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W HEN MADDIE HAD said she was ready to face the crowd with Hector, she’d meant it. But she wondered if he was ready. He’d stepped outside the cabin only to stand in the passageway.

She took his jacket from the chair and joined him. “You should probably wear this. You know, propriety and all that.”

She handed him the jacket, worried he might refuse. But he slid it on without a word. Still, he didn’t move.

“There’s nothing to fear.” She hooked her arm through his. “I’ll take you to the main deck. If it’s too crowded, we’ll return here.”

“I’m ready, and I’ve had enough of my cabin. I need some fresh air.”

He was barefoot, but she hadn’t seen any pair of shoes in his cabin. Oh, well. At least he wasn’t half-naked.

A man threw a sideways glance at Hector as they walked down the passageway.

Another muttered something as they brushed past him.

A couple of ladies gasped. Perhaps Hector’s hair, bare feet, and general sense of wildness were too much for those people who weren’t used to seeing him every day.

Thank goodness he didn’t make a scene. His muscles tensed, and he slowed his pace, but he didn’t panic or reply to the whispers.

He gripped her arm a tad too tightly though. His gaze followed every person they met along the passageway. He even stopped and craned his neck to stare at an attendant who hurried his pace once he realised Hector was focused on him.

“Hector.” She nudged him so he’d stop staring. “What are you doing?”

He blinked. “I’m curious. The uniform of that man is so sparkling white.”

“Yes, but please don’t stare at people. It looks like you want to murder someone.”

“But they stare at me.” He arched an eyebrow.

“That’s true.” She led him on. “But I think the best strategy is to ignore them.”

He nodded solemnly, as if she’d revealed to him the meaning of the universe.

“None of them are as brave as you are. I wouldn’t have lasted five minutes on the island. I can’t even swim.” She let out a nervous chuckle.

“You should learn. You never know.”

“Fair point well made.”

The salty, humid breeze blowing from the sea thickened the air when they stepped onto the deck.

The stars cast their silver light over the ship, more brightly than in London where the smoke and street lamps hid the sky.

She hadn’t realised it was so late, perhaps well past dinner.

Goosebumps pebbled her skin as the chilly wind picked up speed.

He released a long breath, and his posture slouched.

He tilted his head back and stared at the stars. “I lived there.”

“Where?” She searched the dark horizon.

“Among the stars.”

She wasn’t sure she’d heard correctly. “What do you mean?”

“There were so many stars shining over the island. Often, I slept outside of the shelter I’d built just to stare at the stars.

The island was so dark that, when I lay down and watched the stars, it was like being there among them.

I was surrounded by starlight. Peace. All my worries disappeared.

It was my moment of freedom in the prison that was the island.

” He lowered his gaze. “I wished to die so many times that the thought became a constant presence. I wanted to dissolve myself in the starlight.”

“Hector.” She took his hands as a knot tied in her throat for all the pain he’d endured. “You’re safe now.”

“The stars saved me. Literally. By watching them, I understood where I was. They showed me the way.” He held her hands, turning towards her. “The way to you. And you found me.” He brought her hand up and kissed it. His soft lips brushed against her knuckles before placing a gentle kiss on the scar.

Oh, dear. Her knees weakened. A moment ago, she’d been sad.

Now she was a quivering mess. Too many emotions.

The sweetness of the kiss sent a delicious shiver down her back.

Perhaps she was a wanton woman or Verity’s secret letters had affected her, but her body tingled with sensation, even though he kissed her hand reverently rather than decadently.

The kiss was one made of gratitude, not lust.

Still, she couldn’t deny the sliver of pleasure going through her or the sudden throb between her thighs.

For some reason, her mind conjured up the memory of his marriage proposal.

Should she bring it up? No, it would be rude, and why did she think about it to start with?

Because the other option was to think about his half-naked body.

Or about his courage, honesty, and kind heart.

He was too many good things all together.

“What are you doing?” Mother’s voice rent the calm night with its sharpness like a strident note in a beautiful song.

Maddie snatched her hand out of Hector’s grip. He didn’t flinch but scowled at her mother and shifted in front of Maddie as if to protect her.

“Madeline, are you behaving wantonly with this individual?” Mother’s cheeks, pale from her sickness, gave her a spectral look that only added a layer of menace to her tense figure.

“Of course not, Mother.” Maddie brushed a lock of her hair from her heated face. “Lord Wentworth is a perfect gentleman.”

“Kissing your hand in such fashion while alone with you?” She fired a glance at Hector.

He hunched his broad shoulders. “I’ll leave you then, Miss Madeline, Mrs. Debenham. Good night.”

“Hector, wait!” Maddie took his hand.

He flashed a shy smile. “Your mother is right. It’s late. You shouldn’t be with me. I’ll see you tomorrow. Perhaps we can have tea in the dining hall.”

“If you want to.”

“Thank you for your time. It means a lot to me.” He slid his hand out of hers, a lingering sadness in his manners.

She watched him heading below deck, an ache spreading through her chest. “Why are you so cruel to him?” she asked once alone with the termagant.

“Why are you so kind to him? He made you a cripple, destroyed your room, disappeared, and then had the brilliant idea to return and behave like a beast. He’s nothing but a savage.” Mother added three ‘s’ to the last word.

“Mother!” Maddie balled her fists, tired of her mother’s rudeness. And her mother claimed to be a decent lady?

“I’m concerned about you.” Mother grabbed the railing. “I gave you plenty of freedom, and you repay me by behaving recklessly. He’s dangerous.”

“Not as dangerous as you are,” Maddie said.

Mother shook her head. “How can you not see he’s a beast?”

“Honestly. There’s a beast on this ship. But it’s not him.” She started to walk away, but her mother grabbed her arm.

“I don’t want you to spend time with him.” Mother bared her teeth.

She shrugged her arm free. “He needs compassion, and I was the one who spotted his raft. I’m also the only person he knows and trusts on this ship. I will not leave him alone in a moment like this.”

“He isn’t your responsibility.”

Maddie resumed walking. “As I’m not yours, and thank goodness for that.”

Maddie regretted having agreed to take tea with Hector the next day. But he had insisted, saying he needed to become accustomed to people again, and she couldn’t disagree on that point.

She wished he had returned to his cabin though.

Not because he didn’t wear any shoes again, nor a waistcoat.

She didn’t mind it, although she hated the odd and curious glances the passengers threw at him and the constant whispers echoing around them.

What bothered her was the fact he was easily startled, jolting on his chair every time someone laughed too loudly or dropped a cup on the saucer.

His chest heaved. His gaze kept sweeping through the hall and the pristine round tables as if he searched for an escape.

Not to mention her mother sniffed and arched her eyebrows at everything he did, covering her mouth with her perfumed silk handkerchief. She hadn’t been happy about having tea with Hector, but Maddie had refused to listen to her.

The sunlight shone on the white floor and the crystal chandeliers, casting dozens of colours on Hector’s hair. It would be wonderful to paint him. If the moment weren’t charged with tension, she’d enjoy her bergamot tea. The lemony scent alone soothed her nerves.

Verity exchanged a glance with her as Hector started again when a waiter rushed past them.

“Lord Wentworth, perhaps you wish to return to your cabin?” Verity asked.

Hector gripped his cup of tea with both hands so strongly Maddie worried he might break it. “No.”

Her mother huffed. “Such manners.”

Maddie compressed her lips. “Lord Wentworth spent years alone. The fact he doesn’t like a crowd is perfectly understandable.

” She also hated speaking in his stead as if he weren’t there.

But the urge to protect him was too strong to be ignored, and despite what Mother said, he was too much of a gentleman to tell her off.

“You’re right,” Verity said cheerfully. “I can’t imagine spending years alone. It must have been so incredibly hard for you, Lord Wentworth.”

“I wasn’t alone,” he muttered, staring at his tea.

“You weren’t alone?” Mother asked, lowering her cup. “Who else was on the island?”

“Thomas.” He ran a trembling hand over his face. “He was my friend. I talked to him all the time. It helped not to forget my language. I was worried it could happen.”

Maddie pondered his answer. He’d said the island was deserted aside from animals. If he talked about Thomas in the same manner as the stars, then Thomas was probably a tree.

“Where’s Thomas now?” she asked.

“I left him behind.” He raised his gaze, and the pain echoing in its depths hurt her. “I had to. He couldn’t come with me.”

“Good heaven.” Mother placed a hand on her throat where the white lace of her shirt covered her neck. “You left a man on that forsaken island? Your supposed friend? Another survivor? By all means, that’s horrible.”

Maddie ignored her, having a hunch. “Is Thomas a man?”

Hector’s expression softened when he turned to her. “A bird. I don’t know what species, but he had the most flamboyant plumage and?—”