Passion's Tide Read Online Free PDF

you’ll leave with a whole set of gowns for each occasion . Now, I’ve been wanting to use this emerald satin that I just got in, and I have enough of that cobalt silk…” she trailed off, her hand a blur as she sketched out several designs .
    Madam Lorelei was in a good mood after determining Amber’s measurements, leaving with enough money to make five gowns and have plenty left over . She also carried out with her several older dresses with designs to alter them to better suit the more modern styles .
    The day was far from over for Amber, however . After eating a small lunch she called for a carriage and headed into town, picking up silk stockings, petticoats, corsets, shifts, ribbons, shoes, and lace caps .
    It was dusk when she finally returned home with all her packages . Famished, she ate supper alone in the dining room, and then retired to the library . The smell of leather comforted her as she walked alongside the shelves, running her fingertips over the spines of her favorite books : the ones her mother had read to her growing up, the ones she had read herself when she was older, and the ones she had read to her mother as she lay in bed dying .
    Without looking, she pulled a book from the wall and headed over to the fire . Not even bothering to glance at the cover, she settled down and began reading . She was restless however . She had an odd sensation, as if something wasn’t right in the room . Slowly closing the book she got to her feet, looking around her for a possible explanation for her unease . And then she saw it.
    The empty space on the mantle, where, just yesterday, the silver candelabra had stood .

Chapter Three
    “Miss Townsend? We are approaching the docks.”
    Amber hadn’t needed the announcement from the driver to alert her of their impending arrival . She had picked up the salty aroma of sea air several minutes ago and had been anxiously peering through the curtained windows since then, hoping to see signs of the ship that was to take her to England.
    The carriage rolled to a stop, and the driver jumped down to open Amber’s door and help her out . Shielding her eyes against the sun, she strained to locat e the Queen Charlotte .
    “I think that’s it, right there,” the driver said, pointing a finger at a large vessel with three sets of wide, square sails . He began untying her trunks . “I believe they call it a squ—”
    “A square-rigger,” she cut him off, in awe as she stared up at the tall ship .
    “Yes, that’s right, but how on earth did you know that?” the driver, a lanky man who could barely be in his twenties, inquired . “If you don’t mind me asking, that is, ma’am.”
    Amber smiled at him . “It’s quite all right . My mother kept a very impressive library,” she told him, watching with a laugh as he pulled the final trunk to the ground with a heavy grunt . “Some of which I couldn’t bear to leave at home.”
    He wiped a hand across his brow and stared down at the trunk . “You mean to tell me you’ve got a bunch of books in there?”
    “It’s a long journey, and I must have something to occupy my time, mustn’t I?”  He shook his head and began dragging the lightest of her three trunks down the pier, Amber hurrying at his heels . Though there was a constant, aching fear in her stomach, she momentarily forgot her troubles as anticipation overwhelmed her . All about her, men were running back and forth to the ship, loading it with supplies for the voyage . She watched as wooden crates packed with food, barrels filled with water and rum, even goats and chickens were hauled up and over the edge of the impressive ship . Gulls circled in the air above them, waiting for a crate to drop or be left behind.
    Standing on the gangway directing everything was the captain . A stout man in his early forties with cropped brown hair and a scruffy beard, he had a loud voice that carried over the docks . Hearing their approach he looked up, surprise registering on