The boat rocked as it cut into a swirling current, and the slap of the water against the hull made it impossible for Raven to hear any more of the conversation. By the time the river turned calmer, Mrs. Guppy had moved back to the stern to exchange words with her engineer, leaving mademoiselle standing by the larboard rail, staring out into the darkness.
Shifting uncomfortably within the cramped space—the air was thick with the cloying odors of pine tar and bilge water—Raven parsed over what he had just heard . . .
“Ahoy, Jed!”
A shout from the engineer to the boatman roused him from his thoughts.
“Kindly fetch me a pair of hemp mooring lines from the storage locker.”
“Aye, sir,” The boatman placed a last chunk of coal in the firebox and shuffled to the bow of the boat.
Raven whispered a curse that Charlotte had strictly forbidden him to say. He slithered back as far as he could and pulled the coils of rope over his head and shoulders, hoping that the darkness would hide his presence.
The locker door opened, allowing a spill of light from the lantern by the engine to flutter over the nautical supplies. A meaty hand reached in and groped around . . .
And then seized Raven’s collar and gave a mighty yank.
Struggling was hopeless. He let himself go limp and allowed the boatman to drag him out of his hiding place.
“Oiy, look what we have here—a thieving little wharf rat!” cried the boatman, lifting Raven to his feet.
Reacting in a flash, the boy drove an elbow into the man’s stomach and slashed a vicious kick to his knee, allowing him to twist free. He danced out of reach, and pressing his back to the rail, whipped out the knife in his boot and turned to face the others.
“Bloody hell.” The boatman edged back and took a wary sidestep to put himself between the knife and mademoiselle.
The engineer rose from his seat, keeping a grip on the ship’s wheel. “If you take over steering for a moment, Mrs. Guppy, Jed and I will make short work of throwing the filthy little rat into the river.”
“Sit down, Andrew,” ordered Mrs. Guppy. “There will be no such violence. For God’s sake, he’s a child!”
“And will grow into an even more dangerous, depraved man. We would be doing the world a favor,” growled the engineer. “Besides, he may have overheard your conversation.”
“There is enough evil in the world,” replied Mrs. Guppy firmly. “We shall not add to it by resorting to murder ourselves.”
“Oui,” said mademoiselle, repressing a shudder. “There has been too much death shadowing our efforts. The boy is innocent—”
“Innocent—ha!” said the boatman, rubbing at his bruised stomach. “The imp of Satan was planning on stealing anything that wasn’t nailed down.”
“Nails wuddna be a problem,” retorted Raven.
Mrs. Guppy repressed a twitch of her lips at the show of spunk. “Even if the lad did overhear anything, what possible harm can he do with the information?”
The engineer grumbled but couldn’t muster an argument.
To Raven, she added, “Put the knife away, young man. You are in no danger from us. When we tie up at our destination, you’ll be free to go.” A pause. “But in return, you must promise that you won’t return to my dock and rob me blind.”
“Oiy, fair enough,” grunted Raven. He slid the knife back into his boot but kept a wary eye on the two men.
“Ah, the word of a gentleman,” sneered the engineer. “So of course you can believe it.”
“In my experience,” observed Mrs. Guppy, “thieves often have a code of honor.”
A snort. “Don’t say I didn’t warn you when you come out one morning to find this lovely craft stripped bare.”
With things at a standoff, an awkward silence descended over the boat, save for the hiss and clang of the engine andwhooshof the water.
It was Mademoiselle Benoit who broke the tension by turning to Mrs. Guppy. “I’ve never been on a steamboat,” she said, “and I would love to get a closer look at its engine. Might you explain to me how it works?”
“It’s always a pleasure to reveal the wonders of our new technological innovations, which are changing our world for the better.” Mrs. Guppy fetched a folded tarp from the storage locker, placed it down aft of the boiler, and gingerly lowered herself to a kneeling position.
