But love?

He wasn’t so sure he could claim such life-enduring affection. Nor could he claim he was prepared to make that step into declaring his love, even if he did sense it. He was still restless, not ready to marry and settle down. Eventually when he was ready, he’d have to return to England and live there.

As for Mercy, she was aboard a bride ship on her way to finding a husband in a new land with new opportunities. After the difficult life she’d experienced, she was determined to leave behind London and the world she’d come from.

Joseph blew out a breath. The kindest thing he could do now was to proceed with his apology and then let her go.

twenty-three

With Sarah’s death dampening everyone’s spirits, the last days of the voyage seemed to drag on forever, especially as Mr. Scott and Mrs. Robb once again denied the women the opportunity to go ashore in San Francisco. At the news, the girls in Mercy’s cabin became despondent, even more so than when they’d been left behind on the ship while in the Falklands.

Thankfully, they hadn’t anchored in the American port for long, experiencing only a few days of misery while the others took in the town and all the pleasures it afforded. Hardest of all for Mercy was watching Joseph row away with Mr. Scott’s daughters on either side of him, knowing they were the kind of women Joseph deserved and needed.

As the ship finally trudged up the Washington coast and they got their first glimpse of Vancouver Island, the excitement of being so near their destination began to push away the gloom. When they entered the Strait of Juan de Fuca on the evening of the seventeenth of September, a flaming sunset on the Pacific horizon seemed to give a final salute and guide them into the sheltered waterway.

Although the fast-falling night made sightseeing difficult, the beams of a lighthouse ushered the ship through a narrow passage into Esquimalt Lagoon, where they glimpsed the outline of the rugged rocky shore with its thick vegetation, as well as the naval base headquartered along the harbor.

At the first light of day, Mercy gathered with the other women unable to get enough of the Vancouver Island coastline spreading out before them, an endless array of thick evergreens blanketing the land. In the distance, cloud-capped mountains covered in snow towered to the heavens.

They’d had an early-morning visit from natives in their canoes paddling alongside the ship and attempting to barter fish. Most of the women had been frightened at the sight of brown-skinned people, but Mercy had been fascinated. The natives hadn’t stayed long, especially with the angry shouts of marines on a patrol boat demanding that they leave.