In the days that followed, I made the acquaintance of other members of Arenis' crew. There was Naade, the man who had accompanied me to the Captain's quarters on the first day. The scars on his face perturbed me, but despite his striking appearance, he had a very outgoing personality. I had never conversed with a black person in my life. I asked him where he came from, but he refused to talk about his past. Then there was Dilthey, a man in his thirties, who during a lunch break invited me to eat with him and Jackie Jay, a young man with a perpetual smile on his face. I had warned myself not to get familiar with these people, so I declined their invitation. Dilthey tried to insist, but noticing my resolve, he shrugged and nodded slightly.

"Forgive me for disturbing you, Miss, but I thought it only fair to warn you that it is less than two days to Charlestown. You will be with your family shortly," he said before taking his leave. He greeted me politely, giving a little bow of the head.

"Earth!"

A scream pierced the morning stillness. I awoke with the word burned in my mind. Earth. Earth. When I realized what it meant, I leapt forward and sat up in bed. The sun hit me full in the face. Its torpid rays penetrated through the porthole. It was hot. My nightgown was sweaty. I glanced out, but saw nothing but an expanse of water.

I had to get out.

I dressed as quickly as I could, washing myself with cold water and gathering my hair into a hasty bun. I hurried outside and first saw a greenish line on the horizon. We were still a long way from land, yet there it was. And I felt relief invade me completely. The crew behaved as usual. There was no enthusiastic expression on their faces. I ran forward until I reached the tip of the ship. I stood and watched the Galatea glide toward that new continent, toward my new home. There they were, waiting for me. I had never travelled so far, although as a child I had expressed many times my wish to accompany my father on his expeditions to Africa, but I was never allowed to. I loved unwrapping the gifts he brought us. Exotic gifts, from cultures completely different from ours. Who knows what I'd find in America?

The water of the sea was clear and let the colour of the bottom show through. The coast was getting closer and closer.

"Quinn! Quinn! What the hell are you doing? Why isn't the Galatea flying the British flag? Do you want us to get shot?!"

I could more and more distinctly see the trees, streets, and houses of Charlestown. The land near the town was sandy, but farther away it was clay and marshy. It abounded with beautiful navigable rivers, large stone buildings with porches with great pillars and steeples. A sound of bells hung in the air. As the harbour grew closer, I heard a great clamour. It was crowded with people. Among the crowd I saw so many faces. Unfamiliar faces of women, men and children. Oh, and how many children! They were playing along the canal, chasing each other and shouting carefree. The buildings along the harbour were hostels, rented rooms, taverns and inns. In front of the latter were long wooden planks for customers to enjoy the sunny day and the hustle and bustle of downtown Charlestown. A few people, who had noticed the Galatea arriving, had lingered on the pier to watch the docking. The small group consisted mostly of children exclaiming and pointing their index fingers at us, excitedly.

"Take down the sails!" ordered Arenis and her men set to work. As we entered the harbour we passed ships of various sizes including schooners, sailboats, and barges. The Galatea was no longer driven by the wind, but glided over the sea on her own, thanks to her own weight. The mooring proceeded quickly enough. Men lowered themselves down onto the quay with ropes, and others who worked in the port helped them to tie the large ropes around the stone bollards. The children cheered excitedly when the mooring was finished.

"All right, crew! Assemble!" ordered Arenis, pausing halfway up the steps that gave to the bridge for all to see her. "Remember, if the British navy stops you, you are the crew of the Galatea, under the command of Captain Jones."

They had all worn the uniforms they had found on the ship, belonging to my old crew. To some the uniforms fit too big or too small, the ends of the trousers and sleeves rolled up. Dinnington had been wearing Captain Jones' uniform and it was determined that he would pass himself off as him. Arenis, on the other hand, had gathered up her hair and tucked it under a bandana. It was obvious that she had wrapped her breasts to hide them. She must have done this many times before, considering she was completely comfortable and naturally blended in among the other men.

"I know you are looking forward to disembarking and having fun, but I need volunteers. As you well know we are in Charlestown to haggle with the Adler family. I therefore request that five men follow me to find their home and let them know of their daughter's abduction. Three others are to remain on board the Galatea with Miss Adler to guard her and prevent her escape. As for the rest of you, you are free to do whatever the hell you like. In moderation! We don't want to get caught, do we? I grant you leave until 10 o'clock this evening, then we will update. And, please, I don't want any of you too drunk to work!"

Dinnington decided to follow the Captain, as did Dilthey, Jackie Jay, and two other men whose names I did not know. Naade, Harris, the cook, and a man named Cohen offered to be stand guard over me instead. The rest of the crew disembarked, ready to spend the day at the nearest tavern.

I remained for the greater part of that day observing Charlestown and its passers-by. At least five times the idea of running away occurred to me, but when I turned around and saw the three men in charge of guarding me, with those massive bodies, armed to the teeth, I reconsidered. It seemed absurd to me that they were out there, in the middle of those houses, and I couldn't reach them. I imagined my mother's screams as she watched a pack of pirates enter her house. I imagined my father being threatened with the point of a blade. Or my brother Gideon, so reckless that he would have thought he could fight them because of the fencing lessons Father had paid for him years before.

I closed my eyes; I could feel my veins throbbing.

I saw a woman walking along the quay. She was watching the ships dockside. And that's when I reached out an arm to her and started screaming at the top of my lungs. "Help! Help me! "

"Oh, God! Shut her up!"

A hand, a few moments later, clamped over my mouth and dragged me backward, toward the centre of the ship, where I couldn't be spotted. Harris grabbed my arm and turned me around, abruptly, seeking my gaze. His eyes glittered with anger. "If you try that one more time, we'll cut out your tongue, clear?"

I could feel his fingers pressing hard against my skin. I tried to struggle, to no avail.

"Clear?" he repeated.

"Yes...yes-" I replied, terrified.

"Good!"

"Harris, let go of her arm. You're hurting her," Naade intervened.

"Hah!" The man then let go of me and I immediately backed away from him.

"Come," Naade invited me, in a soothing tone. "Would you like to play cards, Miss? Do you know how to play at Vingt-et-un?"

"Go to hell," I grunted.

At ten o'clock in the evening, the rest of the crew embarked. The Captain and the men who had gone down with her, however, did not show up. An hour passed, and the crew grew more and more anxious.

"Where the hell are they?" I heard Harris say. "They were supposed to be here by ten."

"Maybe we should go find them. Maybe the Captain needs help."

"What if they've been found out?"

It was Naade who calmed everyone down. "Let's give them one more hour, and if even in an hour we don't see them coming back, we'll split into several groups to go after them."

At a quarter to midnight, figures hidden in the shadows of the night appeared in the harbour. They walked close beside each other, composed. Naade stood beside me, scrutinizing them closely.

"It's them, but something's wrong," he muttered.

I swallowed. I immediately thought of my family. Were they all right? With a shaky body, I ran to Dinnington when he came aboard.

"What...?" I asked, panicked.

But he didn't answer. He looked at me for a few seconds and then looked away. Arenis passed him and with a shout made everyone collect themselves. "Everyone gather on the bridge!"

She was immediately surrounded by the crew, they were all eager to hear what she had to say.

"My men, there has been a terrible setback. The money will not be there now or ever," she said, distraught.

"Do you mean to say that the journey to Charlestown was in vain, Captain?" asked a man in the crowd.

"I'm afraid so, Dawson," Arenis replied. "The Adlers haven't given us what we requested."