En hour later when she entered the captain's cabin, her mouth watered at the bounty spread across the table: pineapples, guavas, peanuts, maize, yucca root, and steaming crab. Sweet, savory scents filled the air. Her stomach grumbled. A pot of baked pudding sat near the end of the table. She glanced toward the captain as he spoke with Hann. Had he remembered baked pudding was her favorite food? She shook the thought from her mind.

Lord Sawkins brushed against her ...