Johnson shrugged. “Truth is, Canning Shipping is setting the precedent. The other lines will be raising their rates in turn. No one is happy about that.”
“It will balance in the end,” Rhys said with a shade more confidence than he felt. “Our prices are fair. Far more than they were under my father’s leadership. The rates he proposed could not keep this line afloat.”
“That’s because he was trying to sink Garnet.”
Rhys could not hide his surprise. “You knew that?”
“Of course. I’m not saying it was common knowledge, you understand, but I worked for your father long enough to know the bent of his mind. I told you he didn’t have much good to say about Garnet. I hated to see Canning floundering as he tried to run Garnet aground, but it wasn’t my place to say anything. If it means anything to you, Mr. Canning, I think you’re doing the right thing.”
It did mean something to Rhys, Kenna realized, as she saw some of the tension seep out of him. He respected Johnson’s opinion and though he would not have changed what he was doing even if the captain had thought him foolhardy, it gave him a measure of strength to know someone else believed in him. She was happy that Johnson had come to dinner after all.
The following morning Kenna and Rhys stood in a bank of fog and bid farewell to theCarasea. They waited until the ship was no longer in sight before they turned away, Kenna to the office and Rhys to supervise the work being started on their new vessel.
Kenna had been working on the books less than an hour when her attention was drawn to the window by the rough and raised voices outside on the wharf. Pushing aside the ledger she ran to the window, wiping a pane clean with the heel of her hand so she could have a clear view of the commotion.
At the building site, less than fifty yards from where she stood, she saw a gang of men surround Rhys and his employees. The dozen or so men were armed with clubs and appeared to have every intention of using them if their demands were not met. Rhys seemed to be calm in the face of the danger but Kenna saw his hands were clenched at his side, giving lie to the unconcerned expression on his face. The shouting became two-sided as one of the Canning men took exception to something that was said. Kenna never saw who threw the first punch but suddenly there was chaos as fists and clubs swung wildly.
Her thoughts were all for Rhys as she fled from the window and raced down the steps to the front of the warehouse. Uncaring of her own safety she ran directly into the melee, picked up an unattached length of lumber, and began swinging with the rest of them.
Rhys saw her out of the corner of his eye and his misdirected attention allowed his opponent to knock him backward into a stack of barrels with a well-aimed blow to the chin. In turn the man who laid him low never knew what hit him. He felt as if he had been kicked in the head by a mule as Kenna brought down her plank on his bald spot. Groaning, he fell on all fours and Kenna walloped him again from behind, sending him sprawling.
“My God, Kenna!” Rhys shouted, extricating himself from the barrels. “Would you get out of here!”
“Thankless wretch!” she yelled back. She spun on her heels and directed her plank between the brawny shoulders of yet another ruffian.
Rhys pushed her out of the way as the man turned and lifted his own club to lay his assailant out. Rolling with the blow to his shoulder, Rhys grunted as he fell to the deck. Kenna’s shout alerted him and he was able to scramble to his feet as the club whistled past his ear. He caught the plank she tossed him and used it to defend himself, warding off the man’s wild swings.
“Kenna! Over here!”
Kenna recognized the familiar voice of Tanner Cloud and responded to the thundering command a moment before Alexis raised one of the pistols she carried and fired a warning shot into the air. Even before she reached their side the fighting had stopped. The pistol spoke nearly as eloquently as the veritable army of men standing behind the Clouds.
One by one the gang of ruffians dropped their clubs.
“That’s better,” Tanner said, his hard green eyes surveying the gathering, committing every unwanted face to his memory. “Now get out of here.”
The self-appointed gang leader got to his feet and drew himself up to his full height. He had a formidable presence that would have intimidated Kenna if it weren’t for the lump already developing on his head. She reminded herself that she had put it there. The man glared at Rhys, who not only did not flinch, but gave as good as he got. It was the leader who finally looked away, jerking his chin in the direction of the wharf and indicating to his followers it was time to leave. Everything in his demeanor said it was not over yet, Rhys ordered his own men back to work, then joined Kenna and the Clouds. The Garnet crew was already dispersing as he held out his hand to Tanner. “A timely arrival. Thank you.”
Tanner took Rhys’s hand in a firm grip. “I was glad to help, though Í think Alex is disappointed she couldn’t fire at something more substantial than the air overhead.”
Rhys grinned at Alex, who did indeed look a trifle disappointed as she gave the pistols to Tanner, and then leveled his flinty eyes on his own wife, who shrank a little behind Tanner. “I noticed Kenna did not experience the same sort of problem,” he said dryly. There was a promise in his tone that told her they would speak of her part in the fight later.
“If my opinion matters…” said Alexis.
“It doesn’t,” Tanner warned her, knowing full well he was wasting his breath.
“I thought she was wonderful.”
Kenna began to feel as if she wasn’t present; they were talking about her as if she had ceased to exist. She stepped out from behind Tanner and cleared her throat to remind everyone she was still around. “I thought I responded adequately to the situation,” she said with a show of defiance. “At least I am not the one sporting a purpling chin.”
Tanner’s lips twitched as he looked at Rhys’s bruised chin and Rhys was hard pressed to temper his own smile. He touched his chin gingerly, wincing at the swollen tenderness.
Kenna took his arm. “Come back to the office. I’ll put something on that to keep it from getting worse, though it does have a certain rough appeal.”
Tanner and Alexis followed Rhys and Kenna back to the Canning warehouse. While Kenna applied a wet pack of tea leaves to Rhys’s chin Tanner outlined some of the precautions they would find necessary to take to prevent another incident.
“I appreciate your offer, the additional protection of your men, but this is not your concern,” said Rhys.
“I disagree,” Tanner said. “There would have been no interruption at the construction site today if you hadn’t taken steps to put an end to Roland’s scheming. Alex and I are united on this. We want to help.”
