He had been. Him and Morgan both. It had been enough for them, to know the islands and be known in turn. But Beth . . .

Maybe Mamm-wynn hadn’t ever had that talk with her. Maybe she hadn’t taught her how to hear her name on the wind.

“So . . . Benna, eh? Did she look as tight-laced as Mam said?”

Oliver opened his eyes again. Pushed thoughts of Beth aside in favor of the picture of Mabena that surfaced. “I scarcely knew her. You’d have laughed for a century. Her hair, Enyon—it was tidy. Straight as a pin, sleek, all tucked in properly.”

Enyon laughed now at the mere imagining. “Blast, but I’m sorry I missed it. I’ll be sure and catch her soon, before the isles get back into her. It’s a sight I need to see before it vanishes. And the lady she’s serving now? She’s here too?”

A nod did little to sum up that surprise. “Lady Elizabeth.”

“What’s she like? Pretty?”

Oliver rolled his eyes. “Always your first question.”

“Come on, Ollie.” A sharp elbow found his ribs. “Help a chap out.”

“She’s . . .” He sighed. She wasn’t the sort of pretty people expected of a young lady. That was for certain. No carefully styled hair or dress or posture. No colors chosen to bring out eyes or lips or complexion. She didn’t have the bold bone structure of Enyon’s oldest sister or the wild allure that had made half the lads on Tresco fall for Mabena. Her features weren’t unpleasant, but they also weren’t the sort to draw the eye. Yet she had the sweetest smile he’d ever seen, and her eyes had been as boundless as the sea. One couldn’t discount that. “I’ll let you be the judge when you meet her. I liked her too well to think of such things.”

Enyon barked another laugh, gave him another shove. “Only you, Ollie.”

He wasn’t sure if it was a compliment he should thank him for or an indictment he should defend against. So he shrugged and narrowed his eyes. “Do you see that? On Samson?”

They both paused, Enyon lifting a hand to add an extra shield to his eyes as he gazed toward the uninhabited island. “I see something. Not sure what. Movement though. A bird?”

“Looks too big.” Squint as he might, Oliver couldn’t bring it into any better focus. “A deer?”

“It’s white.”

“Could be an albino.”

“None of those over there that I’ve ever heard of,” Enyon said.