Epilogue
Aboard the HMP Lady Mary Pelham
Dawn, Departing Falmouth, England
“It will only last a few days.”
Timothy watched his lovely bride, now rather green in the face as well as in her eyes, straighten away from the packet boat’s rail.
Elspeth swallowed hard and wiped her mouth with a handkerchief. “Do you promise?”
“I think Ella got past it in three days. It took me four, if I remember.” He also recalled the other advice Gordon had given him and repeated it to her.
“Stick to the water crackers for a few days. They are just water, salt, and flour, so they should not bother you too much if they come back up. Oh, and never toss your accounts into the wind. You will regret that immediately.”
“What a charming detail.” She gagged again, but this time only spit launched over the rail.
Timothy chuckled, then closed his eyes and tilted his head back, relishing the sensation of another launch. The light banter of the crew, the groaning of the ship’s boards, the snapping of the sails and rigging as the wind took hold of them. “You will grow to love it.”
“As much as I love you?”
Timothy opened his eyes and looked down on her, his heart soaring. “No. But it will come close.” He wrapped his arms around her. “You have been freed from your cage, Lady Elspeth. Just as I have. And you will love every moment.”
THE END