“What are you doing?” he asked, looking both confused and horrified.

“Packing. Oh, and look, I made a pair of breeches just for the occasion.” I turned around in a circle so that he could get a full view of me. I had taken an old pair of pants that José no longer wore and tailored them down so that they would fit me. They were still a little loose in the thighs, and I’d had to sew a red patch by the knee that stood out in stark contrast to the faded black of the pants.

“I see, but I want to know why.”

“Because we are leaving tomorrow.” I laughed as I continued my work.

“We aren’t leaving tomorrow. I am leaving. You are staying here with the rest of the women.”

“No, I am not.” I rounded on him.

“Anita, a ship is no place for a woman.”

“Tell me, do I look like a slave?” My eyes narrowed as I slowly walked toward him.

“No.” He took a step back.

“No. Hm, do I look like a cow?”

“Now, Anita—”

“José, I am not your property. I will go where I want, and I want to go with you.”

“It’s too dangerous,” José said, pleading with me.

“Oh, so I look fragile to you.”

“That’s not what I said.”

“I’m a weak woman who can’t manage on a ship. Is that it? Goodness, I am lucky I have you around. I don’t know how I managed to live eighteen years on my own.”

“Will you stop putting words in my mouth?” José threw the papers he had been carrying to the ground. “You are not a sailor. You don’t know two things about the ship, let alone fighting.”

“What is there to know about fighting? I have used a gun. There is no difference between shooting a man and shooting an animal.”

“You have no place on a ship!”

“My place is wherever you are. If you are on that ship, then so am I.” I crossed my arms. “I will not sit by and patiently wait for you while you go off and play war. I chose this life, danger and all, when I chose you. I am not some toy that you can put on a shelf and play with only when it suits you. I will not be one of those women.”

“I can’t have you on the ship with me. When I am there my priority has to be those men. I can’t take care of them when all I am doing is thinking about your safety.” He reached out for me. “Tesoro mio, per favore.”

I pulled away from him. “I am not your treasure.”

“Anita, you can be killed. Even if we are just patrolling the waters. The ship is a dangerous place, especially for a woman.”

“Do you honestly think I fear death? The one thing that has been my constant companion since I was a child?” I shook my head. “What I fear is being left here alone. Can’t you see that? Without you I have nothing.”