Sarah smelled the land. Others said they knew because of the color of the water. And still other sailors said they knew because of the currents. Either way, the excitement aboard the boat made concentration on their assigned tasks difficult. For Sarah, a tiny cloud of fear had settled over her. She worried about what her brother would do or say, not just to her but also to Ian. More than she wanted Ren’s forgiveness for running after adventure as she did, she needed his acceptance of her marriage. While she might not have initially wanted to marry Ian because of what he’d said, she was wed now. They seemed to have reached a comfortable place in their union, and there was no going back and undoing the act. And, in all honesty, she didn’t want to, not now. Sarah hugged herself in the empty cabin, happy that she and Ian had settled into their relationship, especially as she was fairly certain she carried her captain’s child. She was late with her menses, but also as she prepared for bed her stomach grew upset, causing her to become ill for the first time in years.
