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To his astonishment, she left the room.
“Wait!” he roared.
But she was gone.
A few seconds later, the door opened again and Jake rushed in. “All right, Morgan, both our hides are in jeopardy.”
Jake slashed the ropes holding him to his chair. “She’s headed for the study downstairs. If you have any decency in you at all, you’ll make her see reason or we’ll both be drunken fools looking for a new place to live.”
“Why didn’t you tell me she was here?”
“Because I promised her and Lorelei I would never, under any circumstances, tell you she came here.”
He hardened his stare. “You’re supposed to bemyfriend, Jake.”
“If I wasn’t your friend, I wouldn’t have put my neck in the noose by bringing you here today. Now get down there and smooth this over.”
Morgan wasted no more time sprinting downstairs and into the study where Jake had told him Serenity would be waiting.
As soon as he opened the door, Serenity spun around to face him. Her eyes narrowed. “Oh, I swear I hate you, Jacob Dudley,” she said under her breath. “All I want is Lorelei and he keeps sending me toyou.”
Morgan frowned at her hostility. “Why are you so angry?” he asked, moving to stand in front of her. “I’ve come back for you and this is how you greet me?”
Her face was a mockery of anger and astonishment. “You’ve come back for me? Oh, how delightful. Shall I put on my best gown or should I just fall down on my knees in gratitude that youfinallyremembered I exist?”
Morgan couldn’t help it, he laughed. “You never could react the way you were supposed to to anything.” He took her face in his hands. “God, how I’ve missed you.”
She stepped back from him. “This isn’t a game, Morgan. And I find nothing amusing about the fact that—”
“But I’ve been looking for you. Didn’t anyone tell you?”
She turned her head to the side and eyed him skeptically. “Aye, you took your own, slow time getting here. Then you went to my father’s shop, asked him and Douglas if I’d made it safely home. When they told you they didn’t know where I was, you immediately left and set sail. Forgive me if that amount of care for my well-being doesn’t impress me.”
Morgan was aghast. “Lord, woman, I’ve done nothing but look for you since the day you boarded that ship. There was a storm, do you remember it?”
“Aye.”
Hallelujah, mayhap there was hope for her forgiveness after all. “It knocked us off course which delayed me in getting here the first time. When I left your father’s shop, I went to find that Colonial ship, to ask them what had happened to you. When they told me nothing, I came back here as soon as I could and I’ve been here ever since. Didn’t anyone tell youthat?”
“I—”
“And just what are you doing here anyway?”
She put her hands on her hips. “I started to go home, Morgan, but on the way back, Jake convinced me to stay here for a while. After my sister’s public disgrace and disappearance, my father agreed that I should stay away from Savannah.”
“But why didn’t they tell me where you were?”
“I didn’t want them to.”
“Then why are you mad at me for not getting here sooner?”
“Because you weren’t supposed to give up so easily. You were supposed—”
“Serenity, I—” Lorelei broke off her words as she entered the study and saw them standing just inches apart. Stopping in place, she stiffened her posture and eyed him coldly. “Good afternoon, Captain Drake.”
Morgan was taken aback by Lorelei’s hostility as she adjusted the small baby in her arms. He’d always considered her a friend, and they’d never once in all these years had a disagreement.
“Hello, Lorelei.”
