Things were starting to get better. Alice had recovered well and after the reverend and he had talked to the girl for a long time, she had finally admitted her wrongs. Tobias had admitted his. And it seemed they could move on. Alice acted more civilized these days, and after her initial rejection, she now took an interest in her own child, though now she seemed jealous of the wetnurse, and was alternately overly possessive of her child and withdrew once again. Still, she was better behaved, and Tobias believed that in time, they could have a normal family life, and that idea gave him some peace of mind. He too started to feel better.

So when Tristan had invited him, he had said yes in an optimistic mood, even before remembering that he didn't know how to sail. Ah, but how hard could it be? He would just follow instructions and be the muscle. He rather liked the idea of joining this competition with a team of men and doing some hard labour together.

He looked around the boat. What had the captain told him to do again?