I was struck by a comment thrown in near the end of the book: "I
reflected how a man cannot be free until he has possessions -- and
then he is no longer free but bound by them." (p. 249 in my paperback,
recently purchased from Beau's site).It hit me that a sub-theme of the book was freedom. Tatton was
escaping to freedom in several incidents (leaving home in Ireland,
getting away from Rafe after the first fight, fleeing Scotland with
Fergus, getting away from the Queen's men, getting away from Spanish
Inquisition, getting away from capture by the French; getting away from
the pirates in America). He also was working hard at acquiring enough
possessions so that he could get his ultimate freedom (buying his
ancestral land in Ireland).
At the end of the book, he has acquired quite a fortune, enough to live
comfortably in his land, and he is pleased to be no longer wandering the
world -- in other words, he is now actually free. He is also pleased that
he has a home and a family, and I get the sense that is also freeing for
him, even while it binds him.