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me?”
    â€œIt’s all part of a scheme. The gold is yours by right of inheritance. If I’m generous to you now, you’ll feel obligated to give that gold to me when we find it.”
    â€œAnd if we don’t?”
    All humor dissolved from his voice. “We must.”
    â€œWhy do you travel with so little in your hold?” Rory asked as she sat with her back against the mainmast. Her hair was tied with a single piece of ribbon but blew about her face in the sturdy breeze.
    â€œWe aren’t traders.” Nathan leaned one hand against the mast and watched the men cleaning the decks. Raising his voice, he shouted, “Muir, check the bowsprit.”
    The bos’n called from the upper deck, “Aye, Cap’n.”
    â€œHe’s a hard worker,” Rory said.
    â€œHe is hungry for gold.”
    â€œYou’re wasting an opportunity to finance your expedition. The merchants in Port Royal always look for honest captains.”
    â€œGood!” When she stared at him in astonishment, he continued, “I don’t want to be at some rich man’s beck and call.”
    â€œWhy not?”
    â€œWhy not?” he retorted. “Because I spent too much of my life answering to wealthy men who tried to tell me what I could plant and how much I could sell it for at the market.”
    She shook her head in disbelief. “Listen to yourself! You hate them, but you want to be just like them.”
    â€œYou’re right!”
    â€œWhy?”
    This time he did not have a quick answer. “What do you mean?”
    â€œJust what I said.” Flinging out her hands, she went on. “Nathan, you’ve a grand life. Free to follow the wind. Free to seek your dreams anywhere you wish. You should realize how lucky you are.”
    â€œLucky? I’ve spent years chasing the Raven. I can’t continue past the end of the summer. I’ll have to sell the Vengeance then—the dream will die.”
    â€œWhy not gain more time by trading?”
    He sighed. “I’ll talk to Ernest about it.”
    â€œTalk to me about what?” Ernest smiled.
    Before Nathan could reply, Alfred called him to look at the supplies in the galley. Rory quickly explained to Ernest.
    He shook his head in dismay. “’Twould kill the cap’n to do that.”
    â€œWhy?”
    â€œIf he does that, Miss Rory, he’ll be admitting he’ll never find the Raven .”
    â€œI don’t understand! You could have your search and make a profit at the same time.”
    â€œYou think that way, as do I, but he doesn’t see it as we do. He told those he respected that he would follow the clues and become a wealthy man.” Ernest sighed and scratched his unshaven cheek. “They laughed at him when he left, and he vowed not to return until he could laugh at them.”
    â€œThen he must sell his ship if he doesn’t find the Raven soon.”
    â€œAye, that he must.”
    Rory’s exasperation grew while, for more than a fortnight, the ship sailed with no destination. Her frustration burst from her as she stood with Ernest and Nathan on the stern deck. “This is ridiculous!”
    Exchanging a wry grin with Ernest, Nathan asked, “What is ridiculous?”
    â€œAll of this! ‘The blackbird of the dawn?’ How do you know Stuart Powell didn’t mean something other than me? He never knew me.”
    â€œHe knew of you.” He put his hand on her shoulder.
    She tore herself away before he could remark on her trembling. It was both anger and fear—anger that her father would enmesh her in his horrid games, and fear that Nathan would sense her reaction to even the most chaste touch.
    When Nathan leaned on the railing next to her, she said, “Maybe he knew of me or maybe not. Either way, he’s probably laughing at us from hell.”
    â€œWhat if it isn’t a prank, Rory?”
    â€œThen why hasn’t the gold