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you back to Stormhaven.”
    â€œStormhaven?”
    â€œStormhaven, Massachusetts. Your new home. It should be interesting to see what a mess you make of that life. You sure as hell have made a mess out of this one.”
    Rising, she said, “You have no compassion for me.”
    â€œWhy should I have compassion for you?”
    â€œI have lost my brother. I have no idea if my mother is alive or dead. And you are a …” She flushed as she recalled she must treat him as an esteemed, older brother. Dropping to the chair, she stared at the floor.
    His finger brought her chin up. “I was beginning to wonder if that fire in your eyes went any deeper. You may prove me wrong, after all.”
    â€œProve you wrong? How?”
    â€œThe Catherwoods are renowned for their fiery tempers.” He tapped her nose and laughed. “I should have guessed you would inherit the worst from both sides of your family.”
    â€œAnd you, captain? Did you inherit your beastly behavior from the one who sired you or the creature that whelped you?”
    With a chuckle, he cupped her chin in his broad hand. “Remember, Lian, I’m captain of this ship. If I choose to toss you overboard, no man will tell me nay.”
    â€œYou wouldn’t!”
    â€œWouldn’t I?” His laugh remained behind, as he slammed the door and shut her in the room with the horror she feared was only beginning.

Six
    Through the rain, Lian stared at the strange buildings. Painted in a variety of colors, although most were white, they rose two or three stories high like a temple. Dozens of windows stared at her, making her curious as to why these people wanted to spy on each other. Some buildings had fences around them which seemed to serve no purpose, for the gate at the front was wide open. Without the graceful, curved eaves she was accustomed to, the roofs seemed pallid.
    â€œWhat are they?” she asked.
    â€œWhat are what?”
    Hearing impatience in Captain Trevarian’s voice, she glanced at him before looking out the window of the carriage again. “What are these buildings?”
    â€œIn English,” he insisted.
    She frowned. During the long months of their voyage, he had spoken to her in Cantonese. If he had helped her practice English, she would be better prepared now to meet her father. Framing the question in her mind, she struggled to keep her words free of an accent, as Mother had taught. “What are those buildings?”
    â€œHomes.”
    â€œHomes?” she repeated.
    â€œYou don’t know the word? It means—”
    â€œI know what a home is. It is where people live. They look different from those in Canton.”
    â€œYou’ll find most things in Stormhaven very different. After all, we don’t live in mud-floored hovels.” He laughed as he leaned back on the plush seat of the carriage that had been waiting when the China Shadow docked.
    Bryce’s mirth vanished, as he thought of the coachman’s frown when he had ordered the vehicle to leave with only two passengers. So well trained were the Catherwood servants, that neither the driver nor the footman had asked any questions. If he had spoken of Davis’s death on the docks, which were stained red from the blood left by the whalers, word would have reached the Catherwood home faster than any carriage.
    Their hundred days at sea had not lessened his pain at losing his best friend. He had tried to devise a way to offer consolation to Captain Catherwood. All the old man would receive from this voyage were its profits and a daughter he had not known existed.
    He wished he knew how Davis had intended to introduce Lian to his family. Each scenario Bryce imagined ended with his being dismissed for allowing his captain to be killed.
    Frustration filled his voice as he drew Lian back from the window. “Stop gawking. Don’t you want to make a good impression on your family?” He frowned. “Or