conscience and birth [elizabeth]
It's good to be away from Road Town, however comparatively civilized it might be. Once away from the gentlemen in their fine coats and the officers' taverns and the perceived sneering scorn of the law-abiding, Captain Kaufman finds it a bit easier to maintain his sense of self-worth.
And aboard the Hellequin, at least, he's still more or less the most gentlemanly of the lot. Among the highest-born (even though he's not very, not at all, just a merchant's son), the highest-ranking (even if it was stripped from him a long time ago) the most law-respecting (even though his conscience barely twinges at all now when his crew loots and thieves and kidnaps.)
But he has passengers now, decent respectable ones at that. Truly highborn passengers, like the good Widow Sumner. That's going to make things a bit uneasier for him.
He stands on the quarterdeck, hands behind his back, looking out over the sea to ponder this.