Hal rode out from the stable yard not long after his father and brother set sail in the pinnace. He knew he was supposed to remain guarding Sam but after telling him why he needed to go, Sam had insisted he did so. First, though, he left instructions for men to watch the road and jetty, which did something to assuage his guilt.
He had sent a note to Marianne earlier, telling her he was leaving Jamaica. Yet the more he thought of it the more it pricked his conscience. He must tell her in person. How had he not understood that sooner? He urged his horse on up through the jungle towards the track into Port Royal. It seemed strange to think how soon he would be gone from this verdant place. Would he return to Rotherhithe? How alien it seemed now in his memory. Grey. The river brown, cold and
