I had been to Annisport before. My father and I had passed through it on our way to the Allore manor, and I had been a few times in company with some of the field hands as they made deliveries, tasked with purchasing goods for the house. But when I walked into the city that morning, I felt a trepidation and a sense of possibility I had never felt before.

It was late afternoon when I arrived, and I wasted no time. My belly was tight with hunger, so the first thing I did was to buy some bread on my way down to the docks. I chewed it without pleasure, already missing Sorla's cooking. Missing home.

The docks at Annisport were a whirlwind of activity. Three ships were docked and more were at anchor farther out in the harbor. Longshoremen and sailors were busy at their work, while folk from the city milled about watching them or going about their own business.

The first ship at the docks was a handsome clipper. As I approached, I saw a man who must have been the captain, judging by his dress, engaged in conversation with another.

"That 'un there's the King's Bounty."

I turned to see a sailor with a sack slung over his shoulder. Where had I heard that name before? It sounded familiar. I glanced back at the clipper. She had three masts, and although I knew next to nothing about seafaring at that time in my life, I saw the speed promised in her plentiful canvas and sleek lines.

The sailor cocked his head at me. "Well? Lookin' for work, are ye?"

"Yes—I am. How did you know?"

He gave me a once-over, squinting at me; from the looks of him, he was blind in one eye. The other apparently served him well enough, for he said, "Yeev the look of a landsman what doesn't wish to be one much longer, is all. Come on—yeel not want to be tekkin' up with that ship, lad. I'll tek ye to the cap'n of the Summerwave. She's me own."

He began to walk, and I followed him, grateful to have received something of a welcome, although I wasn't sure if it was warm or not. "Have you served on the King's Bounty before, then?" I asked. It must not have been a pleasant experience, for him to pause in his work to cut me off from inquiring for employment there.

"Nay," he said. "No respectable man does. I en't much, but I en't the sort what sails on that kind o' ship. Nor'n ye, lad. I can tell."

I wondered where this sailor had come from, for his accent was broad, but I followed well enough. "Why, what are they, pirates?"

The sailor spat. "Worse'n pirates," he said. "No more I'll say out here. Here's me cap—Cap'n Baron!"

A tall man with a flaming red beard turned toward us. He was not as finely dressed as the captain of the King's Bounty, but he certainly looked like he was in charge; I straightened my posture with one glance at his broad shoulders and sharp blue eyes. "Aye, Semmil—what've you dragged in this time?"

"Lookit 'im, cap'n. He's got a strappin' fine pair o' arms on 'im, don't he now."

Baron looked me over with a frown. "Aye, well, I've seen stronger. What line o' work are you in, lad?"

I shifted the small bag I carried over my should. "I worked at a manor house, sir, helping the cook and the housekeeper with the harder labor."

He frowned. "Ever been on the sea before?"

I shook my head. "No, sir, but I'll learn quickly."

The captain cast a skeptical look at Semmil, who looked at me, wrinkling his nose. "Aye, but lookit, cap'n—we're to lose three strong backs now Winsel's set to marry, and we've need o' 'im."

Captain Baron did not seem impressed, but whatever Semmil had said about Winsel seemed to decide him. He cocked a thumb over his shoulder at the Summerwave. She was a proud vessel, even if she did not seem as swift as the King's Bounty had. "He's in your charge, then, Semmil. Show him around and see that he learns the meaning of work. You're paid when we dock, lad, for that's when I'm paid, and we've no space for idle hands on board my vessel. Do you understand?"

I nodded. "Thank you, captain."

The captain smirked and shook his head, glancing at Semmil. "Get his sea legs under him quick, or the crew will do it for you, Sem. Go now; I've the accounts to see to."

I followed Semmil to the Summerwave and up the long plank that would take us aboard. "Thank you, Semmil," I said as I stepped off the plank onto the deck of the ship. "I owe my place to you."

He grunted in reply. "Won't be me hurtin' if yeer not worth yer boots, laddie," he said, "and I en't a very pious soul, but I weren't likely to sleep aright were I t' leave ye to the King's Bounty. Ye look fresh enough, I knew ye dint know what ye was doin'."

Somehow, hearing the name of the ship again sparked the connection in my mind I hadn't been able to make when I first heard it. I remembered now. When Agnes and I had found the box containing Mistress Allore's beautiful comb, those words had been graven on the underside of the lid. I had not been able to read them, but Agnes had told me what they said.

I was prevented from asking Semmil about the King's Bounty by a huge sailor, who dumped a load of canvas into my arms. "Get this belowdecks," he said.

And so the work began.