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Etienne had assured him there was an active market there for captured vessels. He knew he would get more in France if he could sail the ship there, but he could spare no more of the crew. Although the monies would be less, the sale should provide him with enough gold to turn toward South America ... and search for the diamonds.
    The smuggling of diamonds, he and Etienne had agreed in Paris, would be a safer endeavor now that an English and French peace treaty seemed more likely each day.
    Alex sent a skeleton crew under the second mate—a highly qualified and loyal man, according to Claude—to sail the English ship back to France.
    But when the last quarter boat was ready to leave, the children had disappeared again. A search of the ship found nothing.
    He guessed they were somewhere in the hold, but bloody hell if he could find them. He rather suspected that one or more of the crew was helping the two. They had become favorites in the past month, both of them working as hard as any of the sailors and doing jobs that the seamen preferred not to do, such as scrubbing decks, working in the galley, and cleaning the heads. They’d charmed every member of the crew.
    Alex’s threats accomplished nothing.
    Finally, he could tarry no longer. It was too dangerous for both the
Ami
and their prize. The ships could not be found together.
    After their prize had sailed, Meg and Rob appeared silently, solemn expressions on their faces, both unrepentant and ready for the lecture they would receive.
    Alex was at a loss again. How could he punish two scamps for using everything he’d taught them? He was in a conundrum of his own making. Next time, he secretly vowed, he would lock them in a cabin.
    “You need us,” Meg said, sticking her lower lip out.
    “You do,” Robin quietly insisted. “We peel potatoes better than anyone. Mickey says so.”
    The thought of the aristocratic young lad happily peeling potatoes under their Irish cook only briefly amused Alex. He did not like being manipulated, even by Meg and Robin. He did not like the prospect of even more danger.
    They had been lucky thus far, and that, he feared, gave them a false sense of security. They’d encountered no British warships, and their first capture had been bloodless. One shot and the ship had lowered its colors. He wondered whether Burke’s pipes had anything to do with it. He’d stood on deck, blowing away as if he’d been on a battlefield. The sound carried across the sea and probably sounded frighteningly eerie to the British crew. Sailors the world over were a superstitious lot.
    But not every ship’s crew would be intimidated by his limited number of guns or Burke’s pipes.
    “You can stay,” he said. “For now.” In truth, he had no choice. He could hardly dump them in the sea. He
could
take them to Martinique, but what then? He could not leave them there alone, and now he needed every man jack he had.
    The two children grinned and then slipped away before he could change his mind.

    Aboard the
Charlotte

    Jenna took a deep breath of tangy night air on the quarterdeck as the ship bucked in the heavy seas.
    Celia was in their cabin, praying for the voyage to end. She had weathered the first days nicely, but rougher seas had brought on illness five days ago. She now looked dreadful, her face pale and her eyes dull. The mistress had become maid.
    That did not bother Jenna. It was good to do something, to be useful. To be needed.
    It also felt wonderful to be out of the stifling air of the cabin. Although it was the largest of six passenger cabins, it was still small and cramped, and she had given up her privacy to share the cabin with Celia. She was grateful, though. The captain at first had been reluctant to take them as passengers without a chaperone, but then had relented when a gentleman agreed to book Maisie’s unused cabin at a higher fare.
    Captain Talbot had turned into a guardian of sorts, taking it upon himself to look out for her, and also