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He was right, so Maria played along Keep the public chatter friendly Let the city hear their accents and know they were local enough, and here on friendly business, and not anyone to be given a second glance Maria attracted a second glance or two, but she’d beco behind her hair, her hat, and now--conveniently enough--her scarf

True to his guess, Henry found the, a wide dock on the river that had developed into its own s the merchants who came and went in the steaes, and her part of the city--if roughness ed by hoomen were present, and how many men were out of uniform

She saw boat workers and arwool coats and boots caked with riverbank mud She scanned the labels stenciled on crates as they were stacked and loaded by big-armed fellows on the curb, under the watchful eyes of an occasional officer or overseer They seemed to hold mostly munitions and military necessities: tents, blankets, uniforrease, satchels, s of flour and corn, and heaven only knehat else

Down by the river’s edge where the boats docked close, the piers were shiny and scrubbed, painted and repainted to rebuff the elements and rust Street vendors offered newspapers, coffee, and fried fish wrapped in paper; they quietly hawked black-market passes for rations, and sold information by the scrap

Maria and Henry stopped at a boat called the Mee of the landing and served as a saloon and plank swayed under Maria’s feet, bobbing with the slap and fall of short waves against the boat’s sides, left over fro CSA crafts that puttered down the river’s center Once on board, the ht on the rails, she wouldn’t have ruled out a minor case of seasickness, even with the sea a thousand estion," Henry explained "He likes this place"

Out of date and out of service, the Meerbread rails and a cheerful blue-and-white paint job that called toAn old-fashioned paddler, it had been retired in favor of the diesel models that had become more popular, courtesy of Texas Best of all, the ship felt private Full of nooks and crannies, doors that locked, and shades that were easily drawn

So bright on the outside So shadoithin

Henry promised the barkeep a fee if he’d leave them alone, then he and Maria took a seat in a back corner without any s, and only a low-slung coffee table between theht on time

He didn’t sobeside Henry’s seat as if he never walked anywhere, only ed to not look startled, but it took some effort One minute he wasn’t there, and the next minute … a smallish white h that he ht’ve stabbed hi Probably an inch or two shorter than Maria herself, the porter oven tweed pants and boots so clean that they reflected what little light ca fit hiloves and workray coat He was neither attractive nor unattractive, with brown hair and dark eyes There was absolutely nothing rehtest

Just like theher

For one nervous split second, she racked her brain trying to remember the two men in Richmond … but swiftly concluded that, no, he hadn’t been one of the about the breed, about aattention Maria had spent a lifeti to play up her appearance This pheno she’d only noticed--and atte to work for the Pinkertons

If Henry was surprised to find hi, he put up one hand and punched the newcorinned up at the man who stood beside him "Not even a minute late A man could set his watch by you, Mr Troost"

"And soround up as he responded to Henry "Hello there, ive you a fake one, but that don’t seem fair, since he knows mine already, and I knoho you are" He reached behind hiloves and rolled hiarette from a pouch he kept in his left breast pocket "It’s a pleasure to ed "I meet a lot of shady customers Not many are women of your stature Or caliber"

"I’m not sure if I should take that as a compliment or not"

"Take it however you like; I s about you, fro source or two"

"Oh, really? Care to naards"

She was pleased, but did her best to keep fro on Besides the fact that she didn’t wish to ad her old adventures to Henry It’d take too , and he’d have too many questions

While she calculated a response, Troost continued, sparing her the trouble "I ed you for a pirate queen … but if Hainey says you’re all right, I’ll take his word for it Now, Henry," he changed the subject, then paused while he lit his tobacco "I understand you’ve got so for me"

Henry looked back and forth between Kirby and Belle with no small measure of confusion, but when no one seemed ready to fill him in on the secret, he produced a thick envelope "This is everything you ought to need Next stop’s … well, won’t be Oak Grove, I don’t expect"

Troost shook his head "Not doing Indiana Shooting for Middlesboro instead It’ll put us up closer to our favorite uncle"

"How long you think it’ll take?"