Drowning Utopia

Chapter 14: Present Proposals

"Are you sure you don't want us to go with you?" Lonny asked, looking somewhat nervous.

Tessa nodded emphatically, "No, I need to do this myself."

"Alright. We'll see you when you get back." Lonny said, giving Tessa a great big hug. She had already said farewell to Marcus and the others back at the circus, but Lonny and Donny insisted on seeing her to the harbor.

As Lonny pulled away, she looked disapprovingly at the tool belts strapped to Tessa's side, "Are you sure you really need to wear those right now?"

Tessa placed her hand on her head with a dramatic flair, "I do not care for the gawking crowds or what their negative opinions are. I am who I am. No frilly dress will change that." In this instance, Tessa sported a more delicate skirt than she would normally wear, a dark blue dress with black trim and train held in place by a corset. Lonny had insisted that Tessa dress up for the occasion. However, Tessa felt otherwise naked without some form of tools on hand. Thus, the compromise. It certainly garnered a few odd looks from others.

Lonny sighed despairingly as she chewed on her lower lip, "I know. But it ruins the look of the dress."

"Well, you can't fault her for self-confidence," Donny said, elbowing his sister before he too, gave Tessa a hug. "Best of luck with your old stooge of a partner—

"Ex-partner," Tessa said, loading herself onto the carriage.

"Exactly." Lonny smiled as she bopped Tessa on the noise with her pointer finger. The twins waved goodbye as they said their final farewells.

Tessa, both nervous and somehow excited to be underway, trundled her luggage into the harbor. A great stone archway stood at the entrance of north keep harbor; though relatively small in comparison to its counterparts further south, the deepwater port still proved to be a lifeline for the more isolated portion of Kent. Rows of steamers floated along the docks of the large port, some offloading passengers and goods, others waiting to load up or cast off.

All sorts of people of every shape and size littered the docks, sailors, soldiers, merchants, a few physicians, tourists, several monks from the Holy Rim Empire, postmen, aeronauts, waggoneers, and a plethora of shipwrights and dockworkers.

With the help of a friendly fisherman, Tessa was able to find her ship, the Aitolia. Lining up behind several other passengers, she looked over the itinerary posted on a billboard; the ship was to pass around the northern horn, down through the Keamoa straights, to the capital city of Galesong along the Holy Grail Peninsula, and then finally up through the mouth of the Kao waterway and on to Utopia.

For a brief moment, Tessa thought she heard someone call her name from behind among the hubbub of the swirling, crowded line but dismissed it. But then she heard it again, this time accompanied with a familiar voice that made her heart sink.

"I say, Miss Copperfield, is that you?" Turning around slowly, Tessa confirmed her suspicion as she saw Sir Cornwall approaching her through the crowd. Miss Briggs, stern face as ever, hot on his heels with several bags.

Tessa nearly ran for it. Certainly, the pair of them would have heard by now about the theft that occurred at the university. Were they on to her? She glanced past them to make sure there weren't any police following them. To her relief, they appeared alone, but that did not necessarily take away all of her suspicions. Holding her ground, she waited for them to approach her, carefully watching their responses and facial expressions. Sir Cornwall looked cold, top hat tucked tight onto his head and thick mustache blowing back and forth as the wind picked up. Miss Briggs, for her part, was very difficult to read. She did look, however, less pale than the last time she saw her in the laboratory.