I did spend a little time in the poker games, but I was so much better than this crew that there was no real fun in it. I quit playing before I took e...erybody’s money.It was the third day of hunting that we caught sight of another yacht. We automatically assumed that it was just another pirate, so we put on all speed to intercept it before it could find a victim. To our surprise, they slowed down when they saw us coming. That definitely was not something that we expected of a pirate, so I was. Images passed through her mind in a continuous cycle - Jenny's face as the first blow fell, John's haunted gaze, the red weals that sprung up on Jenny's skin wherever the lash landed, Jenny's plea for help. Round and round they went like demented rats until, to get some peace from them, she rose and crept to the galley to make some cocoa.For a long time she sat, the cocoa slowly cooling, untouched, in the mug. To an observer, she would have appeared to be sitting quietly but inside the thoughts. .. I don't think I ever said it, but ... thank you. You made things much easier for me. I don't think I would have slept nearly as well without you. But you're right. It's time to move on as long as you're happy too."Sasha and Emma talked, as you do. They considered a joint wedding, and swung between choices several times before they decided it made sense; so many guests would be the same for both of them. The decision had to be made quickly, because some people had to travel to be there.. It seemed mules and horses were in great demand, here. There was never enough of anything, really. The storekeepers were making the real killing, here. Everyone needed to eat, or have supplies, or more, more, more of what was always in short supply.There were many interesting people, and I heard languages from all over the world. French was the second language spoken here, English being the first. We had several Englishmen. The Irish and Welsh had come to start working the company's.