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parlor and tried to reclaim her equilibrium. The kiss and all the feelings that went with it were real. But she would never let Nathaniel know it. Her heart was still racing. She felt something she couldn’t deny, something big. No one had ever kissed her like that. Made her feel like that. But she had to remember he was out to ruin her and her family’s reputation. And he was manipulating her. Taking advantage. Playing her. Softening her up, damn him. And she didn’t like being handled.
    He was only spending time with her for the access he thought it would offer him to that precious stash of gold. Gold she wasn’t even sure existed. Certainly she had no knowledge of its whereabouts. And if it did exist, she wouldn’t make his job easier. Flustered at first, she soon settled down as she resumed reading about her grandfather’s treachery.
    There, well documented year by year through the war, were her grandfather’s activities, in her grandfather’s hand. Her grandfather, codenamed Insel Adler. The Island Eagle . With its keen ability to observe. A bird of prey. Alert. Watchful. Always sharp. And, in this case, full of deceit.

Chapter 7
    Patience rubbed her eyes and tried to hold back the tears. She looked out over the ocean in despair, trying to summon the image of the grandfather she remembered, to reconcile these words with the man she had known and loved all her life.
    As she read the damning passages with growing horror, she was also gripped by the love and concern revealed for her grandmother. Of all the emotions described in the journal, these words rang the truest, further proof that William Whitestone had treasured his wife above all else in the world.
    Patience descended the stone steps slowly, head bowed, and stepped onto the dock at the side of the house. Her eyes were dry, and she was determined not to sink into despair because of what she had read. One by one, the pieces of the puzzle were fitting together. The journal was painting a frightening picture of her grandfather as an insincere traitor.
    But the real proof was missing, and she knew Nathaniel planned to confront her with his version of the truth on this sailing trip. A truth she wasn’t ready to face.
    Patience shielded her eyes from the sun as she caught her first real close-up look at Nathaniel’s vessel. She hadn’t paid much attention to the ship during the fire and had only caught glances of the craft from her window.
    “Your sailing ship is marvelous. It’s a replica of the Sea Venture . I don’t know why I didn’t notice that before.”
    “She’s made of Bermudian cedar,” Nathaniel replied. “Rare, I know, almost impossible to get these days, since the blight, but for the right price…”
    “Why did you call her the Fair Winds ?”
    “Just a tradition in our family. Our house in Virginia is also called the Fair Winds.”
    “She’s a beauty. We sure could use a vessel like this in our flotilla to kick off our celebration after the yacht race. It’s going to be a parade of boats to launch all the festivities. Perhaps you’ll agree to sail your boat in the flotilla in January.”
    “That seems like a lifetime from now,” Nathaniel answered. “I don’t plan to be around next year. Don’t know where I’ll be, but probably far away from here.”
    “Off to the next great adventure?” Patience wondered why the thought of him leaving bothered her so much.
    “Do you sail?”
    “Not much anymore, since my grandfather died,” she admitted. He looked over at the boat docked in front of her house.
    “Is she yours?”
    “She was my grandfather’s. But yes, she’s mine now.”
    “She’s magnificent,” said Nathaniel, but he was looking directly at her. “I’d like to see how she handles, if you would care to take me out later,” he said, and Patience suspected he might not be talking about the boat now.
    His blue eyes pierced hers.
    “Let’s go, then,” he said after a minute. “You can never really know a place