"Victoria."

"Victoria's a lovely name," Taylor remarked. She couldn't think of anything better to say. She wanted to grab the woman by her shoulders and shake some sense into her. She didn't succumb to her urge, however, but would reason with her instead. "Please tell me what's wrong. I would like to help you."

Victoria pressed her back against the rail when Taylor took another step toward her. She looked like a cornered animal, waiting for the kill. Her eyes were wide with terror, and she gripped her hands together with such force, her arms began to shake.

"No one can help me."

"I cannot know if I can help you or not until you explain your circumstances."

"If you knew… you would turn your back on me and run," Victoria predicted.

"I doubt that," Taylor replied. "Please trust me enough to tell me what's wrong."

Victoria buried her face in her hands and began sobbing again. Taylor couldn't stand to witness her pain a moment longer. She rushed forward until she stood directly in front of her and then put her hand out.

"All you have to do is take hold, Victoria. I'll do the rest."

Victoria stared up at Taylor a long while, trying to make up her mind. And then, just when Taylor became convinced her offer of friendship was going to be rejected, Victoria surprised her. She slowly, timidly reached up to take hold of her hand.

Taylor assisted her to her feet, then put her arm around Victoria's shoulders with the thought of leading her away from the railing. She wanted to put as much distance between the ocean and the distraught woman as possible, an unrealistic feat, given the fact that they were surrounded on all sides by water.

Victoria was so desperate for a touch of human kindness and a tender, nonaccusatory word of comfort, she literally threw herself into Taylor's arms, very nearly knocking the two of them over. Taylor quickly recovered her balance. Victoria was weeping uncontrollably against her shoulder. She was an inch or two taller than Taylor, and consoling the woman proved to be a little awkward, though certainly not impossible. Taylor patted her in what she hoped was a soothing motion. She didn't try to do anything more to calm her. Victoria obviously needed to cry. In Taylor's mind, weeping could very well be the first step toward healing. Marian never cried, and Taylor thought that perhaps that was one of the many reasons she'd become such a brittle, hard woman.

It didn't take long for Victoria's sobs to unnerve Taylor. She tried to remain dispassionate, yet found she couldn't remain unaffected by such heartbreaking agony, and within minutes, tears were blurring her own vision.

Victoria was rambling incoherent words and phrases mixed with a good number of quotes from Shakespeare's tragedies, but when she confessed she had trusted the man, had really loved him and believed with all her heart that he would marry her, Taylor thought she finally understood the reason behind her desolation.

She was pregnant.

Taylor got good and mad. "Dear God, is that all?" she cried out. "You're going to have a baby, aren't you? I thought you'd committed some atrocious crime."

"It is atrocious," Victoria wailed.

Taylor let out a loud, unladylike snort. "No," she contradicted. "Murdering the man who lied to you and took advantage of your innocence would be atrocious," she told her. She paused to sigh. "Then again, perhaps that wouldn't have been so atrocious after all."

"My life is over."

Taylor forced herself to get her temper under control. The poor woman had probably had quite enough accusations thrown her way. She tried to think of something positive to say to her. It took her a few minutes to come up with something.

"The life you led is over, yes, but now you'll simply start another one. Come and sit down and compose yourself."

Victoria was limp and drained from weeping. Taylor led her over to a bench set against the wall adjacent to the strolling deck.

Victoria sat down, adjusted her skirts, and then folded her hands together in her lap. Her head was bowed in dejection.

Lucas, glad that the immediate threat was over, moved further into the shadows where he could still watch but wouldn't disturb their privacy.

Taylor was too agitated to sit. She paced back and forth in front of Victoria while she worried the problem over in her mind.

"Do you still love this man?"

"No." Her answer was emphatic.

Taylor nodded. "Good," she announced. "He isn't worth loving," she added. "Do you have relatives who will give you shelter in America?"

"No. I hadn't planned on getting there. I used up all my money to purchase a berth. The only reason I carried along my clothes was because my father threw them out on the pavement."

"Your parents threw you out?" Taylor was appalled.

Victoria nodded. "I cannot blame them. I have been a disappointment."

"I can certainly blame them," Taylor argued. "They are your parents. They should have stood by you. My grandmother would have stood by me."

"If she were alive, my grandmother would have stood by me as well," Victoria said.

"What about the man responsible for your condition? Does he know you're carrying his child?"

"Yes."

"And?" Taylor prodded when she didn't continue.

"He doesn't wish to become involved."

"It's a bit late for that decision, isn't it?"

"He wanted to marry Lady Margaret Kingsworth. She has a large dowry."

Taylor's curiosity was captured. She knew Lady Margaret and wondered who the scoundrel was.

"Who is the man…"

"I will never say his name." She fairly shouted her denial.

Taylor hurried to soothe her. "I won't ever ask you again," she promised. "You're certain you don't still love him?"

"I can't imagine what I ever saw in him now. I should have heeded William's advice, for he wrote, 'Love moderately; long love doth so; too swift arrives as tardy as too slow.'"

Lord, she was quoting Shakespeare again. And crying. Taylor tried to hold onto her patience. It was a most difficult task. "The past is the past, Victoria. You cannot undo what has already been done. You must look to the future now."

"I believed with all my heart he would marry me."

"Many a good hanging prevents a bad marriage," Taylor said, turning Shakespeare's words back on the distraught woman.

Victoria found her first smile. "I do believe I would like to see him hang for his lies to me. Still, I was a willing… participant."

"You were naive and he took full advantage. The man's a snake."

"I was equally responsible for my mistake."

Taylor couldn't help but admire the woman because she took responsibility for her actions. She didn't blame anyone else, not even the pig who seduced her. She was about to tell her she admired her when Victoria asked her who she was.

"What is your name?"

"Taylor."

"Taylor? The Lady Taylor?"

"You've heard of me?"

"Oh, yes, everyone has heard of you, milady."

"Why?" Taylor asked.

"The humiliation… oh, dear, I shouldn't have mentioned such an indelicate topic."

Taylor's shoulders slumped. Did everyone in England know about her disgrace? "It wasn't a humiliation. It was a blessing as far as I'm concerned." Lord, how many times had she said those words while in London? At least a hundred times, she thought.

"Do you still love him?" Victoria asked.

"I never did love him," Taylor admitted. "I realize that now. I married his brother," she added with a nod when Victoria looked so surprised. "I don't love him either," she confessed. "But I will admit I am becoming attracted to him. Still, he is a man and, therefore, probably a scoundrel. Most of them are. My husband is honorable though. I've already noticed that attribute."

"Perhaps you will eventually fall in love with him," Victoria suggested.

What an awful thought, given that Lucas would be leaving her the minute they reached Boston. "Perhaps," she said aloud so that Victoria would believe she'd offered a viable hope.

Taylor went over and sat down next to her new friend. She gently turned the topic around to Victoria's delicate condition.

"You made an important decision tonight."

"I did? What was that?"

"To live," Taylor answered. "The rest is going to be easy. I promise you."

Victoria didn't understand. Taylor said she would explain what she meant later. She asked Victoria what she thought she most wanted to accomplish with her life. What were her hopes and her dreams? If she could have anything in the world, what would she want?

Victoria answered her questions. She talked for almost two hours. Taylor did most of the listening. Discussing her fears helped lessen them in Victoria's mind. The unknown terrified her, she admitted. And being alone. That terrified her most of all. Taylor understood far better than Victoria thought she would. Being alone… and responsible for two children was terrifying for her, but she would do whatever she had to do to keep the twins safe. And, she had a feeling Victoria would be just as protective of her own little one.

"You have to get used to the idea first," Taylor said.

"What idea?" Victoria asked.

"Being a mother," Taylor explained. "I wager before long you'll love your baby with all your heart."

"I haven't really thought about the baby. I've been too busy feeling sorry for myself."

Taylor patted her hand. "You'd been betrayed. It was only natural for you to feel sorry for yourself."

Victoria let out a loud yawn, apologized for her unladylike action, and then said, "The wind has certainly picked up. Captain said a storm's brewing."

A sudden gust of wind swept across the deck. Victoria started shivering. Taylor didn't notice the chill in the air until Victoria mentioned it. Then she also started shivering.

"We'd better go back to our cabins," she suggested.

"Yes," Victoria agreed. She stood up, then turned to Taylor. "Thank you for listening to me. You've been very kind, milady."

Taylor was at a loss as to what to say in response. She wasn't at all comfortable receiving compliments. They'd been so far and few in her life. She had seldom received outright praise for any of her actions. Madam expected certain behavior, and Taylor only heard when she had disappointed her grandmother.

Victoria seemed to be waiting for her to do or say something, however, and so Taylor simply gave her a nod of acceptance. Then she cleared her throat. In a no-nonsense tone of voice very much like her grandmother's, she said, "Tomorrow I would like for you to meet me in the ship's library at two o'clock. In the last few days I've noticed that room is usually deserted at that time of day and we should have plenty of privacy while we formulate our plans."

"We will?"

"I believe so."

"What plans, milady?"

Taylor was surprised by the question. "Why, plans for your future of course," she explained. "Did you think I would pat you on your back in sympathy and then walk away?"

"I didn't know what to think, milady."

"Do quit calling me your lady. In America, titles have no significance whatsoever."

"Are you certain?"

"Oh, yes. I read it in a book, so it must be true."

Victoria nodded. "Are you really going to help me?"

"How could I not?"

Lord, she started crying again. Taylor didn't want to go through another round of weeping and consoling. "Please stop that," she pleaded. "You're going to wear yourself out. I cannot believe you thought I would abandon you. Shame on you, Victoria."

"I don't want to be a burden or suggest that you…"

Taylor took hold of Victoria's arm and led her over to the staircase. "Of course you don't want to be a burden. You won't be, I promise. I have a terrible habit," she confessed then. "I seem to believe I know what's best for everyone around me."

"I don't believe knowing what's best for someone else is a terrible habit," Victoria replied.

"Not just someone else," Taylor corrected. "Everyone else. And yes, it is a terrible flaw. Madam calls it my affliction. She says I shouldn't interfere and it's quite arrogant of me to think I can make a difference in anyone else's life. Very arrogant indeed. Those were her very words to me time and again. I fear she's right. I give you my word I won't force you to do anything you don't want to do, Victoria. But I do insist on helping you."