CHAPTER ONE

Australia, September 1845

Off the southern coast of mainland Australia

“Lucy! Bring my parasolat once, do you hear?” The beautiful young dark-haired woman called impatiently. She was obviously worried about her peaches-and-cream complexion.

“If your skin is burning, Miss Divine, perhaps you should come out of the sun,” Lucy advised her employer in a kindly tone. She was aware of how powerful the sun’s reflection off the sea could be. With her blonde hair and fair skin, she burned in a matter of minutes. She was standing in the shade of the aft deck, sheltering as much from the rising wind as the sun, while theS.S. Gazelle rolled and dipped over mounting waves. They were traveling along the southern coast of Australia, heading for Backstairs Passage, a notoriously volatile stretch of water that separated Kangaroo Island from the mainland, but with strong head winds the crew claimed it would be dark before they got there. It was almost October, and the weather should have been mild to warm, but the wind was as chilled as a winter’s morning.

Amelia Divine was standing at the ship’s railing, glaring at her servant. “This terrible rocking motion is making me feel ill, Lucy. If I don’t keep the breeze in my face, I am likely to feed those horrible mutton chops we had for lunch to the fish.”

Lucy inwardly groaned. Amelia had done nothing but whine since they set sail from Van Diemen’s Land five days ago on the steamerLady Rosalind, and it was taking its toll on her nerves.It was too warm. It was too cold. The food was terrible. The crew were rude. They were being forced to mix with steerage passengers. On and on and on …

Even the brief stopover in Melbourne, before boarding the steamerGazelle, had not improved her mood.

Lucy was convinced it was too windy to hold a parasol, but she went below to fetch it, just to keep her ladyship happy. She’d no sooner given it to Amelia when the bracing wind whipped it from her hand, and she screeched in annoyance as it flew over the side and was quickly swept away on the crest of a wave.

“Perhaps it would be wise to come out of this wind, Miss Divine,” Lucy suggested. Amelia was so slight that Lucy feared the strong wind might carry her overboard.

“I told you,I’ll be sick. If you haven’t any more helpful suggestions, leave me be,” Amelia said sullenly. She was turning the same pea-green as the sea, Lucy noted, and was obviously bent on making Lucy bear the brunt of her ill temper, as she had done more than once in the past few weeks. Lucy returned to the shelter of the aft deck, where she was awaited by a fellow passenger, who’d introduced herself as Sarah Jones.

Sarah had overheard Amelia’s tirade. “I don’t know how you put up with your employer’s whining and the disrespectful way she talks to you,” she said, glaring at Amelia, who was clinging to the railing with a snooty expression on her pretty face. She’d had the displeasure of meeting lots of Amelia Divines over the years. She’d been spoken to in the same insolent tone many times. Due to hercircumstances, she’d had no choice but to accept it, but she didn’t understand why Lucy put up with it. She was a servant, yes, but obviously a free person.

Sarah had an expert eye for those who were in the same position as herself, and Lucy wasn’t one of them. If she’d been in Lucy’s shoes, she’d have told Miss Divine exactly what she thought of her. It would probably have cost her position, but the satisfaction would be worth it.

“I need the work and lodgings,” Lucy said by way of explanation. “I came out to Australia eighteen months ago with one hundred and fifty-six children from a London orphanage. The minute any of us turn sixteen, we are expected to make our own way in the world. I had my sixteenth birthday only last month, but I was lucky enough to get this position with Amelia.”

“Miss Divine can’t be much older than you,” Sarah commented, still glaring at Lucy’s employer. “Where are her parents?” They were obviously rich and had brought her up to look down on the working class, which only increased Sarah’s dislike of her.

“She’s nineteen. Her life was one to envy … until a few weeks ago, when her parents and young brother were killed.”

“What happened?”

“An enormous gum tree fell on their carriage during a violent gale in Hobart Town. Apparently they didn’t stand a chance. I was hired to accomp