Chapter One

Pleasure Cruise

“Are you traveling across the Atlantic Ocean for pleasure, or are you with your parents?”

The two girls laughed at Scott’s joke, gripping the ship’s rail with one hand and holding their hats down on their heads with the other to prevent the breeze from blowing them into the sea. He silently thanked the gusts for pressing their soft pastel blue dresses against their bodies, revealing the shape of their breasts and hips.

“For pleasure,” said the taller girl with the sun-bronzed hair tossing in the wind. “Our parents were supposed to sail to Scotland with us, but father took ill and mother stayed home with him in New York. Our aunt will meet us at the dock in Glasgow.”

Scott extended his hand. “I’m Scott Cailean, just graduated from medical college, the class of 1914, from a Canadian university medical school. I specialized in Gynecology. I’m sailing home to live with my mother, Lady Caroline Cailean, on our family estate. My cousin is Sir Richard Cailean, the Laird of Blackthorne Estate.

“Gosh, your mom is titled nobility?” the first girl asked, shaking Scott’s hand.

The other girl’s handshake was less enthusiastic, almost icy. “Are we supposed to know your cousin?” she said. Her cheeks dimpled with her pout, and her glossy raven hair danced in the breeze, fluttering over her jewel-green eyes.

“Probably not,” he replied. “I was just hoping you might be impressed by my family’s titles.”

“Oh, but your family sounds fascinating,” the first girl replied. “I’d like to know more about your family and...what was it you called your mom’s home?”

“Blackthorne House. A fortified manor house in Scotland.”

The shorter girl’s flirting pout had vanished. She fidgeted with the wide lavender sash around her slim waist and turned to her sister, “Kerrie, mother told us not to talk to strange men when we are alone.”

“Oh, Piper, what can he do to us on this ship. Besides, we’re not alone. There’s almost a thousand passengers on this voyage.”

“But Kerrie...”

“You’re just like mother,” she said, “always scolding and spoiling our fun.” She turned back to me. “Don’t pay any mind to Poppie. My name’s Cadena. My sister’s named Piper, but all our friends call her ‘Poppie’, and they call me ‘Kerrie’.

“We’re only half-sisters,” Poppie said. “We have the same father, but different mothers. My father re-married when my mother died. I was less than a year old, then.

“We have two days yet before we dock,” Scott said. “Perhaps we could have dinner at my table tonight?”

“Sure, sounds like fun.”

“Kerrie, don’t you think...”

“No, I don’t think,” she