The crew had scattered all over the island; however, every morning, we all reached the west side of Nassau, where the Black Star was located. The ship had been run aground sideways on a steep beach, favoured for careening, then pulled up with bollards from the mastheads to strong points on the beach. All of Arenis' crew members had to contribute to her refit. The work was progressing well, if a little slowly. Arenis had paid a dozen carpenters in advance, who had measured the gash in the hull and formed two teams to search for and cut wood. The dense vegetation beyond the beach had been completely cleared.

Arenis, with her hair tied back and the hems of her trousers rolled up to her knees, supervised the work and at the same time fixed the places where the wood had begun to rot. She did not stop for a moment to rest, not even when the sun became so hot it burnt her skin. The rasping of the saws was continuous, as was the endless chatter of the men. Some whistled joyful tunes, while others could not stop complaining about all the heat. Nevertheless, they were all working hard, naked to the waist and completely drenched in sweat. I, fortunately for me, had been assigned by Arenis to scrape off and burn the seaweed and crustaceans that had stuck to the keel and was well sheltered from the shadow of the ship.

Pitch was melted in large cauldrons. This bubbled over the fire relentlessly and the men used it to waterproof the hull.

The work was not so bad. I mostly copied what others did and no one complained about my inexperience in that field. Arenis always made sure I understood before letting me do it myself.

I stayed the night at Dinnington's. The little house -that's what he called it- was nothing more than a wooden hut with three rooms; the kitchen and two bedrooms. It was not a spacious room, but at least it was clean. To repay him for taking me in, I did the housework. I would clean, cook what few recipes I knew and do the laundry. One evening I tried to prepare corn porridge, but the more I stirred, the lumpier and harder it became. I plated it and put it on the table anyway, but as soon as Dinnington saw that yellowish and not at all inviting consistency, he shook his head and let out a laugh. "What do you say we go out to eat? I'm sorry to say this, but I have no intention of touching your porridge."

"I don't know where I went wrong. I did everything as the grocery shop owner told me, yet it came out like this."

"Come on, throw everything away. This morning I saw a stall selling dried meat and fried bananas."

Nassau was always the same, always chaotic and full of life. Holding a small paper bag overflowing with fried bananas, Dinnington and I stroll around the city, looking at stalls and shops.

The sky darkened and a downpour came down. On the streets of Nassau there were rivers of water rushing violently, overturning carts and chairs. I took off my shoes and with my bare feet walked carefully through the rain. Dinnington, his beard soaked and a hand on his forehead to shield his eyes, ordered me to get to the nearest tavern as soon as possible. A few metres ahead, however, I noticed Arenis and Louise, sheltering under a canopy, both holding wooden swords.

"Oh, Eveline! Eveline!" called Louise, raising her sword in the air and waving it to attract my attention.

I slipped under the canopy quickly and blinked, then wiped my eyelids dry with my fingers. "Captain. Louise," I greeted. "What are you doing?"

"The Captain is teaching me how to fight!" replied Louise, excitedly. "However, we were interrupted by rain and had to seek shelter."

"Oh! How's it going?"

"Good. I think?" Louise shot a doubtful look at Arenis and, as she said nothing, continued: "I'm learning to parry. That's so exciting! I can't wait to use a real sword!"

I lifted my eyes to the sky. "Curb your enthusiasm. This is not a game."

Hearing the rebuke in my voice, Louise cleared her throat and quickly composed herself. "No, of course."

Then I turned to Arenis: "Now I understand why you always leave ahead of everyone else when we repair the Black Star! You are teaching Louise to fight!"

"Mh", she simply replied.

"I hope the Captain is treating you well," I told Louise.

"Oh, yes!" she exclaimed. "Sometimes she is a bit too strict, but she is definitely a good teacher!"

Louise went back to talking about the moves she had learnt and the counter-attacks, not caring if that kind of conversation bored those present; she was too engrossed in everything to do so. The downpour gradually ceased, leaving behind an incredible humidity. Dinnington and I said goodbye to the two women and continued on our way. That evening, however, I met Arenis again. She knocked at the hut door after the dinner hour had long since passed. Dinnington had already gone to sleep, while I stayed up reading, with Athena resting on my lap. In my nightgown, I threw open the front door and was paralysed to see that it was Arenis. Next to her feet, on the sand, was the chest, my chest, the one that contained my family's money, all that was left of it.

"I would also like to return these to you," she said, without further explanation. She handed me the two envelopes containing the letters from my mother and Mary. I grabbed them, my fingers trembling slightly as I listened to Arenis continue: 'I have not yet found someone willing to take you to South Carolina, but I am counting on Captain Fernsby, a pirate from Nassau who will be returning here in a fortnight. He must repay me a big favour. I regret not having a ship, in which case I would have brought you back myself."

"No problem. Ahem. Thank you..."

"One last thing," Arenis resumed. "Inside the chest is not even half the money that was originally there. I spent some of the money to buy weapons and supplies, and as for the rest, it all went to the crew. I tried to give back what I could, but-"

"It's okay," I stopped her.

"No. It's not okay. I have a big debt to repay."

"It is not necessary."

"I do not tolerate objections. Miss Adler, don't you understand? I have taken you so much... When you are in South Carolina you must send me a letter with your home address on it. I will send you the money every month."

"But..."

"No. No objections, I told you."

"Very well, then."

"I note that you were going to sleep. I am sorry to have disturbed you at this hour." Arenis brought her hands behind her back and lowered her head in a sort of bow to take her leave.

"No trouble, really. I..." I spoke, but I didn't know what to say. I couldn't find the words.

"Is there anything else you want to tell me?" asked Arenis, more formal than usual.

The seconds ticked by, but the silence was only filled by my uncertain: "No."

"In that case, I wish you a good night."

Arenis turned on her heel and walked away, gradually merging with the darkness. I looked up at the full moon, which cast a whitish glow on the waves of the sea. It was a clear, star-filled evening.

I crouched down and opened the chest. Gold and silver coins shone in the soft light.

A certain warmth inflamed my heart, like a warm balm spreading through every cell. The fact that Arenis was trying to make amends affected me more than I wanted to admit to myself.

On impulse, I leapt to my feet. "Wait!" I exclaimed to the night. I made to start running, but the next instant I realised it was not a good idea at all to leave the chest out there. I grabbed it forcefully from the side and dragged it into the hut, cursing it aloud for how heavy it was. I acted with such impetus and urgency that I let go too abruptly and a dull thud spread throughout the hut. Some coins, inside the chest, clattered.

"What the heck is going on?" thundered Dinnington's voice from his bedroom.

"It's all right! Go back to sleep!"

I rushed out the door and almost forgot to close it. Sand tickled my bare feet and slipped between my toes as I ran, squinting to try and see something. And then I saw her; her dark figure marking the night.

"Captain, wait!"

She stopped walking and turned around. Only when I was a few steps away did I see her astonished expression.

"What is it?" she asked.

"I... um," I murmured, out of breath. I leaned forward and pressed my hands on my knees to breathe easier.

"Adler? Are you okay? "

"Sorry, yes, I'm fine-"

"Any problems?"

"No! Absolutely! No problems! I just wanted to..."

Arenis bowed her head to the side in a puzzled manner. "What?"

I called myself stupid; I had run there so impulsively that I had not even thought about what to say to her. My mind was a whirlwind of emotions and thoughts.

"How would you like to go for a walk?" I said at last.

She was more confused than ever. "Now?"

"Yes, now."

"You are in your nightgown," she observed, as if I was not already aware of it.

"It doesn't matter. There's usually no one on the beach at this hour," I retorted, then widened my eyes and exclaimed, "But if my clothes bother you, I can go to...!"

"No," she stopped me with a hasty hand gesture. She seemed almost amused. "I never give these things any weight."

"So you accept?"

"If it pleases you."

We reached the shore without a word. Arenis walked beside me and occasionally lifted her face upwards, as if she couldn't help but be captivated by that starry sky. I let the waves lap at my bare feet and watched them swirl around my ankles. A little later I picked up a pink seashell. I turned it over in my hands and tried to look at it in the moonlight. There was silence. Too much silence. I had to say something, start a conversation, but my mind, at that moment, was completely empty of ideas. It was Arenis who interrupted my incessant brooding.

"I was born in Meavy, Devonshire."

"Oh." I held my breath.

Arenis, noticing my surprise, turned her head to the side to look at me. "You wanted to know my past, right?"

"Only if you really want to talk to me about it. "

"Very well, then," she nodded. She did not know where to begin. She brought a hand to her neck, then moved it up to her forehead, chasing an unruly lock from her face. "My mother was a laundress. We lived in a very small house, made of wood. Every now and then I scraped some money by pulling weeds from the house gardens and around the church. In addition, I helped my mother deliver washed and ironed clothes to her customers. It was not an easy life, but I was happy until... Well, until she died giving birth to my brother. I still remember her face, so blank, so lifeless. Her death turned everything upside down."

"What was she like?" I asked, cautiously. "Do you remember her?"

"Not much. I only remember a few things. In winter she would warm my mattress and blankets every night with the iron. She always put the best bits on my plate. And when I played in the street, with the other children in the village, she would call me from the kitchen window to announce that dinner was ready on the table. She had fair hair, even lighter than yours, and she had the same eyes as me."

"She must have been a wonderful mother."

Arenis sketched a sad smile. "She was. I'm sure she was."

And she spoke. She talked late into the night. She told me about life at Mr and Mrs Oldman's, about all those children she had to take care of, about her father and how he had left them both in that tavern in Plymouth to go back to the sea.

"As the years passed, I realised that he had lied to me. He was a pirate, always had been."

"Was it he who induced you to this life?"

"No. I chose it myself. After Everett..." Pronouncing that name took her breath away. Her voice suddenly muffled. A palpable tension spread all around us. And then I saw her eyes, filled with tears. She tried hard to hold them back. And when she realised I had noticed them, she turned her face away, hiding herself from me.

I brought a hand to her arm and squeezed it gently, trying to comfort her somehow. "Captain... There is no need to continue if all this pains you. Please."

"No, no, I can continue," she insisted. "I'm sorry. Even after all this time I find it hard to talk about him."

"No wonder. You must have loved him very much."

"Tell me about your siblings. Distract me from my memories for a while," she urged.

I agreed. I started telling her how one day I had convinced Henry to play a trick on our governess. We had both hidden under her bed and, once she had approached the bed to go to sleep, we grabbed both her ankles at the same time. The poor woman had screamed like crazy from fright, loud enough to wake up our parents who were sleeping upstairs. "The next day, in class, she questioned us in every subject. 'I won't play tricks on my governess again,' was the sentence we had to write two hundred times."

Arenis let loose in a crystal-clear laugh. "I imagined you to be a docile and meek child!"

"Ah, not at all. I used to exasperate adults all the time. I was really awful."

"Were your parents strict with you?"

"Sometimes, only when I was up to no good. Otherwise, they let me do whatever I wanted."

"It must have been a good childhood, yours. Free of worries."

It took Arenis some time before she was able to start talking about Everett again. I sensed instantly that this loss had shaped her negatively. It had changed her, hardened her. The sudden disappearance of her brother's tender presence had turned her life upside down again.

"There are days when I would rather forget him completely. His memory haunts me like a shadow and I feel as if it pulls me back, as if it does not allow me to look forward. But then there are also the days when I am madly afraid that he will disappear from my mind. I no longer remember the sound of his laughter, I can barely recall the features of his face. Silly, isn't it?"

"It is not silly. It's human."

"Human," she repeated, relishing the sound of the word. Then she looked up at the starry sky above us. "Impressive, isn't it?" she said, without taking her eyes off the vault of heaven.

"It is."

"I doubt there is a better view than this."

"How does it make you feel?"

'Insignificant and important at the same time."

When the walk was over, Arenis accompanied me to the door of the hut. She gave me advice on where to hide the chest so that it would not be found. Finally, she left me, saying goodbye with a slight wave of her hand.

My mind seemed to be floating in the water because of how dazed it was. Everything had happened so suddenly. Arenis, for the first time, had allowed me an excerpt of herself, confiding to me her thoughts, her torments, her past experiences. I was honoured. I was flattered. I was grateful for the trust she had placed in me.

That night I did not close my eyes. Sleep was the least of my thoughts. I thought again of Arenis' words, of her sad and treacherous past. I thought of Everett, that brother she had raised alone and who had died too soon, shattering her heart into a thousand pieces. I imagined a young Arenis. A child Arenis. I wished I had known her then too; to tell her that everything would have been all right.

But then I thought of the Arenis of the present. Was she happy? Was she satisfied with the life she led? What did she desire? What future did she imagine for herself? Could I ask her? Could I ask her such personal questions or did I risk driving her away, just now, when our relationship had improved?

A thousand doubts tortured me until dawn. As the sun rose, tiredness took over and I collapsed into my pillow.

"Eveline," whispered Dinnington's voice. "Eveline, wake up. Do you want to sleep all day?"

"What time is it?"

"Almost one o'clock in the afternoon."

I opened my eyes wide, my head throbbing painfully. "My goodness! The Captain is going to kill me! I didn't show up for work-"

"Calm down. She told me to tell you that she gave you a day off."

"What?"

"She gave me a day off too!" He smiled. "That chest full of gold in my hallway is yours, I suppose."

"Oh!" I leapt to my feet in a flash, sliding the sheet across the floor. "I must hide it!"

He chuckled with amusement at seeing me so apprehensive. "This is a really brilliant idea. Leaving all that fortune exposed on an island full of pirates is not wise at all," he said wryly. "Come on, let me help you."

As we were intent on lifting it, me on one side and Dinnington on the other, the latter smiled sweetly. "Well? Did Arenis obtain your forgiveness?"

"Yes. Yes, she obtained it."

"I am happy to hear that."