Luz would not budge on this. She could not be frivolous, not when the only thing she could count on at the moment were the funds her father had reserved for this trip and whatever income she would obtain from the sale of the three hundred casks of premium rum currently in the cargo hold of this ship. Her inheritance was inaccessible to her for now, and the future of Caña Brava was too uncertain for any unnecessary expenses. Despite knowing that Manuela truly wanted to help her financially, Luz also knew how fast women could become burdens and nuisances to their loved ones. She would stand on her own two feet.

“What has Manuela done now?” asked Aurora, startling Luz. The last member of their foursome strode into the tearoom, her long legs swallowing up the carpet, as she arrived at their luncheon table.

“Me?” Manuela asked innocently, her hazel gaze the very picture of angelic virtue. As if she hadn’t just been trying to convince Luz to buy dresses that cost as much as an estate in some parts of the world.

“Yes, you.” Aurora chuckled, as she bent to kiss the top of Clarita’s head before dropping into an empty armchair. Aurora arranged herself in the corner they’d commandeered to take their afternoon tea, her ever-present Gladstone bag still clutched in one hand.

“How were your patients?” Luz asked as she handed Aurora a small plate full of sandwiches. Manuela stopped sketching and waved her hand at Clarita, who flopped down from her pose like a puppet who’d had her strings snipped. They all looked forward to hearing about Aurora’s adventures whenever she returned from her rounds in the third-class cabins. They’d only been on the ship for eight days, but within hours of setting sail from New York, their friend had managed to avail herself to any passengers who needed a doctor and always came back with tales.

“So?” asked Clarita, who had a concerning appetite for the gorier details of the situations Aurora encountered.

“Everyone is doing well,” she assured them with that satisfied grin she sported whenever she talked about her patients. Aurora was always happiest when she could put her skills to use and was never shy about offering them to those who needed them. “The young man with vertigo is improving wonderfully. And Miss Barnier may have that baby before we reach land.” She crossed her legs revealing her split skirts, which a few of the older ladies on the steamer called grossly indecent. A couple of heads turned, and quite a few eyebrows rose at Aurora’s lack of concern with proper feminine posture.

“What were you frowning about?” she asked, circling a finger in the vicinity of Luz’s forehead.