29. The Art Of Sneaking Out

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A/N

I hope you guys liked Christopher's perspective!

***

Christopher was right. After a while, Lord Wheat left the table and disappeared to probably his study. You would think his beloved wife and daughter would notice, or even care, but no, they were too deep in conversation about me to care.

"Oh, I know some brilliant homes you can look at, and they're just down the road from us too!" Lady Wheat exclaimed.

I shrunk back into my chair. Oh, why did I agree to this?

"Surely, the captain would want a say in this!" Katherine said. "She can't decide it all!"

"Katherine, a home is a woman's job to take care of, and it was very considerate and sweet of the captain to allow Anne to have the chance to pick her forever home for her family. One day you will understand."

When her mother wasn't looking, Katherine rolled her eyes. "Can it at least be somewhere else? Does she have to live right down the road?"

"Oh, why not? At least then, I can help Anne when she's pregnant!" Lady Wheat cooed with a bright smile.

Children! When did children come into the conversation? I thought we were talking about buying a house, and even that is hard to not pass out over!

"U-unless you would prefer to live near your parents, dear. Excuse my excitement. I don't want little oh me to-"

"No, it's fine!" I tried to say. Oh, what am I doing! "My parents don't care where I live."

My heart ached the moment those words left my mouth. Why was I doing this for Christopher again? Oh yeah, so I could hurry up with this mission to get the hell out from under his rule! Freedom, I'm fighting for my freedom!

"What joy! I can help you two set up your new home. I'll find you the best servents, the best furniture, oh, and we can't forget the fabrics! How exciting! You don't know how much happiness you brought me, Anne!"

I smiled. Poor girl, she didn't know the half of it. I'm dealing with something much bigger than the houses she was suggesting to me. I'm dealing with a bloody, conniving thief that gets the utmost pleasure of getting the title of a pirate!

A few dinner guests left the table, taking along their wives and husbands to another part of the mansion, while I stayed at the table with an exciting Lady and an angry Katherine.

Dinner and dessert were long over, and Christopher's been upstairs for a while now. Of course, nobody noticed, involved with their own business and all, but I did. Oh, how I did. Had he found that damn necklace yet?

"Oh, and Anne, I know the best place where we can find cutest baby clothes! Maybe in the future, I could show you?" Lady Wheat said in a small voice.

I nodded, going along. "That would be lovely, thank you, but you must excuse me, I believe my husband needs help finding that handkerchief of his, and it's getting pretty late. I think we're going to turn in for the night. Goodnight, ladies," I said, getting up and curtsying.

They both said their goodnights and went our separate ways. Lady Wheat probably to find her husband and the ever so grown up Lady Katherine to rant about me to a doll. Either way, I got to see what my husband was up too.

When I walked into our room, I found him in an armchair. He had a book in his hands and his feet on an ottoman. He looked up at me.

"Have a good time?" He asked.

"It was..." I took a moment to think of the right word to use. "Pleasant. Did you get the necklace?"

He smirked and reached in his pocket only to pull out a pearl necklace. He dangled it in front of me.

"A long time before you came up here, so about," using both hands, he flipped through his book. "Three chapters ago."

I tried to suppress the fact that he left me out there to die practically, but who cared, right? He got the treasure, and we can put an end to this little adventure of ours. See you never, pirate!

But I did want to know one thing before I left.

"So when are you going to meet this mystery person, huh?" I taunted.

"Tonight - when you least expect it," he smiled.

I rose a confident brow. "And what makes you think you will succeed at that?"

"By the fact that this is me who is sneaking out and not you." Damn his confidence.

I narrowed my eyes, challenging him. "What makes you think I can't sneak out?"

The proud, arrogant smirk said it all. I should have shut my mouth. "You do remember the incident involving your leg, don't you?" He said sarcastically.

I bit the inside of my cheek for sounding so stupid. "W-well, that doesn't count. You knew I would sneak out. Could you possibly stand in that room all day and night? It was torture!"

"I did what I had to do."

"I wouldn't call hiding in the bloody shadows something you had to do."

He shrugged. "It is what it is."

***

I planned to follow him. I had to know what he was hiding, or who. I couldn't just let that go. If I was going to know more about this criminal, I had to find out. If only I knew when he would be leaving.

That meant I had to keep an eye on him at all times, but I didn't know how I would pull that off without falling asleep. Who knew lying could make someone so tired?

"Getting sleepy, darling?" Christopher asked, looking up from his book after hearing my accidental yawn.

I looked up from my book. "Nope. I can stay like this all night thank you very much."

He chuckled. "We'll see."

I met his challenging stare. "We shall."

We read in silence for a little while before Christopher got up, putting his book down. He stretched.

"Want something from the kitchen?" He asked, lifting his arms over his head.

I watched him. "At this hour? We should be asleep."

"The keyword is should, love. But if you're going to stay up all night waiting for me to leave, you might have a midnight snack, so what will it be?"

"A tart?"

He smirked. "Got it, coming right up. Be back in a minute." And just like that, he was out the door.

I smiled and got up from the bed and changed into a few clothes borrowed from Christopher. I wanted to be in a pair of pants if it meant we were doing anything that required more movement than I hoped.

I managed to take off my corset, learning from a friendly lady maid how to do it myself, and slipped into my outfit, all ready to go. Now the hard part - sneaking out without getting noticed.

I opened the door a crack and stepped out. Nobody was around, not even servants, so I left the room, shutting the door softly behind me. I tiptoed down the corridor and down the stairs, barely making a sound until I got to the bottom.

Who said I wasn't sneaky?

There, I looked around, and once I saw no one, I walked the rest of the way to the kitchen.

"Acting pretty brave, eh?" A voice said with a tone of mockery. There was only one person that could answer that and so nobly. I turned my head and found none other than Christopher himself leaning against a counter, digging into a tart we had for dessert - the one he was supposed to bring me.

"Congratulations, you're not as simple-minded as I thought you were," he said mockingly. "The first step into thinking like a pirate, don't trust what another pirate says."

I was counting on that.

"Why, thank you," I said, rolling my eyes. "But I already have the career as a pirate's wife, so no."

He chuckled. "Keep your options open, will ye? A pirate's life is a lot better than you think it is. Don't you want to see the world? The Galapagos, perhaps?"

How did he-

"There's one more tart if you want it. I'd advise you to eat it fast, though; we have to get going."

I forgot about his comment about the Galapagos with the joy he just gave me. "You mean, I can come?" I said with a smile.

He grabbed the last tart that was on a cloth next to him and tossed it to me. I caught it mid-air and took a bite. "Well, you've proven yourself worthy of sneaking downstairs. You might as well come along."

I smiled, chewing. ThanK, God I was coming! But just I was going to share my excitement with my fake husband, the man took off, leaving me in an empty kitchen.

Damn, pirate. "Wait for me!" I whispered loudly, swallowing the last bit of my tart, and followed suit after him through the corridor, and toward what I assumed was the back door.

I was right. Just as I had come to the end of the hallway, a door was open - a door Christopher was holding open for me.

"Fascinating how you can eat that while following a pirate. I didn't think you'd keep up," he said, amused. I shrugged.

"How do you manage to sound so enchanting and still be a barnacle?"

He smiled. "I'm flattered, but I'm afraid it comes naturally," he said. "Now, are we ready to go?" I nodded.

"Good." He smirked. "Now, get ready to scale a wall."

"I have to what now?"

"Did I stutter because I believe what I said was scale a wall."

Good thing I was wearing pants.

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