Anne walked along the deck of the ship, admiring the view of the harbor. She had often imagined what it might look like aboard a ship, but now, as Mrs. Wentworth, she could finally see for herself. It was a fine summer day, and the breeze was blowing in from the ocean, making it considerably more pleasant than down along the harbor.
Frederick was at the other end of the deck, speaking with his lieutenant about some matter or other. Today, thankfully, there was nothing interesting happening. The conversation came to a conclusion, and her husband walked toward her.
"Would you like to see our quarters now?" he asked.
"Ours?"
"Of course," he smiled, leading her up to the top of the ship.
Inside, she could see her trunks to the side just inside the door. Her maid would take care of unpacking later, so for now, she could look around the room.
The room was simple compared to most rooms on land, but was large and luxurious compared to what she had seen of the sleeping quarters for most of the sailors. The bed looked quite comfortable, and the windows afforded a fine view and good light during the daytime.
In the corner near the windows above the writing desk, there was what appeared to be some kind of hourglass, though it looked different from the ones she was accustomed to seeing, and it was locked behind some glass.
"Why is that hourglass behind glass?" she asked.
"That is the ship's chronometer," Frederick explained. "It can measure the travel time from England to Jamaica within five seconds."
"Goodness!" she exclaimed. "But why do you have something so useful locked up?"
"That is the replacement for the one I had when I was first captain, which Dick Musgrove managed to break before we even left port. Since then I have kept the replacement in a safe place when it is not in use."
"Poor Richard," Anne sighed.