“We met your uncle, I believe,” Ellis said.
The blood drained from Amara’s cheeks. Renard sat beside her and draped his arm around her shoulder.
“No, that can’t be right.” Amara shook her head. “He had no idea we were leaving through Freeport.”
“Older man, well-dressed, white beard, enhanced hearing aid?” Nyssa asked.
Amara flinched. “I’m sure any number of men match that description.”
“Maybe, but the fact that he mentioned you by name and claimed he paid for this dress suggests he at least knows you.” Nyssa narrowed her eyes.Let’s see her deny it now.
Amara’s fingers clutched at Renard’s shirt. “How did he find us so quickly?”
“He knows people, my love,” Renard said. “Government, businesses, he has friends and cronies everywhere. All it would take is for one of them to get wind of us being in Freeport for him to guess that we’d be taking a zeppelin to San Azula. He knows my family’s there.”
“True, he might not even have realized we’d be on this zeppelin, just guessed our final destination.”
“Our main concern is that he’ll go to the captain if he figures out we’re sharing a room,” Ellis said. “However, there really isn’t much else he can do, is there? He doesn’t have the authority to drag you home. He can’t separate you from your husband.”
Amara dropped her eyes. “Renard and I may not be officially married … yet.”
Nyssa raised her eyebrows. “May not be?”
“We couldn’t get a license in Freeport. My uncle knows too many people in the court system, and I’m still a minor. We need to get to San Azula. Renard’s parents live there and will sign off on the ceremony for us.”
“Well, at least that solves the bedding problem,” Nyssa said. “Amara, you’re with me. Renard, you’re with Ellis.”
Both Ellis and Renard grimaced.
“What does he want with you, though? Is he really so set against your marriage?” Nyssa asked. If I were Amara’s uncle I’d be begging Renard to take her off my hands.
“He’s mean, is all,” Amara said.
“Mean?” Ellis frowned. “You know you could’ve avoided this by waiting until you were of age. He wouldn’t be able to stop you at that point.”
The young couple sat in silence.
Nyssa’s instincts screamed, Shock me, but that man didn’t seem like some benevolent family member trying to reclaim a wayward teen. I need to find out what else is going on before it blows up in our faces.
Ellis cleared his throat, breaking the tense quiet. “I’ll order some food. Nyssa mentioned roast beef sandwiches. Everyone all right with that?”
“Red meat isn’t good for my complexion.” Amara stuck her nose in the air as if she could smell the beef already.
“I’ll have some chicken and cucumber sandwiches sent up too then.” Ellis rolled up to the videophone and switched it to the radio setting, audio only, no video.
Nyssa fell silent as he placed the order. Her appetite had perished, her stomach tightening into a cold, hard knot.
When the steward finally knocked on the door and the smell of meat, cheese, and fresh bread rose from the cloches on the tray, however, her stomach grumbled in response. She sat on the bed, trying not to look towards the privacy screen, behind which Amara and Renard cowered out of the steward’s sight. The moment the steward left, she sprang upon the food.
Ellis laughed. “I’ve seen wolfhounds who were less ravenous. Have we been starving you?”
She shrugged and took another large bite.
Amara and Renard emerged. Amara chose a small cucumber sandwich and nibbled daintily.
“I think we need to stay in for the rest of the day,” Ellis said. “I can send for a deck of cards or some books if you’d like.”
“I brought a needlepoint set,” Amara said.
“Do you play cards?” Nyssa asked Ellis. “You’ve mentioned chess once or twice but never cards.”
“I can play. Probably a bit rusty, though.”
In spite of Amara’s sulking and Renard’s constant glower, Nyssa managed to pass a few pleasant hours with Ellis, shuffling through the deck and trying various card games one after the other. If she focused on their conversation—as well as his eyes and smile—it was easy to pretend the other couple simply wasn’t there.
Renard sat at Amara’s knee like an obedient lapdog, watching her sew. They spoke rarely and only in whispers.
After a bit, they dined on the remainder of their sandwiches and pushed the empty tray-cart back into the hall.
Ellis checked his pocket watch. “We might as well turn in early. I’ve been up since well before dawn, and I’m starting to feel it.”
“One day done, two to go.” Nyssa sighed.
Behind the privacy screen, Nyssa slipped out of Amara’s gown and into her own comfortable shirt and trousers. She wasn’t going to remove any more than that, not with both Ellis and Renard in the room. Amara changed into a full-length nightgown with lace about the collars and sleeves.
Nyssa eyed the bed. It wasn’t large, but easily as big as the twin bed she’d shared with another girl at her overcrowded reform school.
Ellis flipped off the lights as everyone settled in. In spite of the anxieties of the day, Nyssa’s eyes fell shut as soon as her head hit the pillow.
***
Nyssa awoke with a jerk and found herself hugging the edge of the bed. Amara had rolled over and sprawled out. She now took up most of the sleeping space, and her bony elbow dug into Nyssa’s upper back.
I should give her a good shove to her own side. She’d probably make a ruckus and wake up Ellis and Renard, though. I hope Ellis is faring better than I am.
Nyssa nudged Amara’s arm away. She then shut her eyes.
Something creaked.
Nyssa froze.
The door to their room rattled. Nyssa’s muscles tensed at the familiar clicking of lockpicks at work. She fumbled about, trying to find something heavy enough to use as a weapon. Her hand bumped into the small alarm clock on the bedside table. The bells on top jangled.
The clicking stopped. Nyssa pulled the alarm clock to
