Nat grabbed one last bundle to take ashore to Saybrook, but almost dropped it when he felt an elbow jarring his ribs. He was about to take a swing at the red-headed sailor who had so rudely caught his attention, but saw that he was pointing at the group climbing down into the longboat.

"It seems your little friend is leaving." Gabriel pointed at the young Mistress Tyler, who was following Nat's mother.

"She was going to Wethersfield," Nat said. "Here." He handed the bundle to Gabriel, adding, "I'll be along directly."

"Maybe she's just going to see the shore," Gabriel said as he walked away.

From what Nat heard the young lady saying to Mistress Eaton, that was just what she was doing. The captain looked none too pleased to have her taking up precious room in the boat, but his wife chatted with the girl, calling her "Kit" as though they were old friends and assuring her that they would meet again. The assurance seemed unnecessary; Kit was brimming over with an excitement she had never shown on the ship. Nat wondered if she would find Connecticut so invigorating once she had actually set foot upon it. It was home to him well enough, and he welcomed the sight of it—but he had not been born on a Barbados plantation.

Nat and the other men helped to unload the limited amount of cargo and distribute it among the small crowd gathering at the shore. All the while, Nat kept one eye on Kit, who stood in one place and looked around, her enthusiasm already substantially diminished. When she took one misstep forward, he recognized the signs and rushed over to her side.

He couldn't keep from laughing as she almost toppled over, dizzy from too many weeks at sea, no longer used to steady land. She thanked him, and he let go, still smiling. His mother fretted over Kit for a few more moments before finally bidding her goodbye, and Nat followed his parents back to their Saybrook house. Though they did not pass many people on the way, each one they met raised a hand in greeting and inquired after their journey. The captain stopped to speak to almost all of them, and Nat managed to hold in his impatient sighs, eager to be back on the ship.

When they stepped into the small house, he set down his mother's trunk and inhaled deeply. Even though he would rather be on the Dolphin, he relished the smell of this house. The indoor air was a little stale from months of emptiness, but it still held the familiar tang of wood, herbs, and sand that he always associated with home.

"I'm afraid we haven't time for a visit with your mother," Captain Eaton said to his wife, hoisting up the trunk to his shoulder and carrying it the rest of the way upstairs.

"She'll be sorry she missed you." Mistress Eaton turned to Nat. "I will go see her as soon as you leave, and let her know we've returned. I daresay she did not feel much like going to the harbor today, if she even knew the ship had come in. Take care, Nat," she said, standing on her toes to kiss his cheek. "I will see you when you come back down the river."

"The wind is brisk," Nat said, "and we'll make good time—unless we're becalmed, as always."

"I hope not," Mistress Eaton sighed. "Nat, would you do me one thing? Would you look out for Kit? I cannot help but worry about her. She seems so worldly sometimes, and then so innocent and careless. I hardly think she understands where she is. Connecticut is so far from Barbados, and I do not only mean those five weeks at sea."

"She'll learn that difference quickly enough, I'm sure," Nat said, disguising the fact that he had been thinking along the very same lines.

"I pray that she does. But Nat, do this for me, won't you? See that she reaches her aunt's house safely in Wethersfield. I couldn't bear it if something happened to her. I've asked the woman coming aboard to look out for her, but she has her own husband and child to mind. I would feel so much better if I knew you were watching out for her, as well."

"Be at peace, Mother," Nat said, placing a hand on her shoulder, trying to be reassuring. "Nothing will happen to her. For your sake, I will see to it myself."

That appeared to both satisfy and calm her, and Mistress Eaton smiled. "Thank you, Nat," she said, placing one hand over his. "Now, let me fetch your father so you can be on your way. Be careful, and I shall see you in a few weeks."

"Goodbye, Mother," Nat said.

He and his father said nothing on their way back to the boat, except to the few people trickling back from the wharf, newfound bundles in hand. Suddenly, Nat was not as eager to go back to the ship. There was one small thing left to do before he could return.

"Father, go on ahead," he said.

"We haven't much time," Captain Eaton said, frowning, never slowing his pace. "We must be heading up the river soon."

"I won't be five minutes!" Nat turned around and ran back the way they had just come. He raced past his family's house to a smaller, slightly more untidy residence. Breathless, he knocked loudly on the door and waited less-than-patiently. When it opened a bit, part of a wizened face and two soft brown eyes peered out at him.

"Nathaniel!" Constance Ford cried out in delight and opened her arms to embrace her grandson. "'Tis so good to see you—now the winter really is over!"

Nat laughed and hugged the old woman, noticing that she was a little thinner than last time. "I cannot stay long. We're about to set off again, up the river, but I had to come and see you before leaving again."

"I see God has kept you well. Look how brown you've gotten," she said, her thin, pale hand reaching up to brush his tanned cheek. "Is the sun really so strong in those islands?"

"Indeed," he said, "and a good thing, too!" He took her hand and said, "Now I really must go, but Mother said she will come and see you soon. She has things to bring you."

"Praise the Lord you've returned safely," Constance said. "I look forward to seeing my daughter. Now go, or your father will get impatient and leave you behind, and you'll be sulking for weeks!"

Amused, Nat said goodbye to his grandmother and ran back to the shore, kicking up mud and startling a few more passersby. He reached the longboat just in time to unhook the rope and jump inside, causing a few of his shipmates to chuckle and roll their eyes good-naturedly. He knew they thought he was visiting a sweetheart whose identity he refused to disclose. Too amused at the lunacy of the idea, he never corrected them. At the same time, he tried to ignore the jokes Gabriel tried to make at his expense. Instead, he glanced momentarily at each of the new passengers—and Kit—before focusing his gaze to the Dolphin.

Scarcely a few minutes had passed before the little girl in the boat began to cry. Nat flinched in surprise as Kit clambered past him, demanding that the captain turn the boat around. If he hadn't been so taken aback, Nat would have snorted in laughter at the idea of this superior young woman trying to divert the captain from their intended course. He had no time to laugh, however, before Kit threw off her cloak and shoes and jumped into the water.

"What the devil does she think she's doing!" Captain Eaton exclaimed. Gesturing hurriedly, he shouted orders for his men to turn the boat.

Nat wondered the same thing, but didn't bother to voice it before diving headfirst into the water, steeling himself against the ocean's frigid temperature. It took him just an instant to get his bearings before he swam toward Kit, who had splashed her way farther from the boat.

Damn her, he thought. What lady in her right mind would do something so dangerous and utterly stupid?

He stopped swimming when he came face-to-face with her—and she laughed! Sputtering, he could do nothing but tread water and stare in disbelief as she took strong, even strokes back to the skiff, one hand clutching the little girl's doll. She looked back at him, still grinning, and he then realized she was racing him. There was barely a moment to be impressed before realizing he had soaked himself for nothing. Shaking the water out of his ears, he struck out furiously after her. When he reached the boat, the other passengers had already pulled her aboard and she had returned the toy to its rightful owner. She was still laughing at him, even as she shivered in the wind, which had picked up a little.

"What was all that fuss about?" she asked Nat when he sat down beside her. The both of them created pools of water on the boat's floor that seeped into the others' shoes. She looked as though she was almost enjoying this.

"I had rather thought you needed my assistance," Nat grumbled. "Most girls I've met don't know how to swim."

"Well, I feel sorry for them, then! I've been swimming my whole life. Grandfather taught me himself."

"How kind of him."

Goodwife Cruff scolded Kit for spoiling her clothes, but Kit shrugged it off. She had several trunks aboard the Dolphin.

"I'm afraid there are othersless fortunate," Nat said, indicating his sodden shirt and breeches. "You might have considered that."

"You didn't have to come after me," Kit said, obviously offended

"Well, now I know better. Next time you throw yourself overboard, I will leave you to your own devices."

They spent the rest of the way back to the ship in furious silence. Why had he gone after her? He might have been glad to be rid of the nuisance, and she might have been able to splash her way back to shore, even if she hadn't been able to actually swim. But the idea of being glad to see her drown filled him with shame. Indeed, he was strangely disappointed at the idea of leaving her in Connecticut and never seeing her again. He managed to push those feelings aside and ignore them, and tried to do just the same with Kit herself.