Parrishâ âWait over there until I sort this out.â
âMight I trouble you for my shoes?â Parrish asked.
âGet something warm for him to drink,â Gale added loudly. âBefore he freezes.â
âSit,â the Watch officer said, in a voice that might in itself have caused hypothermia. The two of them made their way to the indicated bench.
âYou are appallingly bad with people,â Gale said.
âI know,â Parrish said.
âGood swimmer though.â
âI won the Slosh, at my Graduation.â He beamed. The memory of the dangerous swimming contest must be a good one. Then his face closed. âWhat happens now?â
âWordâll get out that the girl and the clerk were in on the scheme, and the Patents debate will ease down to a simmer. With luck, one or the other of them will avoid arrest.â
âWith luck?â
âWhoever roped âem into the scheme is probably pretty slick. Thereâs a chance theyâll come away without facing charges if they keep their mouths shut.â
âYouâre all right with that?â
âIn the first place, itâs out of my hands. In the second itâd be a shame, for their daughter, if they were both convicted of interfering with the Convene. They must have been in terrible financial straits to agree to the scheme.â
He puzzled this one out, probably weighing pity for the child against the fact that her parents were criminals.
âI donât know that I approve of you leaping off a moving ship in the dead of night on the off chance you might catch the inscription.â
âThe seas were calm. The prospect of Rasa dying, crack by crack, slowlyââ
âWouldâve been terrible,â she agreed. âBut howâll I face Sloot if you drown?â
âYouâll tell him to find another first mate.â Color blotched his cheeks. âSpeaking of replacing me. Iâm sure thereâs been a suggestion that youâ¦â
âYes?â
âIâd consider it a favour ⦠Iâd be in your debt, Gale ⦠if you kept me on the Nightjar crew.â
It cost him. It was a visible effort for him to utter the words.
Swallowed your pride, boy. Good for you .
âPish, cub,â she said. âI was never going to fire you.â
âKir Gracechildââ
âNella ainât my employer, officially or otherwise.â
âNo?â
âIâll explain my complicated government position when weâre out at sea, far from prying ears. And you can tell me all about your big disgrace. Or not, as you choose.â
He ran a hand through his wet hair, keeping his gaze on the sea and letting out a long, shaky breath. When he spoke, it was with his usual composure: âThank you.â
By now the hubbub was clearing. The Watch was taking the clerk into custody: Rasa was bound for medical. Annela glided up.
âYou gave that jackal from the Foghorn a scoop, Parrish.â
âSheâs not so bad,â he said.
âIâm going back to Nightjar , Nella,â Gale said. âSleep in my own berth. Was there anything beyond this particular muckslide you were hoping to get from me?â
âNot in Fleet. I have dispatches for Erstwhile, and thereâs a situation on Drakeâs Shoal that I thought you might interest yourself in.â
âAh, Drakeâs. Been there yet, Parrish?â
âNo.â
âTheir beaches are lined with bizarre treesâa mandrake variantâthat live in harmony with burrowing molluscs whose shells conduct electricity. At night, they sizzle. Itâs the damnedest thing.â
âDragon mussels,â he said, lighting up. âIâve seen drawings.â
ââCourse you have. Scare us up a ride out to the Wake. Something comfortable; youâre soaked and Iâm tired.â
With a bow, he vanished to the rear.
âBoyâs a
Alicia Danielle Voss-Guillén
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