Female orphaned passenger on a ship, and a privateer/ pirate captain imprisoned below. She is extremely shy and can't communicate well , to the point it's a handicap.  He is bound for trial and a noose.

She is standing in front of his tiny prison window, and takes off her shoes because her feet hurt. He swipes them, and forces her promise to bring him extra food and talk to him. They become friends, although they can't see each other.  He has no idea she has a speech problem, because she's speaking clearly as she can't see him.

 

One of the first mates catches her talking to the prisoner, and tries to rape her because she's too shy to talk to anyone so he's jealous, and to antagonize the prisoner, an infamous enemy of England.  The hero grabs his leg, pulls it through the bars, and breaks it.

A typhoon/ monsoon is coming. Heroes crew overtakes them beginning of the storm, and they free their captain. The captain of the passenger/ transport ship refuses to listen to their advice, so the privateers offer the passengers a chance to escape with them, as its clear their all going to die weathering the storm. The heroine won't go, so the privateer/pirate kidnaps her.  Her ship roommates trust their instincts and decide to go as well.

They make it close to a deserted island, before the pirate/privateer ship sinks, stranding them all. Hero and heroine fall in love, but he is too dominant and runs over her all the time, as she's resorted back to her speech problem. First chance she gets off the island, she abandons him. Later she finds out she's pregnant, and marries a gay doctor who needs a wife to protect his reputation.  They live in England.

 

Hero comes after her when he finds out about the baby, forces an annulment, takes her and the gay doctor (his practice was ruined in england i think) back with him. America, I guess? He doesn't forgive her though, for a long time.

Hero has a saint bernard named Beau, that was on the island with them.

At one point on the island she was attacked by a crocodile/ alligator.