A/N: Almost there…NAT IN THIS CHAPTER, GIRLS!
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A few weeks after they returned from their mini vacation, Kit and Gilbert were strolling along the wharf. It was a warm day, the sun dazzling brightly above, and the sea was beautiful and calm. The wharf was busy with sailors unloading and loading their cargo, and passengers getting off or onto ships. Kit couldn't help scanning the horizon for a certain ship, even though it would most likely not be there.
"What's wrong, Kit?" Gilbert asked softly.
Everything, she thought to herself. As good of a friend you are to me, Gilbert, I cannot truly be your wife. I know you do not expect me to cook, clean, and do your laundry, but there is more to it. I cannot share your bed and bear your children. I belong to Nat.
"Nothing," she said. "I'm just nervous about the wedding."
"Yes. Only two more weeks," he said gloomily. He did not want the wedding anymore than she did. Anne was constantly figuring into his thoughts, day and night, and when he thought of love, he thought of Anne, not Kit. But he could not do anything about it; he would be marrying Kit, and Anne would be lost to him forever. He had not seen her since that fateful day at the hotel resort, and he did not know very much about her. He desperately hoped she was not married; he was too scrupulous to start an affair with her. He could not deceive Kit; she was his friend, if nothing more.
Sad thoughts and useless regrets plagued the unhappy couple as they strolled along the wharf.
* * * * *
Kit looked up to see an old sailor staring boldly at her. He looked so familiar…who was he?
Unfortunately Gilbert saw the sailor too. He drew an arm around her shoulders and stared back at the man.
"Why are you staring at her like that?" he asked protectively.
"Beg your pardon, sir," the sailor replied before scurrying off.
He looks so familiar, Kit thought, as Gilbert took his arm off her shoulders. He had not felt comfortable in that position; he had been imagining that she was Anne, and to him, that was deceitful and wrong.
* * * * *
"Nat! Nat!" the sailor cried breathlessly as soon as he got back on the ship.
"Yes, what is it, Bertram?" the handsome, lanky sailor replied.
"It's her!"
"Who?" Nat asked, though he had a feeling he knew.
"Her! You know…her!"
Nat was now sure he knew. Which female would be in Barbados? Which female would be strolling along the wharf? Of course he knew. Without another word or even a thanks to the old sailor, Nat ran off in the direction Bertram had indicated.
Bertram sighed. Ah, to be young and in love…so many heartbreaks…so much potential happiness…and there Nat had gone, off to see his beloved in the arms of another man.
* * * * *
"Wait here a moment, Kit, while I go in to see Sir Charles. I need to talk to him about a recent shipment," Gilbert said. "Unless you would like to come along?"
"No, I'll stay out here." Kit did not like Sir Charles' store very much; it smelled heavily of liquor and tobacco and was frequented by rough men. On top of this, Kit did not like Sir Charles himself; he was a fat, lazy slob who sat on his chair all day, yelling at underpaid, starved children to serve his customers in exchange for a piece of moldy black bread less than the size of their palms. While Gilbert did not like Sir Charles either, he had business to take care of, and he would just have to do it on his own.
* * * * *
Nat ran faster and faster, his heart beating more because of anticipation at seeing his beloved Kit once again, than because of his relentless pace. The last time he had seen her was when he had saved Hannah and she had declined to go with him. She had deceived him; he thought she had loved him, but she hadn't, and she had made up an excuse not to go with him. So why was he running back to her? Oh, plague this! Nat's head was not working, only his heart, and he would find Kit.
But where was she? He had not seen any females around, only prostitutes on the docks, scantily clad in revealing dresses, their faces overdone with makeup. One had even had the nerve to come up to him and flirt with him, making kissing noises at him. He had ignored her, rather enraged at her daunting, and continued to run.
Was that Kit? The young woman standing at the dock, her hair blowing in the wind, a trapped, lost look on her face…was that Kit? So different from the haughty disdain she had shown after she had dove into the water to save Prudence Cruff's doll…so different from the gentle look she had given Nat so long ago…was that Kit?
"Kit! Kit!" Nat cried out, unable to restrain himself any longer.
The girl looked up. So it was Kit. What was she doing here, in this end of the wharf? She couldn't be…could she? No, her dress was respectable, and she did not wear excessive amounts of makeup…but still…one could see why a man would pay to…
* * * * *
Kit looked up. A tall, handsome, well-tanned man was bounding toward her in what seemed like hysterical lunacy, shouting her name as if in delirium. It was Nat. Nat had come to her. He had come to Barbados. He was here to save her. She ran into his arms, joy rushing through her, and Nat decided that Kit had maintained her innocence.
* * * * *
"Kit, it's been so long…how are you?" Nat asked breathlessly.
Kit began sobbing at once in a mixture of joy, regret, and sadness.
"Shh…it's okay, Kit. I'm here now, darling, and I love you. Just let it all out," Nat said, patting her back gently, his heart breaking with every tear that rolled down her beautiful cheek. What was wrong?
Kit continued to sob into his chest, but slowly choked out an explanation.
"I'm…I'm engaged, Nat," she said painfully. "The wedding's in two weeks."
Nat's heart was broken. He had finally found her, and she was engaged? It could not be true.
"Do…do you love him, Kit?" he asked tentatively. He was not sure he wanted to know the answer to this.
Kit sobbed even harder.
"No," she said. "I don't."
Nat's hopes began to soar.
"Do you love me?" he asked. This response would either make him the happiest man in the world, or cause him to sink into a despair so great he would consider drowning himself…after all, a sailor's suicide should be by drowning in his beloved waters.
"I do," Kit said. Her tears began to subside, and she looked up at his shining eyes, so handsome, so bright, so filled with love and happiness.
Before she could say anything else, she felt warm, tender lips on hers. The effect was electric. She put her arms around his neck, as he drew her closer to him. His tongue begged her mouth to open, and Kit surrendered willingly. The kiss was sweet, long-lived, and passionate. Kit had never been happier in her life.
But there was just one problem…
* * * * *
Gilbert's eyes were laid upon a startling scene. His fiancée was kissing a man he had never before seen, and it was obviously of her own accord. What should he do?
"Kit? What are you doing?"
The two lovers broke apart at once, but Nat's arm remained around Kit's waist. He would be ready to fight for his love if need be. But he hoped Kit's fiancé would be reasonable and that he didn't really love Kit as much as Nat did.
Kit was frightened. What would happen now? There was nothing much to do but explain.
"Hello, Gilbert…this is Nat," she said awkwardly. "He's an old friend of mine…he…he risked his life to save mine once."
"Nice to meet you, Nat," he said. Gilbert was in a daze.
"My pleasure," Nat said warily. Though the man seemed not to be reasonable, Nat would not take chances.
"I suppose explanations and confessions are in order," Kit said. He began to regain her calmness, and Nat was thrilled. He could never stand a high-strung woman who lost her wits repeatedly and became hysterical. Kit's levelheadedness was one of the things he loved best about her.
"I'm sorry, Gilbert. I don't know how else to say it. I love Nat. Please…release me from the engagement. I would never do you proud as a wife. It's for your sake as well as mine. Please, Gilbert," Kit begged.
Gilberts mind was spinning. If Kit did not love him, he was free. He could find Anne and marry her. They would both be happy.
"Yes. Of course," he said, a feeling of relief washing through him and a light shining in his eyes. "I have a confession to make too. When we went to the hotel resort, I met a girl, Anne. And I fell in love."
"What are you waiting for, then?" Kit asked jubilantly. She was glad that her friend had a love to appreciate him. Thrusting his ring back into his hand, she said, "Go find her!"
"I wish you both the best," Gilbert said. "As rash as it may seem, I will go find her. Nat, you are welcome to stay at my home for the duration of your stay in Barbados if you wish. I will not be home, of course, but you are welcome anyway. Any friend of Kit's is a friend of mine, and if it is her fiancé," Gilbert added, winking as Kit blushed, "So much the better."
"Thank you for your hospitality," Nat said jovially.
"Good bye, Gilbert!" Kit called after him.
Gilbert turned and waved. Then he was gone, and Nat and Kit were alone together on the wharf.
Kit turned back to Nat, whose piercing blue eyes gazed into hers with love. He could stand there forever, just looking at her, but he had something else to do.
"Oh, Kit, I didn't want it to be like this, not here, love. But it'll just have to do."
Nat kneeled down on one knee. "Katherine Tyler, will you marry me?"
"Nat, you have no idea how much pleasure it would give me to be your wife."
Nat slid a ring on her finger, and Kit gasped in pleasure. It was a circlet of pearls surrounding a beautiful blue topaz set in white gold.
"Blue topaz and pearls. For the sea," she guessed.
"Yes," Nat replied, laughing. "I have carried this ring around ever since I knew I loved you, hoping that when I found you, I could propose. I've been searching for you everywhere after you ran away from your uncle's house, but couldn't exactly go and ask them where you had gone, what with me being banished an all."
"No I don't suppose so…" Kit said demurely as they strolled along the wharf towards his father's ship, his arm comfortably draped around her shoulders. Kit was in bliss. She had never felt this love and comfort with Gilbert, and she knew that she had belonged to Nat, and not Gilbert all along.
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A/N: End of this (longer than usual) chapter. NAT AND KIT GOT TOGETHER! It was really fun to write. One more chapter? Something like that. By the way, new penname: Mistletoe Moon!