Mistress of Her Heart — Helen Carras

The promise of the New World sparks a young woman's dreams, as tragedy forces her to seek a new life in a rugged land...where desire and destiny go hand in hand...and where love is the heart's sweetest reward.

When her mother dies, Becky Hastings indentures herself to gain passage to America, heeding the passion in her heart for adventure -- a legacy of her grandfather, Sir Walter Raleigh. The New World was his dream...could it be hers too?

Aboard the frigate Sea Bird, bound for Maryland, she is captivated by the rousing spirit and rakish good looks of Captain Jeremy Clay. Yet she knows their future can never be. She is not free to love, and his true mistress is the sea.

But Jeremy has not forgotten the courageous Englishwoman -- or the all-too-fleeting passion they shared. And though capricious fate will take them far from love's true desire, Jeremy vows that one day Becky will be his again. One day, he will return from the sea to claim the heart of the woman he desires above all others...