Epilogue
THE SPRING TIDE ran high that morning, the wind sharp from the southeast and the harbor alive with creaking lines and calling gulls.
Eunice stood on the wharf between Hannah and Polly as the Julius Caesar eased from her berth, her new sails gleaming pale against the sky.
Jon stood at the quarterdeck rail, his dark blue coat bright with gold braid, his hand raised in farewell.
They had been married a little over a month, a short season of happiness before the sea called him again.
Yet she felt no fear now, only pride, and the quiet knowledge that this was the life God meant them to share.
The sea had claimed part of his heart long before she had, and she would not try to keep it.
The ship’s guns gave a salute, echoing over the harbor, and the crowd cheered. Eunice lifted her hand until he was lost to sight beyond the headlands. “God keep you, my love,” she whispered. “And bring you home to us again.”