Standing on the crowded and noisy docks, in front of the praise and compliments of a crowd of talkative, seemingly well-bred officials, parliamentarians, and big businessmen, Isabel wanted nothing more than to get out of here. When no one was paying attention, he quietly said a few words to John Hawkins beside him, "John, you go back to the ship immediately and tell Adjutant Baldwin to pack all my things, and send them all to my room." ”

When John's father, Captain Hawkins, sent someone to ask Isabel and the other officers to disembark, John was eager to tell the young captain what he thought. After all, he was about to lose his six-month tenure as captain, and he wanted the female captain to know that.

"Yes, Captain." Still respectfully obeying the captain's orders, John swallowed back what he wanted to say.

"Also, all the weapons and cargo in the treasure chests and cargo will also be brought back. If someone is found stealing, immediately ask Baldwin to lead someone to arrest the thief. ”

"Yes, Captain."

After Isabel finished explaining the business to be done, she found that John looked like she wanted to say something, and smiled kindly, "John, do you have something to say to me?" ”

John blinked at her and nodded heavily. Isabel smiled lightly, "You can come and see me tomorrow." ”

Isabel then excused the officials, the councillors, and Captain William Hawkins that she was unwell and needed to go back to her room to rest immediately. Captain Hawkins had wanted to ask her to talk to city officials about the slave trade, but now he had to agree to her request. After a few words of advice to her brother Richard Hawkins, who was celebrating the return of the fleet, he asked him to escort her back to the family house.

Before the fleet left port last September, Richard was very grateful to Isabel for having his son Brady serve as boatswain on the Nemesis. Now that the fleet has finished its voyage, it means that Brady will lose his position as boatswain and continue to be a trainee sailor that everyone can reprimand.

In this regard, Richard was unwilling to accept the fact that his son had once again started at the bottom of the family fleet. He hoped that Isabel would provide her son with some shelter in terms of life and treatment before returning to the north. After hearing his brother's command, he immediately brought Isabel a horse to ride.

The two men mounted their horses and left the dock with a few retinues, and rode off along the road leading to the family house. Less than two miles away, Richard deliberately slowed down his horse to curry favor with the northern nobleman, "Miss Isabel, as soon as I received the news of the fleet's return to port, I sent someone to clean up the room for you and your entourage. ”

From June last year until now, there are only a handful of merchants, yomans, gentlemen and officials in Plymouth who do not know or do not know her. As a result, local officials or businessmen and their wives who dressed and behaved in a well-mannered manner all the way from the wharf stopped by the roadside to salute her.

As she rode forward with the reins, she nodded and smiled at the men and replied to Richard, "Well, I see." ”

Richard thought for a moment, smiled and asked about the Nemesis, "Miss, my brother told me that the fleet has sailed as far as the island of São Tomé in the Gulf of Guinea this time. Well, Guinea, weird name, huh? ”

Isabel's body swayed slightly as the horses jolted, but it didn't affect her anecdote from talking to Richard about the voyage, "That's right. In fact, Guinea is a language spoken by the indigenous people of Africa in the Portuguese and Portuguese territories, which probably means 'black country'. ”

"Miss, it seems that this ocean voyage has taught us a lot of things that we have never heard of before." Richard smiled lightly and suddenly asked again, "Miss, do you plan to go on another ocean voyage after returning to Hong Kong this time?" ”

Once again, it would be no problem to venture south into the Caribbean or the Portuguese colonies off the coast of West Africa. It's just that she still has a lot of business to deal with at present, and the plan for another ocean voyage can only be postponed indefinitely. Isabel turned her head and glanced at Captain Hawkins' brother, "No problem. It's just that I still have a lot of business to attend to when I return to England this time. So, for now, I'm not thinking about a second voyage. ”

Her answer was clear, but it left a suspense worth recalling. However, Richard believes that his son has lost his chance to become a boatswain again. His expression looked a little lonely, and he coughed lightly and said bluntly: "Miss, what should you do with your ship and your crew?" Uh, I mean my son Brady. ”

"Brady...? Didn't he want his son to be a trainee sailor anymore? As Isabel was pondering, she nodded and smiled when she saw a well-behaved woman standing on the side of the road and bowing her knees. Then, with an incomprehensible look, he looked at Richard, who was riding on the right, "Sir, most of my crew are members of the Hawkins family or sailors loyal to your brother. If I don't choose to sail at this time, I think these crew members can still work on your family's ship. ”

Richard shook his head, "Miss, do you think Brady will continue to go back as a trainee sailor?" ”

When she heard the other party's call, Isabel suddenly came to her senses. It turned out that due to his own involvement, the career growth process of John Hawkins and Brady cousins had been completely ruined by himself. How can it be remedied? She began to think about it seriously. Soon, she came up with a fairly satisfying idea.

He smiled lightly as he looked at each other, "Sir, you and your brother can let Brady and John continue in their positions from a few months ago. However, the two of them continued to perform their duties aboard the Nemesis. ”

Richard was a little surprised, and looked at her answer, but still said with some hesitation, "Miss, just now you said that you won't consider a second voyage for the time being... I don't quite understand what you mean. ”

"That's exactly what I said, sir. However, how about I convert the ship into pounds sterling and continue to fund your family's fleet? ”

"Well, that's a good idea. So, how many pounds are you going to get in it? ”

At this time, the two of them had already arrived outside the Hawkins family's land in Scott's village, which was planted with a large number of trees, and Isabel looked sideways at the lush woods within the fence and smiled nicely, "I think that the amount of money I spent on the 'Nemesis' last year will be converted into how much it is." ”

Without waiting for Richard's command, the retinue behind him ran to the gate of the fence of the territory and opened the door. Richard reined in his horse, stroked his beard with satisfaction, and said with a smile, "Mademoiselle, your decision is very wise. ”