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Miss Sekholden fur silvered in the ht

With instinct dampened and safety assured, Rue realised that she, too, had felt it lift The nuypt was gone

They were outside of the God-Breaker Plague

FIFTEEN

Coal and Consequences

It took theain where she bent, eastwards this tie of Abu Ha guns Rue had no interest in encountering those whirling autoh float-over

Severalout a deep undulating blackness with sheer cliffs to either side Miss Sekhmet scented the air, pronounced it safe, and they dipped down to the river to take on boiler water

At Quesnel’s request and Spoo’s big eyes, Rue allowed the crew a short swim They deserved so, but it was beneath the dignity of a captain, let alone a lady, to sub Rue could shich she could not In fact, Rue had never been a great bather of any kind There was so surrounded by water that made her feel dulled, half her senses cut off froue She preferred a shower, although rarely available, or a sponge bath

Quesnel, who had no dignity, joined the crew He kept his sh the way the cloth fairly stuck to everything, he ht as well not have It seemed more scandalous than nudity You’d think, since she’d seen it all already, Rue could pull her eyes away But she was hypnotised watching hiil up into the air The youngsters shrieked in delight

"Lovely" Tasherit ca

She was shrouded in robes to protect her fro parasols She looked tired Were she the type to obey, Rue would have ordered her back to her quarters to sleep the day away like a respectable i wasted on cats, Rue said instead, "I didn’t think you favoured men"

"Iat your pet See, there?" The werecat pointed to where Pri costuood swimmer for an aristocrat, as was Percy, who paddled next to his sister in a striped costuruously, he wore a top hat as he bobbed about

"Oh, sir" Virgil was distracted fro his master "This is the one time you are supposed to leave off your hat!"

Percy only floated by, looking dignified and pleased with life Rue would never have thought Percival Tunstell fond of a nice swim Funny, she had known the twins her whole life When had they become sporty?

Primrose completed her exercise and went to paddle in the shallows, retrieving a wide-brimmed straw hat Even damp she was pretty as a picture, her waist enviably sure, not without giving up her beloved puff pastry for ever

Tasherit couldn’t take her eyes off the girl

"She’s not ready for you" Rue wanted to urge caution without discouraging too rinned "I think perhaps you are old enough to control your nature, should you really wish it Ad"