She nodded, but did not turn her head to look at him. Her gaze was intent on the island, a feeling of doubt mixed with anticipation in her heart. It had been just a dark smudge for some time, but now she could see the crowded waterfront with its untidy huddle of buildings. Few of them were substantial, most built of wood, and to her eyes of poor quality. Further back there were houses and taverns of a better standard, larger and more what she might have expected in a port anywhere, but it was clear that the community was small. ‘It is not what I expected.’ ‘The accommodation here is not what you are used to, Maribel. I have a friend whose house is further inland. I shall take you there. Peg will look after you while we stay here.’ ‘Who is he? I do not know the name? Is Peg an English name?’ ‘It is a nickname, a woman’s name. I dare say she was once called Margaret.’ Justin frowned. ‘Peg was sentenced to hang for murder. She killed a man who tried to rape her. Someone rescued her from the noose; then she found a lover and went to sea with him, dressed as a man.
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