Elizabeth was more herself now that he had given her something to puzzle through. He could almost see the thoughts flying behind her eyes. "Wouldn't Pickering or Moncrieff have heard if the search had been called off?"

"I don't know. The thing is, we can't walk into the garrison and ask if they're looking for us."

"But Will could inquire," Elizabeth said, glancing out of the windows. "If only he would come back."

"Aye, well. In the meantime I was thinking that it's time Pickering's surgeon took a look at Curiosity," said Nathaniel. "See what he can do for that cough of hers. We'll all go."

"But surely the Providence would be safer? Perhaps the captain could be persuaded to sail this evening ..."

Nathaniel shook his head. "I ain't comfortable taking you to the Providence until we've had a close look at her. Seems to me that the Isis's our only choice for tonight."

Elizabeth closed her eyes for a moment, and then she nodded. "I'll talk to Curiosity and get the children ready. You'll arrange it with Pickering?"

He nodded. "There's no time to lose, Boots."

"There never is." She cast him a sidelong glance, her color rising again. "There's an old acquaintance of yours on board the Isis. We saw her arrive today, with all her baggage."

Nathaniel raised an eyebrow. "There's nobody on the Isis who interests me, Boots. It's just a place to spend the night, is all. With you."

"Good," said Elizabeth, her eyes snapping a silver-gray warning at him in spite of her smile. "I am so very glad to hear it."

Hawkeye carried Hannah to the Isis, but when Robbie offered the same service to Curiosity, she chased him away from her sickbed with a croaking laugh.

"My legs is working just fine," she told him. "It's my chest that ain't cooperating." And she walked down the gangplank straight backed, her basket over one arm and a handkerchief pressed firmly to her mouth. Moncrieff popped up beside her as if to offer his assistance and she sent him scuttling with a single sharp glance.

On any of Québec's streets they would surely have drawn attention to themselves for they made a strange, straggling procession. But the boatyards of Forbes and Sons Enterprises were private, and they had no audience beyond a great yellow slug of moon and the watchmen whose lanterns bobbed around the perimeter of the warehouse like fairy lights. And still the short journey seemed very long indeed, so that against Elizabeth's shoulder Lily might have suddenly doubled in weight.

The Isis herself was almost completely dark. Elizabeth was the last to step on board, just behind Nathaniel. Pickering was there to meet them with a few hushed words of welcome; before she could make out much about the ship at all they had been hurried down a companionway. Elizabeth did take note of this: no simple ladder for the Isis, but a proper staircase in a graceful curve. Under her hand the banister was as smooth and cool as marble, dark wood polished to a high gloss, inlaid with ivory in an intricate geometric pattern.

It turned out that their destination was not the Great Cabin, which was in the possession of Miss Somerville. In a whisper Pickering informed them that she had already retired for the evening; Elizabeth tried not to look relieved to hear this news as she assured the captain that she did not mind at all. A servant boy waited for them in a puddle of candlelight. He wore a flat cap with Isis embroidered on the rim in scarlet, and he opened a door with a bob that was meant to be a bow.

At first Elizabeth could not quite believe that this would be the Isis's second-best living quarters. Even Nathaniel let out a grunt of surprise and Robbie whistled softly under his breath.

"The stateroom," said Pickering. "It serves as a sitting area. There are cabins at each corner, as you see."

Curiosity pivoted on her heel, taking in silk cushions on built-in sofas, a rosewood spinet, a dining table and sideboard of highly polished cherrywood. A dozen candles in silver sconces reflected in the mahogany paneling and a broad expanse of casement windows that opened onto a gallery. Curiosity fingered the draperies of damask and brocade, and ran her hand over the matching bolsters and cushions on the window seat. "A hard life these sailors lead," she muttered.

But Pickering seemed not at all insulted. "The Isis often transports persons of some importance, and for extended periods," he explained. "There is an obligation to make them feel at home. When we had the honor of escorting the Duchess Dalyrimple to join the duke in Bengal she had the Great Cabin, of course--but these were her daughter's rooms."

"Then I guess it's about good enough for my grandchildren," Hawkeye said dryly. "I don't suppose those Dalypimple girls slept on the floor, did they?"

Robbie laughed out loud and in response Hannah began to stir on Hawkeye's arm. There were a few moments of hushed activity as they moved the children into one of the corner cabins. Hannah disappeared into a feather bed piled high with counterpanes, and there was even an ornately carved cradle large enough for the twins, made up with linen that smelled faintly of lavender.

When Elizabeth came into the main sitting area, Curiosity was sitting on an elegant bow-backed chair covered in striped silk, studying the stateroom and the cabin boys who had appeared to lay out platters of breads and cold meats. She had little to say but produced a steady wheezing cough that Elizabeth liked not at all. Moncrieff and Robbie had put their heads together in front of a painting of a pack of hunting dogs, but she managed to catch Captain Pickering's eye and direct his attention toward Curiosity.