“You’re going to have to worry about one hundred sixty. Because I can’t go over forty. I’m already giving away money that isn’t mine to give.”

   I bit off a protest and asked instead, “Could you use your resources—the agency’s resources—to track a bond servant who came into Cape Triumph last year?”

   He crossed his arms and leaned against the bunk. “Ah. Got someone else in mind for a husband?”

   “Nothing like that. He’s—a family friend.” Even across the sea, I couldn’t reveal Lonzo’s identity. “I know the company he signed on with, but I don’t know who bought the bond or where they went. Just somewhere in the outer colonies.”

   “No.”

   “You didn’t think about that for very long.”

   “I don’t have to. Even if I got Silas to sign off on using our connections, it’s nearly impossible to track a poorly documented bondsman. And I’ve just got too much other stuff going on to waste my time with that.”

   “But—”

   “No, Mirabel.”

   I kept the disappointment off my face. “If you can’t help with that, then I’m not budging on fifty.”

   “Come on!”

   “Fifty—or no deal. You’ll regret it if you lose me.”

   “I have a feeling I’ll regret this no matter what.” Grant held out his hand to me. “Fifty it is.”

CHAPTER 8

   I NEVER LOOKED AT GRANT THE SAME WAY AGAIN.

   Or at least, I never looked at his public persona the same way again. As our journey went on, I continually felt like I was at the theater. Whenever I ran into him in the company of others, he’d behave as the paragon of etiquette. I couldn’t take it seriously, not when I’d seen his true nature: gruff, sarcastic, and blunt. He looked the same but might as well have been putting on another disguise.

   “You know how to be nice,” I told him one day as we stood at the upper deck’s railing, a few weeks into the journey. “You know how to be genteel. Why not just do it all the time? You’d make more friends.”

   “What makes you think I don’t already have legions of friends? And just because I know how to do it doesn’t mean it feels natural. I know how to wear a suit, and I don’t really like that either.” He tugged at his collar.

   “There’s wearing it, and there’s wearing it. And yours don’t fit. A little tailoring would do wonders. Didn’t that letter say your mentor’s office is in a tailor’s shop? Maybe you can get a discount when we arrive.”

   Grant shook his head in exasperation. “Congratulations on your amazing memory. Now tell me how you used it to learn something.”

   This had become a game of ours. Every day, I’d try to discover something new about one of the passengers, either by outright eavesdropping or coaxing them into conversation. It wasn’t always easy. I could find a reason to talk to girls from the other manor, but propriety frowned on my striking up a conversation with a sailor or even an unknown male passenger. I’d started to enjoy these tests. Adelaide rarely wanted to come above deck anymore, and Grant—frustrating or not—was a good diversion.

   “I spoke to Mister Kent and Mister Robertson today. Mister Kent’s a paper merchant. He’s been in Adoria for a while.” I tried to stick to facts and edit out any personal opinions that weren’t based on solid evidence. “Mister Robertson’s never been there. He’s pretty dismissive of anyone who’s not of Osfridian descent. Icori and Lorandians. Balanquans. And me, for that matter.”

   Grant stayed silent, his eyes on the horizon.

   “Mister Robertson doesn’t have anything established in Adoria yet, but he’s certain he’ll make his fortune there,” I continued. “Mister Kent is doing well, but some of his caravans have been raided by pirates, so he’s looking to hire extra security. I struck up conversation with them by ‘accidentally’ dropping my bracelet nearby and claiming the clasp was broken. I told them it was my grandmother’s and that we’d been minor nobility before the revolution drove us out. Mister Kent retrieved it for me and gave me the name of a jeweler in Cape Triumph. Oh. And he also offered me a discount on paper.”

   When I fell into silence, Grant turned back to me. “That’s it?”

   “That’s a lot.”

   “Discount paper and a jeweler? Tell me how that could be useful.” I knew the tone in his voice. This was a test too.

   “A jeweler will have contact with wealthy citizens. Walking in with a referral is less suspicious than coming in off the street and fishing for information. And if I ever need to talk to Mister Kent again, I’ve got easy openings. I can say I forgot the jeweler’s name. Or I can come to buy the paper.”

   “That may be true.” From Grant, that was high praise. “But if you were really charming, you’d have gotten the paper for free. You didn’t flirt.”

   “How do you know that?”

   “Because you never flirt. Do you know how?”

   “You never flirt either.”

   “I don’t need to.”

   “Maybe you would’ve recruited Adelaide if you’d flirted with her instead of putting on all your stiff-suited politeness.”

   He made a grunt of amusement. “I doubt it. She’s too focused on a larger prize to have her head turned by me.”

   “Maybe you’re just no good at it.” He dished out so much critique that it was nice to jab back.

   “Your bit about being minor nobility is good. Most Osfridians only think of Sirminicans as the poor refugees they see out in the streets. But Sirminica has an iconic past—more so than Osfrid, really. You’re the descendants of Ruva, the civilization that brought peace and culture to Evaria. Remind your marks about that. And your actual suitors.”