A/N: Don't worry, Angel of Despair, I'm not a person who breaks up couples who are meant to be…Gilbert is a nice guy and all, but Nat gets the girl!  (I'm SO spoiling my whole plot line this way, but…)

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As the days passed, Kit and Gilbert grew even closer than before.  They would spend just about every possible moment in each other's company, and would separate only at night to go to their cabins.  Kit noticed that Gilbert began to look at her with much the same interest as his uncle had, and to be frank, she didn't mind at all, in fact, one might say she rather enjoyed this attention from such a charming man.  She believed she was beginning to fall in love with him, and wholeheartedly welcomed this change from her obsession with Nat.  If she couldn't have one man, then why not go for another?

One day, a huge storm suddenly struck, leaving the entire crew occupied, and Kit alone on the deck of the ship.  Gilbert had gone to his cabin to get something he needed.  Kit was struggling valiantly to try to get to the door leading below deck, when she saw Gilbert coming up from below.  He tried to reach her, to help her back down, when he tripped over a large bundle of rope on the ground.

Nat wouldn't have done that, Kit thought.  As soon as this idea raced through her mind, she was mortified.  She hadn't thought of him almost ever since she met Gilbert.  Why now?

Gilbert reached Kit without further ado, and he helped her successfully below deck.  There they dried off and went to sleep, trying to ignore the storm, Kit wondering why she had thought of Nat just then, and Gilbert wondering why there had been a storm just when he was getting ready to propose to her.

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All was calm the morning after, and they reached Kit's beloved Barbados without any further ado.  They stepped off the ship, both not having gotten their land legs yet, and were rather unstable.  With a shock, Kit realized that she had no idea what she would do next.  She had been so busy with Gilbert that she had completely forgotten to make any course of action for when she finally arrived in Barbados.  Luckily, Gilbert saved the day.

 "Kit, where are you going now?" he asked.

"The truth is, I don't know…"

"Do you have a place to stay?"

"I do not."

"Would you honor me by your presence at my late uncle's estate?  You could stay with me until you found another place."  Or forever would be nice too, he thought.

"Thank you very much!" Kit replied enthusiastically.  She was so grateful for this offer that she flung her arms about his neck, and the two embraced warmly.

Should I ask her to marry me? he thought to himself.  He decided against it.  He would bide his time.  He would wait and see if she enjoyed his company as much as he enjoyed hers.  He would give it another three months, wait until the details of his inheritance were fully settled, and then ask her to marry him.  Yes, that was a good plan.

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A/N: THEY WILL NOT GET MARRIED!  I PROMISE!