"You are going to see James Tyacke."

"Yes. I cannot bear to be parted from you. Every hour is precious now."

Tyacke came to her mind as vividly as if he were in the room with them. He would be an attractive man but for the side of his face, which looked as if it had been clawed off by some terrible beast. She remembered when they had sighted Larne bearing down on them after the suffering and death they had witnessed; and the offer of a yellow gown, which Tyacke had kept hidden in his sea-chest, to cover her sunburned body. The gown bought for the girl who had rejected him after his injury He was worth a better woman than she could ever have been.

Bolitho said simply, "I want him to be my flag-captain."

She said, "He will never accept. I am not even certain that he should."

Bolitho guided her to the last stairs. Then he said, "That is the cruelty of it, Kate. I need him. I cannot manage without him."

Later as they lay in the big four-poster, she considered what he had said.

And what he had not said. About his impaired vision and what might happen if the other eye was injured. He must have a captain he could trust. No wonder Richard wanted to meet Tyacke alone. He must never think that Richard was using her presence to persuade him into accepting the promotion and all it stood for. And what it would demand of him.

She pressed her body against his and murmured, "Whatever you do, dearest of men, I shall be waiting."

The next sound she heard was a cock crowing, and she had not been dreaming.

2. More Than Loyalty

The small unmarked carriage, its windows and doors streaked with mud from the rutted roads, paused only briefly at the gates to Plymouth dockyard in order to allow the passengers to be identified. As the wheels clanged over the cobbles Bolitho guessed that the youthful Royal Marine lieutenant in charge of the guard was probably staring after them, his mouth likely still open.