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you should be wary of.’
    With every moment Hector found himself appreciating much more than Susanna Lynch’s self-confidence. The way she stood before him, with her eyes boldly seeking his, left no doubt that she was deliberately calling for his attention. She was a very alluring young lady, and knew it. With a pang, Hector realised that he had never before had an opportunity to engage closely with a young woman so obviously on display. He realised that he was succumbing to her good looks and, without wishing to, falling under the spell of her provocation.
    ‘Then I’m at a loss as to what I should do next,’ he admitted. ‘I feel stranded. I don’t know anyone in Jamaica.’
    She gave him a calculating look, though there was softness in it. ‘No one at all?’
    ‘My friends were despatched to the French colony at Petit Guave, and I need to try to join them.’
    ‘One thing is for certain. You should get away from Llanrumney as soon as possible. You’ll get no sympathy in this place.’ She thought for a moment, then treated him to a quick smile which made his heart race. ‘Tomorrow Robert and I return home – we live on the opposite side of the island, near Spanish Town, not far from Port Royal. You can travel with us, and from there continue to Port Royal itself. That’s the best place to find news of your friends, or even a ship that will take you to rejoin them.’

THREE

    T HAT NIGHT Hector found it almost impossible to get to sleep. The friendly under-steward arranged a cot for him in the servants’ quarters, but keen yearnings for Susanna Lynch kept the young man awake for several hours, and when he opened his eyes soon after dawn, her image was the first thing in his mind. Dressing hurriedly, he went to find someone who might be able to tell him where she could be found. To his delight the under-steward told him that the carriage belonging to Susanna Lynch was already prepared. She and her brother Robert were to set out for home shortly, and word had been sent that Hector was to travel with them.
    ‘Will they breakfast with Sir Henry first?’ he asked, impatient for his first sight of Susanna that day. The indentured man gave a world-weary laugh.
    ‘Sir Henry and his cronies were up drinking until well past midnight. My master will not be out of his bed much before noon.’
    ‘What about Captain Coxon? Where’s he?’ Hector asked. He had a sudden, vivid recollection of the furious expression on the buccaneer’s face as he had left the party.
    ‘Disappeared last night, after you made such a fool of him. I suppose he went back to his ship with his tail between his legs.’ The servant grinned. ‘He’s an arrogant blackguard. Likes to let everyone know what a hard man he is. Can’t say I would want to be in your shoes if he ever gets his hands on you.’
    ‘Someone else said much the same to me last night,’ admitted Hector, ‘and talking about shoes, shouldn’t I be returning these borrowed clothes to you?’
    ‘You can keep them.’
    ‘Won’t your master find out?’
    ‘I doubt it. The rum has been rotting his brain for a long time now. When he was campaigning against the Spaniards some years back, he and his friends blew themselves up. They were sitting carousing in the wardroom of a King’s ship, and some drunken fool dropped his lighted pipe into a scatter of loose gunpowder on the floor. The explosion split the vessel into matchwood. Sir Henry was only saved because he was sitting at the far side of the table.’
    Thanking the man for his kindness, Hector made his way outside to find that one of the carriages he had seen the previous evening was already standing before the front door of the main house. ‘Is this the Lynches’ carriage?’ he asked the driver who, by the look of him, was another indentured servant. But before the man could answer, Susanna and her brother stepped out on the porch. Suddenly Hector felt his stomach go hollow. Susanna had chosen to wear a loose gown