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her hands.
    The physician arrived and diagnosed what everyone else had known.
    “Mrs. Campbell has a broken leg. I’ll set it but she must be kept still in bed for several weeks.”
    “We were to go on a voyage in three days,” Jenna said.
    “To Barbados,” added the dressmaker helpfully.
    “Not this lady,” the physician said. “Not if she wishes to walk again.”
    Maisie Campbell grimaced, but still Jenna saw a note of relief in her chaperone’s eyes. Jenna knew her companion had never wanted to take the long voyage and had been terrified of pirates. She had been more afraid, though, to refuse the head of the Campbell clan.
    “We will have to go home,” she stated, trying to restore her lost dignity and authority.
    “No,” Jenna said. “Celia and I will go on. Mr. Murray is expecting me.”
    Maisie looked at her in horror. “You cannot go alone. It would be scandalous.”
    Scandal, Jenna knew, was the worst possible thing that could happen to someone in charge of her good name.
    “The fare has already been paid,” Jenna reasoned aloud, desperate now not to return to her life in Scotland. “I doubt if we could get it back, and the next ship to Barbados is weeks away. I do not believe my father would regard the delay kindly. He has given his word to David Murray.”
    Maisie frowned, obviously unconvinced. “Your father—”
    “My father wants me out of Scotland,” Jenna said bluntly, not caring if anyone else heard. The hurt still pierced deeply. She knew she could not return home.
    Maisie’s gaze fell. It was something she could not deny. “You will be disgraced,” she protested weakly.
    “Is that any worse than what I am now?” Jenna asked. “Because I carry a birthmark, I am considered damaged, tainted, even evil. Perhaps society in Barbados is not so condemning.”
    Maisie flushed. “Then I accept no responsibility,” she said.
    “You have none. I am twenty-five,” Jenna said. “From now on, I will see to myself.”
    Her mind was already wrapping itself around the fact that her father had paid for three passages and two cabins. Now she would need only one. If she could get a refund on the second, then she would have the money to leave Barbados if necessary. Perhaps to the American colonies, where she’d heard people were judged on their merit, not on their position or appearance.
    Her heart lightened. The journey now held more than one ray of hope. If David Murray did not want her, she would be off on another adventure.
    With the assistance of the dressmaker, she made arrangements for Mrs. Campbell to stay in a private residence where she would be cared for until she could return to Scotland. A letter was sent by coach to inform her father what had happened and her own plans to continue on. It would arrive well after her ship had left London.
    That accomplished in her usual efficient manner, she stood for the final fitting. She didn’t even mind the long sleeves as her mind bubbled over with new enthusiasm. No Maisie Campbell. And she would have extra funds from an unneeded cabin that had already been engaged and paid for.
    It was a good omen. She knew it.

Chapter Three

    The Caribbean, One Month Later

    Alex took his first English prize with only a shot across the bow. The ship had no guns, and Alex’s
Ami
had far more speed. It did not take long to convince the English captain to surrender.
    He decided to send the rich prize of rum and sugar back to France. The prize should recompense Etienne for the bills they’d incurred in refitting the ship. It could also carry Meg and Robin back to France. Alex thought that would be the safest place for them. The English crew was put ashore a French island with little access to the shipping lanes. News of the ship’s capture would take months to reach England, making its voyage to France safe. At least safer than his own ship that bristled with guns.
    His next prize would be sold in Martinique, the largest French island in the Caribbean.