Page 20 of The Pirate's Daughter

“I need to do something before I return to the beach,” she said and wouldn’t meet his eyes. “You can go back if you want. It won’t take verylong.”

“I think I’ll accompany you,” he said, not wanting to sound as suspicious as he felt. “If you don’tmind.”

“It is a bit of aclimb.”

“Mia, you aren’t going on the cliffs. I told you I’m not having it. I don’t care how many times you claim to have safelyjumped.”

Her face became a mask of rage and she stomped her foot at him. “I’m not going to the cliffs to jump. You said no jumping today. If I was going to jump, I wouldn’t have bothered to wash the ocean off. And do you see me?” She yelled waving her hand up and down her body. “I’m dressed, right down to shoes.” She stuck out her foot to show him what he knew. “I’d be drowned if I went in like this.” She stomped her foot again. “I’mnotstupid,” she finished and tried to storm pasthim.

“Mia,” Devin snapped, reaching for her as she passed. “Mia,” he yelled her name again as he dropped everything to take a firmer hold onher.

“I’m not stupid,” she screamed at him a secondtime.

“Mia,” he ground out and gave her a shake. “Haul in those sheets. Calm this storm and haul in your sheets.” He waited until she stopped struggling, but had no hope her rage would sink fast. “I wasn’t saying you’re stupid. I know you’re not stupid. But youarestubborn and willful, hm?” She stopped glaring at him and shrugged her shoulders. Of course she’d admit that. The commodore warned him she was stubborn, with more pride in his voice than should have been. Stubborn and willful weren’t bad traits in her papa’s opinion, so she ownedthem.

“I wasn’t even thinking about jumping,” she said, sniffed, raised her arm and wiped her nose on hersleeve.

Devin rolled his eyes, then cleared his throat. “Then I beg pardon for assuming such.” She nodded her head, first with some uncertainly then a bit more firmly. “Mia, look at me.” He waited and she lifted those amazing eyes. “You need to stop getting your rigging in a knot so easily. Ah-ah,” he warned when the storm rose up in her eyes. “Everything I say—everything said to you by anyone—isn’t straight away an insult. For mercy’s sake Mia, we’ve barely known each other a week.”How had she been missing from his life for so long?“Not really a week. Yesterday was the first day we even managed to sit together for a meal, was itnot?”

“Aye,” she shifted and slumped. Devin knew this was Mia in defeat. It wasn’t a very prettysight.

“We’re not like other people, othermarriedpeople. We haven’t had years of association, months of courtship and such to learn about each other. We certainly need to learn how to speak to each other if we’re going to find our course and stay on it. I didn’t mean to suggest you were stupid. And perhaps my tone wasunnecessary.”

“Aye,” she snapped, but with littlebite.

He cocked his head to the side and offered her a smile. “Then I apologize for that as well. However, for nearly the full length of a day you have nagged me to jump from the cliffs. You even said there was no real reason to go up other than to do justthat.”

“I don’t want to go all the way up,” shewhined.

“Did I know that? Did you give me that information?” She shook her head. “No, so what might I havethought?”

“You didn’t give me a chance toexplain.”

“I didn’t. Again my mistake. Yours was assuming I wanted to disparage you. There was no need to scream at me and stomp your foot like a child. Ah-ah.” Again he doused that flame trying to spark. “It’s childish to stomp. If you stomp your foot at me again, you will feel the lash across your stern. You’ve no reason to stomp. You’re too much of a lady to resort to such things.” That got him an upward twitch of her lips. Praise, even poor praise, was very welcomed by her. “All you needed to do was inform me there is something else up that way you want todo.”

“See,” Miacorrected

“Something you want to see then. I’ll correct course if I get blown off, Mia. I’m not one to sail into the rocks out of pride.” He dropped his hands away and bent to gather the basket and sheets. When he had them, he faced her catching her again wiping her nose on her sleeve. He snorted causing her to lift a brow at him, but he also smiled and she returned it. “Shall wego?”

Devin followed her up a slightly overgrown path, leaving their cargo at the bottom at her suggestion allowed him to balance and leverage forward motion as they climbed. Mia’s surefootedness, a testament to her familiarity with the area, had them stepping onto the plateau overlooking the cove in less than an hour. Mia headed straight towards a large rock covered with growth. With a sad sigh she started pulling the vines. Devin watched a moment then joined her in thetask.

The last tangled vegetation gave way and Mia brushed her hand over the stone in a loving caress. Stepping closer Devin could see the words carved into therock.

In your search for happiness, don’t look betwixt the heavens and the seas. Look rather between your shoulders and yourknees.

“Good advice,” Devinremarked.

“What do you mean?” Mia asked again, letting her hand run over thegouges.

“It’s good advice. Certainly, I have heard it put many ways, but as a seaman, I think that’s the best I’ve heard it.” He reached forward and pulled down a stray vine. “Who put thishere?”

“My mama,” Mia almost whispered. “She put words like these all around these islands. Anywhere she knew Papa would stop. Mostly, I don’t even know what she meant bythem.”

“You know this one?” he asked. She shook her head no. “Mia.” He set his hand on her shoulder. “It means you won’t find happiness or satisfaction always chasing the horizon. You’ll never catch it. It’ll always be ahead of you, out of reach. Happiness is found standing beside you, between your shoulders and your knees so to speak.” He pulled on her a bit and she leaned in. “I think it was Ovidius Naso who said it first, something about crops in a neighbor’s field. But I can’t be sure as I was bored out of my mind in my classical literature studies. This,” he gestured to the stone, “is a much better way to say it. You say she put writings like this all over the island? Is there another you’d like to see before we mustgo?”

“No, she only put one on any island, she only put one any place at all.” Mia stepped away and pressed her cheek against the stone, again caressing the cuts, letting her fingers fall into themarks.

Devin stepped away allowing her a moment of privacy. He’d not thought about where Mia’s mother might be. Now though, he should guess her to be dead, and given the yearning in Mia’s face, long dead. His wife had only stones by which to remember her mother. Then again, so did anyone whose mother was dead. Why then did it seem to him to be more tragic? He couldn’t say and he couldn’t watch. Not when his little pirate looked so fragile. Stepping through a hedge, he found himself out on the very cliff he’d warned Mia to stayoff.

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