High and Dry

A wounded young woman and a charismatic ship's captain.
Does their love stand a chance? Eighteen-year old Meredith Roxley is on a long sea cruise from England to Australia and back via the Cape of Good Hope. She is attempting to escape from the clutches of Kempton, the man who preyed on her when she was in her early teens. During the first part of the voyage she met Captain Raphael Maynard, who took an interest in her, an interest which is far from platonic. Meredith has fallen in love with the Captain, but their relationship is threatened by her aunt's probable disapproval of their age difference, and Meredith's fear of sexual intimacy. Although the Captain knows nothing about Meredith's unfortunate past, he has to date been considerate and patient with her. At the end of Book 2 - "Perilous Seas" - the Captain and Meredith had overcome Merry's shame at running away from the Captain, and they are getting on well together. The Captain is now taking his time with Merry, coaching her in the art of love-making in the hope of freeing her from her psychological imprisonment. All is going well until the jealousy of a female passenger lets the cat out of the bag. Will the lovers be able to surmount the fall-out? And what about Tony? We last him walking off into an African market, just before a bomb went off. And poor wounded Albi. Will he recover and find a bird sanctuary willing to take him in and respect his nobility?