“Mrs. Lafont, I know this isn’t what you wanted to hear. I know you wanted justice for your husband, but my hands are tied. I regret I cannot be more helpful.”

I stood up, way too fast. Light-headed, I pressed my forehead with my hand.

“Are you all right? I can call Dr. Costa if you’d like.”

“No,” I said. “That won’t be necessary.”

I’d met Dr. Jaume Costa the night of the “accident.” He was a compatriot of mine, a Catalonian traveling to Colombia to help with the Spanish influenza, which had taken so many lives in the last two years. After they’d stopped the search, the doctor had given me a sedative, which helped me not to go insane knowing that Cristóbal was somewhere in that terrifying ocean.

The captain stood. “If you choose to return to Spain, ma’am, I can arrange for you to get on another ship as soon as we land in the port of Guayaquil.”

“No, thank you. I plan to continue my trip.”

“But—forgive me for insisting—as I understand it, you’ll be traveling to a small village on the coast of Ecuador. If I dare voice my opinion, I think a journey of that magnitude could be quite dangerous for a woman traveling alone.”

With all the commotion, I hadn’t given the rest of my trip much thought, though I’d dreaded the idea of working on a plantation without my husband’s help.

“The Americas are quite different from what you’re accustomed to, ma’am, especially the country. It’s not my intention to scare you, but I’ve heard stories of missionaries—men and women—who’ve been attacked in the jungle and on the coast. I won’t go into any details, but let’s just say that the women, especially, went through some harrowing experiences.”

My mouth went dry. After a moment, I found my voice.

“My father’s attorney will be at the harbor to greet me and take me to Vinces.” Harrowing experiences? Like what? “I thank you for your concern, Captain, but there’s nothing to worry about.”

I sounded more confident than I felt. The truth was I’d never met this lawyer, or had any references of him—of anybody there for that matter. I wondered about those women, those missionaries, the captain mentioned. Had they been raped? Were those the horrifying experiences Captain Blake hinted at? The captain had managed to make me nervous, but my pride didn’t allow me to show it. I’d come too far to go back to Sevilla now, empty-handed. I nodded and walked out of the office.

* * *