“You will not speak unless spoken to. You will let me answer the Trade Council’s questions. You will look the part.” Again, she glared at my clothes. “I’ll have a dressmaker come fit you for something tonight.”
I stared at her. “What if they don’t grant you the license?”
“They will,” she said defensively. “With Zola and Saint out of the water, the Narrows will be hard-pressed to raise up another trade operation that can expand its route to the Unnamed Sea. If you’re running the trade, everyone wins.”
Except Saint. Except me.
I tried to relax, pulling in a slow breath as I picked the silver cup back up and took another sip. Holland had set up her hand well. With Zola gone, every crew in the Narrows would be casting their bids to compete with Saint for what little power was left. But if Holland got her license, she’d be holding it all by the time the sun set tomorrow.
“Let’s get this over with,” I said.
“Get what over with?”
“The contract.”
Holland touched her fingertips together before she picked up a leather-bound satchel from the seat beside her and opened it. I watched her sort through the parchments before she found the one she was looking for—an unmarked envelope. She set it onto the table before me.
I breathed, willing my heartbeat to calm. Once I signed it, there was no going back. My fate would lie in Henrik’s hands. I lifted a hand from my lap and picked it up, opening the flap of the envelope and pulling the parchment free. My stomach plummeted as I opened it before me.
My eyes ran over the black ink again and again.
Ship Deed
The Marigold’s name was listed below.
“What is this?” I stammered.
“It’s the deed to the ship. As promised,” she answered, closing the satchel.
“I haven’t signed the contract yet.”
“Oh, it’s been paid for.” Holland smiled. “I had the changes he requested made at the trade office. Everything should be in order.”
“What?” I held the deed to the candlelight, reading over the print anxiously.
Transfer of ownership:
I sucked in a breath, my mouth dropping open when I saw my name. It was written in the same script as the rest of the document. “What did you do?” I panted. The deed shook in my hands.
Cold realization filled my skull, making my head ache as I put it together. “West.”
West signed the two-year contract with Holland.
“The terms of our agreement have changed,” Holland said. “West signed the contract in exchange for the Marigold.” She pulled another parchment from inside her satchel. “But I have a new offer for you.”
I stared at the document. It was another contract.
“You still want to save your father? This is your chance.” Holland beamed with pleasure.
We’d walked right into her trap not once, but twice. When West signed Holland’s contract, he thought he was saving me. But Holland had gotten two for the price of one. And she knew it. She had no doubt that I’d sign it.
I picked up the quill and dragged it over the parchment. My name looked up at me, shining in wet ink.
I slid out of the booth, throwing back the curtain with the deed clutched in my fist. Heat pricked beneath my skin as I stalked through the tea house, headed for the dark window. I threw the door open and stepped out, searching the street for him.
West stood across the path, leaning against the wall of the next building.
“What did you do?” My voice grated as I crossed the cobblestones toward him.
He stood, his hands coming out of his pockets as I stopped before him, seething. “Fable…”
I shoved the crumpled deed into his chest. “Why is my name on this?”
West stared at the envelope.
“Is that what was going on with Paj and Hamish earlier? Everyone knew about this but me?”
“Willa and Auster don’t know.”
“You’re just abandoning the Marigold? You’re just going to leave?” I snapped.
“I’m doing the same thing you were going to do. Two years with Holland, then back to the Narrows.”
I was so angry that I could feel it in my blood. “You’re the helmsman, West. It’s not the same.”
West looked as if he was measuring his words. “Paj is going to take over as helmsman.”
“What?” I was shouting now, and the people on the street were stopping to stare. I didn’t care.
“The crew will set up trade just the way we said. It’ll be waiting for me when I get back to the Narrows.”