arguing. "If you want to be safe, you have to let me protect you. It could have been someone else at the door."
Rose replied sharply "I've been taking care of myself long enough without you. Just because you are marrying me doesn't mean that you will own me."
I put myself between them before things could get worse. "Rose, do you want to go spend some time with Bella. Alice wants you all to get ready for the weddings together and I'm sure Bella wants to see you." Rose darted around me muttering something under her breath I did not care to hear. I did catch the words fool and Emmett, so I wasn't terribly concerned. "Let them work it out for themselves." I told Jasper as he started to intervene. "Emmett, go arrange a meal and bring it to my cabin for the ladies. We will escort Rose and Alice there now. Meet us in their previous cabin when you are finished."
Emmett sighed and walked off. I knew he had his work cut out for him if he wanted to win Rose's heart. I was certain that she needed some space right now and it would be best for both of them if it was granted her.
We walked back to my cabin and I unlocked the door, calling to Bella and telling her that it was just us. As I opened it, I looked immediately to her and saw the love she had for me shimmering in her eyes. I walked to her and knelt down by her as she sat in the chair. Putting my hands on hers where they sat in her lap, I looked up into her eyes. "Are you doing alright?" I asked. I was worried that her head was paining her.
"I'm am feeling much better, now that you are here. Thank you, Edward." She replied sweetly.
I straightened and brought my lips to hers for a sweet kiss. "Emmett, Jasper, and I have some business to take care of today. The captain is a friend of mine and I'm sure he won't mind wedding us this evening, but I must make some preparations first. First, I need to know if this plan still suits you. It is not to late to change it if you are unhappy in any way."
Looking me straight in the eyes she answered "I would regret it if you were to change your plans." Her eyes spoke the truth to me and I couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief.
"Then they shall remain the same. I am leaving Rose and Alice to keep you company. Emmett will be along shortly with a meal for you since I am sure you are starving. I will be back shortly, love." I gave her another kiss on her beautiful mouth and turned to find the others regarding me. Alice was beaming and Rose was even starting to lose her suspicious looks in regard to me. Pulling out chairs for them, I urged them to have a seat then quit the room, hurrying Jasper along with me despite the lingering looks he was giving Lady Alice.
"I assume that you and Lady Alice have resolved matters between you?" I questioned him as we hurried along the deck.
"Edward, you will not believe it. She loves me and she told me so. I am still reeling from the effects, and I daresay that I never expected her to come into my life. Now that she is here, I cannot imagine a future without her. I never thought I would be saying this but bless Emmett for coming up with that idea in the first place! Its all I can do just to wait until later when the captain marries us. I just want her to belong to me."
I chuckled. "I know the feeling quite well."
As we reached the cabin that held the monster that had harmed Bella, I drew a deep breath. Turning the key in the lock I pushed it open, already trying to hold on to the urges that made me want to kill him. The man was sitting up against the table, still securely bound. He was looking at me with hate filled eyes that did nothing to reassure me about the danger that we were still facing. I paused a moment before beginning to speak. "I want to know who you are and any information you have about your cohorts that may be seeking those young ladies. We can do this the hard way or the easy way. There are three of us and one of you and I am not adverse to torture in this situation."
Seeing the look on both mine and Jasper's faces, the man blanched. I knew he was a coward. Only a coward would attack a defenseless woman. The man seemed to weigh his options for a moment, then decided to answer my questions. "My name is Felix. I was sent by a man named James. Apparently your ladies' uncle owes them some debts and exchanged them to resolve it. Despite what you may think, those ladies now belong to him and his business associates. They were traded fairly by their legal guardian and you'd better have a care to remember that." He was almost smug at this point.
"I need more information." I stated emphatically.
The man we now knew as Felix continued. "I sent them word as soon as I found them, you see. The ship was leaving, but they were prepared to come after them with their own ship, so I am sure that we were followed immediately. I would assume that they will catch up to us any day now and then we'll see who will be locked in the cabin or worse. Maybe then I will be able to get a little enjoyment out of at least one of them before they are returned to their rightful owners in England."
I lost control at the leer on his face and struck out. As my fist connected with his jaw, Felix slumped down into unconsciousness.
"There is no time to waste, Jasper. We must collect Emmett and start making plans. Captain Johnson will marry us, I am sure and I will ask for his discretion. We need to form a plan of escape if the ship does catch us."
"Edward, wait. I did come up with a plan last night. It is risky, but the options are better than to be caught. You see, if we can get off this ship, then we have a chance of making it. If we are caught on this ship with those ladies, you know they will kill us. Our titles will mean nothing to those pirates and we will be sorely outnumbered. My plan is to pack one of the longboats with needed supplies and leave in that. I know it is a dangerous attempt, but my hope is that another ship will find us or we will find some land. If we land then maybe the people there will help us or we will find another way back. We can have Captain Johnson send men looking for us once he reaches England again. No one will stop at finding the lost Duke of Ashford you know."
Before I could even take in the dangers of this plan, Jasper continued. "I know that it seems mad, but it will work. You see, Lady Alice has The Sight. She knew, Edward that we would be married before you or Emmett even brought it up. She told me yesterday before Bella was even hurt. She knew of my plan almost the moment I thought of it and she says it will work. I wouldn't bet against her. I am sure that if her cousins know she said it would be safe, they will believe."
I was quiet as I thought of the merits of this plan. The situation we were in now, it could hardly get worse so I was inclined to try. I did believe in "the sight" as it was called. My grandmother had been able to see things before they happened as well. "Very well, Jasper. I think we should do that. Will you make arrangements while I see to the marriage details?"
"Of course. Do you think Emmett will agree?"
"I think if it means spending more time alone with Rose before we get back to England, he will agree to anything." I laughed.
"Are you talking about me?" Emmett asked as he wandered up. Somehow, he was always able to tell when the subject turned to him.
"Yes, we were reminiscing on your troubles with Lady Rose." I said slyly.
"Isn't she amazing? I mean, I wish she would trust me, but she truly cares about her family and will do anything to protect them. She will make a fine countess won't she?" Emmett gushed.
Leaving the subject, I told Jasper to tell Emmett the new plans and to see to them. I went off to make arrangements with the captain. He was a long time friend of mine, one that I could not only trust to be discreet, but to do anything he could to protect Bella and her family. I was going to tell him to hide the appropriate marriage documents until he reached England. Once there, I wanted him to file them with the church so it would officially be legal and send out my own men to look for me. I owned a fleet of ships and knew that the men were loyal to me. They would find me, for they were brilliant sailors.
BPOV
Who knew that Alice could find a way to do our hair fancy in this setting? Actually, who was I kidding, we were talking about Alice! She had set to work on our hair almost the moment she had come into the cabin. She was chattering happily about Jasper, and I was content to listen to her. Rose was quieter than usual, and I couldn't help but think she was worried about something.
"Rose, are you still worried that Edward won't protect me? I assure you that he loves me and will keep me safe. Will you talk about what is bothering you?"
Rose was silent for a long, tense moment. Finally she answered. "Its not Edward or Jasper or even Emmett I don't trust. Its that I don't want to trust them. Emmett causes me to have feelings I have never experienced and I feel vulnerable around him. I don't want him to have that control over me. We are getting married, through no choice of mine and that causes me to rebel, yet some part of me does want to be close to him. I am afraid of being hurt if I do learn to trust him and allow myself to fall in love with him. I believe that in the very least, that is something that is possible. He is the type of person I have always seen myself with-strong, handsome, possessing self confidence, yet he is gentle and kind as well. My fear is that I could be wrong. What if he turns out to be the opposite of what I believe him to be and is more like Uncle Laurent?"
"Rose, I know that you have no desire to be with a man like Uncle, but I can assure you that won't be the case with Emmett. You see, I haven't had a chance to get to know him yet or even talk to him, but I do know Edward. He would never align himself with a man who wasn't honorable and trustworthy. I think that as time goes on, you will see that. You have great instincts about people, and I think you should trust that. Now, since it is our wedding day and we don't have any beautiful dresses to wear, I think we should allow Alice to do our hair so we look somewhat like brides. I can certainly say, I never dreamed of a wedding like this."
Alice squealed and set to work arranging and pinning our hair into style. When she was finished, Rose and I worked on her hair. While we didn't exactly get the results we had intended, it came out fairly decent. I was sure that Jasper wouldn't mind in the least. He was quite taken with Alice according to what she had said. We chattered endlessly on about our dreams for the future and finally Alice brought up Jasper's plan for escaping the pirates I am sure were after us. I was apprehensive about the plan, but since she said it would turn out right, I trusted her. She was never wrong.
We had just finished talking when there was a knock on the door. At our answer, in stepped Edward, Jasper and Emmett. Jasper and Emmett were dressed in their finest clothes-cravats tied neatly at the neck with dark waistcoats and shiny hessian boots.
Edward came to me and gave me a soft kiss on the mouth. How I had missed him this morning! "We have a gift for all of you, love." He presented me with a dark blue dress. It would be slightly big and too long, but it was something other than my shapeless brown rags I was wearing. "I couldn't let you get married in those clothes, so the captain's wife gave me one of her dresses. There is one for each of you. I apologize for not having more, but I will make it up to you upon our return home."
"Thank you, Edward!" I cried. "It is perfect."
"Well, we will leave you to get ready then. Have fun." he said as he went to his wardrobe and gathered up some clothing. "I will change in Jasper's cabin, and we will be back to collect you soon."
Alice, Rose, and I squealed as they left the room. While the dresses weren't as beautiful as we'd always dreamed, they were a step up from what we were wearing and we couldn't wait to dress. Rose's dress, which Emmett had handed her was scarlet-a color that most young ladies did not wear, but one that would look beautiful on her. It was a bit to short and tight in the bosom area, but she looked beautiful nonetheless. Alice's dress was a pink lacy concoction that was quite big on her in every area, but with a few strategically placed pins, we were able to procure a decent fit. My dress was also to big on me in almost every place but the bosom, which was stretched tight. I blushed red when I noticed just how low cut the gown was. Alice pinned the hem up so I could walk without tripping and tightened it in the back as well. When she was finished, it looked like it was made for me. Soon, there was another knock at the door and we all took deep breaths, prepared to meet our futures standing outside.
I'm sorry this chapter isn't as good as others. I had a hard time writing it for some reason. Next chapter-wedding for sure. :D
I'm also writing another story which will be up in the next few days, so check it out! Its called Down in Africa.