“I heard Liam is keeping the same crew,” Aunt Martha said. “I’m sure they have a well-oiled routine for entertaining. He’ll probably even have the same string quartet Oscar always used for his yacht parties.”

The carriage finally arrived at the designated yacht slip. The rigging of the Black Rose had been strung with celebratory lights, and most of the family was already on deck, laughing and mingling. And the music! This was no string quartet. It sounded like a ragtime band, with banjos, clarinets, and a piano.

Aunt Martha looked at the ship with a hint of appalled nostalgia. “Somehow I don’t think things are ever going to be the same.”

Gwen beamed. Oh yes, change was certainly coming to the Black Rose, and Gwen couldn’t be prouder of Liam, who stood at the top of the gangway, waving her aboard. Wearing a simple white shirt with an open collar, he looked happier than she’d ever seen him.

“You’re late!” he called down. He looked completely at home on the Black Rose, and she impulsively hiked up her skirts to run up the gangway. She was out of breath but delighted as she flung herself into his arms.

“Congratulations.” She laughed as he hoisted her off her toes. This was what she had missed all these years. She finally had a real brother, even though he wasn’t at all what she’d expected. Liam could be crass, rude, and perfectly awful, but perhaps that wasn’t very different from most older brothers.

“We’re still waiting on Natalia, but then we’re off,” he said.

She gazed over the deck of the yacht, crammed with family members and guests. Oscar and Frederick were here, along with plenty of businessmen she didn’t know but suspected were major players in the new company that had just been formed.

“So the Black Rose is now yours,” she said to Liam in amazement, and he nodded in satisfaction.

“I’m planning on living aboard. I’ve always been happiest on a ship, and it’s plenty big enough. It will save on rent.”

“Will you dock it here or in Philadelphia?”

“Here,” Liam said. “This is where U.S. Steel is going to be headquartered, so it’s where I need to be.”

Living aboard a ship sounded horrible to Gwen, but Bertie had finally lumbered up the gangway and interjected himself into the conversation.

“Liam, my lad!” he said, giving her brother a jovial clap on the back. “Where’s the caviar? I’m famished.”

Liam grinned and shook his head. “None of that fancy food tonight. We’ve got biscuits, pulled pork, and spareribs coming up as soon as we set sail.”

Bertie seemed to approve of the changes, as his eyes grew wide. “Excellent choice,” he said, then hollered across the deck to the other side of the yacht. “Edwin! Liam says we’re having spareribs as soon as we sail.”