Page 12 of Miss Wylde and the Wynd

His brother held up his hands in defense and took a step back. “As I do not know what is going on, I am not going to interfere.”

“She was a stowaway on one of your ships. That is a criminal offense,” Damian nearly yelled.

“I also know her family. Miss Wylde is not of the criminal element and clearly there must be a matter of grave importance. Therefore, I will not hold her here.”

Georgie grinned. “Where can we find the Despoina?”

*

Had she demanded to see Wyndham as soon as she was taken to the Trade Wynd office, she might already have found her sister or be on her way to discover her instead of being interrogated by Damian.

They walked along the docks, passing ships and sailors, and cargo being unloaded. Damian was determined to reach the Despoina and his stride made it difficult for her to keep up. It was rude and intentional but she did not care. He may reach the destination before her, but she was not so far behind.

Damian eventually stopped at a basin sealed off from the sea where the ship had been moored and deliberately beached so that men could make repairs to the hull while others worked high above on the masts.

She found it all quite interesting and was about to ask how they got it out of the water when Damian called out.

“Captain Carruthers!”

An older man with white hair and a weathered faced turned and waved at Damian before he disembarked the ship and made his way to where they were standing.

“Is Harold Fisher one of your crew?” Damian demanded.

“He was,” Carruthers answered.

“What do you mean by was?” Georgie asked in alarm.

Carruthers’s barely spared her a glanced before he spoke directly to Damian.

“He has not shown up for nearly a sennight. I have marked it on the ledger so that he doesn’t receive his wages with a recommendation that he be terminated.”

Some of Georgie’s anxiety returned. If Fisher was gone, where was he and did it have anything to do with Grace?

“Do your sailors make it a habit of seducing local innocents when they visit other ports?” Damian demanded.

Captain Carruthers looked at Georgie and frowned.

“You?” he asked as his eyes grew hard.

“No,” Georgie answered and would refuse to tell him anything further because she did not want her sister shamed any more than she was, especially since Carruthers might again sail to Carrara.

“It must have been the other one,” the captain grumbled.

“What other one?” Georgie asked anxiously.

“A miss came round here right before Fisher disappeared,” the captain said. “He had already left for the day, but another one of the sailors gave her direction to the lodging house where Fisher has a room. I have not seen Fisher since.”

“What was her name?” Georgie demanded.

The captain’s gray eyes filled with irritation as he sneered. “I do not know nor did I ask.”

“What did she look like?” she asked.

“Dark hair, brown eyes, slight frame.”

Grace fit that description, which gave Georgie hope.

“You did not answer my question,” Damian reminded him.