“A battering ram.”
“Yes, that. The Union have been tittering since you were captured, Meester Colson. It was quite a shock. The members are in disarray. But the whispers assure me that Kenton Hill is resuming its business. It seems its people were quite eager to return once the navy dogs retreated to the kennel.” He eyed Theo warily as he said this, sensing that one oftheirkind stood among us.
Then he looked at me. “And you must be the infamous Nina.” His eyes swept over my face and all the way down to my feet. “The posters did not do you justice, my dear.” His smile was not unkind. “You are a very brave woman indeed.”
I gave an awkward nod in thanks.
Tamir tilted his head as though I confounded him.
“I’ll ensure you’re repaid,” Patrick told Tamir, regaining his attention. “As soon as possible.”
“Ah, it is not necessary, Meester Colson. When last you saw me, I was in the hands of those book men—”
“Bookies.”
“—and they were threatening to cut off my testicles, do you remember?”
“I could hardly forget.”
“But thanks to him”—and he addressed Theo and me as he slapped Patrick on the shoulder—“I am now a fashionable businessman!”
Patrick eyed the bird feathers at the man’s ear dubiously. “Just get the guns, Tamir. And the clothes.”
“I’ll bring supper, also,” Tamir said, bowing his head. He offered Patrick four keys. “And if you please, no urinating in the stairwells.” Then, in a flourish of satin, he left.
My lips twitched upward despite myself, and the smile felt foreign.
“Well,” barked John into the silence, slapping his hands together. “Let’s get to business, shall we?”
“Yes,” I said, which served to turn all attention to me. “The three of you can begin by telling me why we’ve come to Morland, of all places.”
I eyed Theodore, then John, but could not bring myself to sweep my eyes to Patrick again, lest I lose the momentum building in my chest. “Since I seem to be the only one who doesn’t know.”
There was a pregnant silence, John and Theo shirking an answer and waiting for Patrick to speak.
But Patrick only went to the window and turned to lean against the ledge. A cigarette appeared from nowhere, and he put it between his lips. A matchbox slid from his sleeve to his palm.
John whistled. “You pull that from Tamir?”
“The dockmaster,” Patrick corrected, lighting his smoke.
“Got another?”
“Haven’t yet decided,” he said darkly, giving his father a pointed glare.
There was still blood caked in the man’s nostrils. “You holdin’ grudges, son?” his father asked.
“At least a little longer.” Patrick drew deeply on the cigarette, his tired eyes closing as he exhaled. “You remember the deal I told you Lord Shop offered us, Nina? The truce?”
He did not look at me, but I thought it was a good sign, at least, that he said my name. That he hadn’t bid me away yet. “Yes,” I said.
“The deal was made on the promise of terranium. Enough of it to last the next few generations, maybe more.”
My brow creased. “The mines are near empty,” I said. My tone was vacant, uncomprehending. “The deal was a con.”
“It certainly was,” Patrick said. “Though not all of it. A discovery was recently made.”
“What discovery?” I asked, turning to Theo and searching his face for answers.
