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‘When I’m in Bingtown, my mother invites Trader daughters and their mothers over to endless teas.

I’ve obediently attended the gatherings and balls.

I’ve danced with a few women,’ here he smiled at her warmly.

‘Several have seemed interested in me. Nevertheless, all the courtships I have begun have ended in disappointment. Always the same thing. My father looks at the woman I am seeing and asks me, “Will she be able to take care of herself and a household and children, while you are off sailing?” Then I look at her with that in mind, and no matter how lovely or witty or charming she is, she never seems strong enough.’

‘Maybe you are not giving the women a chance to prove themselves to you,’ Althea ventured.

Grag shook his head regretfully. ‘No. Two of them I asked directly. I reminded them that I expected to be someday the captain of the liveship Ophelia. How would it be, I asked, to know you must share me with a ship? A demanding and sometimes possessive ship, I added, to be honest. I reminded them I would be gone months at a time. That I might not be home when my children were born, or when the roof sprang a leak or harvest season came around.’ He shrugged eloquently.

‘One and all, they told me that surely I could arrange to be home more after we were married. When I said I could not, they refused my suit. Genver went so far as to come aboard the Ophelia, and suggest that she could sail with me after we were married, if I could triple the size of the captain’s room.

But only until we had children. Then I would have to somehow arrange my life to be home more often than not. ’

‘Did not you court anyone who was born into a liveship family? A girl who would understand what your ship meant to you?’

‘I danced with one once,’ he said quietly.

The silence held. If he expected her to say something, Althea had no idea what.

Grag moved very slowly, as if he were afraid she would startle.

With one finger, he touched her hand where it rested on the bed.

A small touch, but it sent a shiver up her arm even as dismay filled her heart.

She liked Grag and found him attractive, but this was no time for either of them to act on that.

Had she invited this? How should she deal with it?

Was he going to try to kiss her? If he did, would she let him?

She suspected she would.

Grag came no closer. His voice went deeper and softer.

His blue eyes were gentle and confiding.

‘In you, I see a strong woman. One who could sail with me, or capably manage things ashore while I was gone. I see someone who is not jealous of Ophelia.’ He paused and smiled ruefully.

‘If anything, I am a bit jealous of how quickly she has become fond of you. Althea, I cannot imagine a better choice for a wife than you.’

Although she had been anticipating his words, they still stunned her. ‘But…’ she began, but he lifted a warning finger.

‘Hear me out. I have been giving much thought to this, and I see advantages for you, as well. It is scarcely a secret that the Vestrit fortunes have not prospered lately. The Vivacia is not yet paid for; that leaves you as ransom to the family’s debt.

It is also well known that the Rain Wild Traders would not consider taking a woman who is already married, or who has pledged marriage.

Simply by considering my offer, you could put yourself out of their reach.

’ He watched her face carefully. ‘We are a wealthy family. My wedding gift to your mother would be substantial, enough to secure her old age. You have made it clear you have no faith that Kyle will care for her.’

Althea found it hard to speak. ‘I don’t know what to say. We’ve talked as friends, and yes, we’ve flirted a bit, but I had no notion that your feelings ran strong enough to propose marriage.’

Grag gave a small shrug. ‘I’m a cautious man, Althea.

I see no sense in letting my feelings run ahead of me.

In this stage of our relationship, I see planning rather than passion as what we must first share.

We should be talking honestly with one another, to see if we share the same ambitions and goals.

’ He was watching her face carefully. As if to give the lie to these words, he touched her hand again with one fingertip.

‘Do not think I don’t feel an attraction towards you.

You must know that I do. Nevertheless, I am not the sort of a man who would fling his heart where his head had not gone first.’

He was so serious. Althea tried for a smile. ‘And I feared you were going to try to kiss me.’

He returned her smile, shaking his head.

‘I am not an impulsive boy, nor a rough sailor. I would not kiss a woman who had not given me her permission to do so. Besides, there is no sense in taunting myself with what I cannot yet claim.’ He looked aside from her startled expression.

‘I hope I have not spoken too crudely. Despite the rough shipboard life you have shared, you are still a lady and a Trader’s daughter. ’

There was no way to share with him the thought that had suddenly flashed through her mind.

She knew, with vast certainty, that she would never desire to be kissed by a man who had first asked her permission.

‘Permission to come aboard’ some impish part of her mind whispered, and she fought to keep from grinning.

Perhaps, she suddenly thought, Brashen had already ruined her, but not in the social sense.

After the sailor’s matter-of-fact declarations of his desire, Grag’s restrained and polite courtship seemed almost silly.

She liked the man, truly she did. Yet, his careful negotiations left her unmoved.

Abruptly, the situation was impossible. And as if Sa knew that there was no way Althea could rescue herself, fate suddenly intervened.

‘All hands on deck!’ someone roared in a voice that mixed both indignation and fear. Althea did not hesitate as she plunged out the door, nor did Grag even pause to put his toothache binding about his jaws. All hands meant all hands.

The crew of the Ophelia lined the bow railing, looking down.

When she joined them, Althea was incredulous at the sight that met her eyes.

A Chalcedean war galley, flying the Satrap’s colours, was challenging Ophelia’s passage.

The size comparison between the two ships might have been laughable were it not that the galley bristled with soldiers and their weaponry.

The smaller, lighter galley confronting them was far more manoeuvrable than the cog.

Such a vessel was often swifter than a sailing ship as well.

In the light evening breeze, Ophelia could not avoid and outrun such a ship.

The galley had run up to her on the windward side, taking advantage of the light breeze that pressed the ships together.

They had no choice now; they would have to deal with the galley.

The liveship’s figurehead stared down at the Chalcedean’s horse-prowed ship, still and shocked.

Ophelia’s arms were crossed stubbornly on her chest. Althea lifted her eyes to scan the horizon.

The Chalcedean appeared to be operating alone.

Captain Tenira shouted down, ‘What mean you by barring our way?’

‘Throw down a line. In the name of your Satrap, we will board you!’ declared a bearded man standing in the galley’s bow.

His blond hair was bound back in a long tail down his back, and battle trophies – finger bones bound with hanks of hair – decorated the front of his leather vest. Missing teeth gapped his threatening snarl.

‘On what grounds?’ Althea demanded of those around her, but Captain Tenira did not bother with such questions.

‘No. You will not. You have no authority over us. Stand aside.’ The Trader captain stood firm, looking down on the galley. His voice was even and strong.

‘In the name of the Satrap, throw down a line and submit to boarding.’ The Chalcedean smiled up at them, more teeth than affability. ‘Do not make us take you by force.’

‘Try,’ Captain Tenira suggested grimly.

The captain of the galley took a handful of documents from his mate.

He waved the bundled tube of scrolls up at Tenira.

A red ribbon bound them, weighted with a heavy seal of crimped metal.

‘We have authority. Right here. We shall bring our writs aboard to prove it. If you are an honest ship, you have nothing to fear. The Satrap has allied with Chalced to stop piracy in the Inside Passage. We are authorized by him to stop any suspicious ship and search for stolen goods and other signs of pirate activity.’ While the captain was speaking, several of his men had stepped forward with coils of line and grappling hooks.

‘I’m an honest Bingtown Trader. You have no call to stop me, nor will I submit to a search. Be out of our way!’

The grapples were already spinning, and as Captain Tenira finished speaking, three were launched towards the Ophelia.

One fell short as the liveship sidled to one side.

Another landed well on the deck but was immediately seized and thrown back by the Ophelia’s crew before it could be set in her wood.

Ophelia herself caught the third. In a sudden motion, she plucked it out of the air as it whirred past her.

With a shout of anger, she gripped the line below the grapple and snatched up the rope.

The man who had thrown it came with it, kicking and cursing in surprise.

She disdainfully threw grapple, rope and sailor aside into the water.

She set her fists to where a woman’s hips would have been.

‘Don’t try that again!’ she warned them angrily.

‘Get out of our way or I’ll run you down! ’