The Nine Oceans

Chapter 10

Content Warning: death by drowning

Korball

Madam Isabelle assured her guests for tomorrow's ball were settled into their rooms, and the unnecessary staff members excused for the remainder of the evening, before retiring to her own rooms. She locked the door to the main hallway and crossed to her private sitting room. Her table folded out easily, and then she stoked the furnace under her little stove top to start the kettle for tea. Unsurprisingly, the small door in the wall of her sitting room opened a few minutes after she sat at her wing-top table to wait. Lady Ann smiled when she saw there were already two cups set out.

"I wondered how long it would take you to come." Isabelle turned off the boiler and poured the hot water into the pot, dashing in a generous portion of stihl with her other hand.

"I only had to change my clothes," Ann replied as she sat down. The satchel she was carrying clinked as she set it on the floor.

"I meant about the Lindy, and the Gemini's ex-Captain on it," Isabelle countered.

"So did I," Ann said.

Isabelle glanced at her oldest friend, and then shook her head and chuckled warmly. "How did you manage to get Justin to come with you? I didn't expect to see him again so soon. Bernard said he was meant to be home by now." Isabelle sat back in her chair to let the tea steep to the strength they both enjoyed.

"He was. I detoured a day and met the Gem on our way out from Larkley to ask Justin to jump ship. Lynn had taken care of the workings with Kingston & Walsh and was detouring himself into a delay from going home by dropping off Justin at the back of the estate."

"I'd heard Jeff and Talbert had ignored previous warnings and were... running aground on troubles," Isabelle said as she checked the tea and, after a stir, decided to let it sit a little while longer. "I hadn't realized the affected trade routes were important enough to involve the Gem."

Ann sighed and rubbed her fingers over her forehead, as if the action could help soothe the thoughts within. "The affected routes? They weren't. Justin and James were meant to be finalizing plans for the annual Duke's Tour once Justin got home, and Justin is as uninterested in his tour as Lynn is for going home to the Islands to prepare for having Elsie and Rita's wedding ceremonies on board the Gem. He and Justin both want to get the Gem into dry dock for the needed repairs, so neither want the hassle of life getting in the way. Especially since the truth finally got around to Lynn it was Justin's fault the girls even learned the details about your Korballi monstrosities, so Justin is expected to stay on the Gem for any decorative refits his cousins request."

Isabelle lifted an eyebrow at her oldest friend. Had Isabelle been a Lady of less note, Ann would have definitely described her friend's smile as a smirk.

"Well, with Justin's temper being more sour than usual these past months, I knew if I sent him home while I wasn't there I'd be down to one son by the time I got back to Larkley," Ann continued. "And I don't know which one," she added after a moment.

"Who's accounting is it telling you he's more sour than usual?" Isabelle asked. "I hadn't noticed anything off with him when he and Lynn visited and helped Tabor with an issue while on their way south."

"Lynn's account," Ann replied, the admission causing both Isabelle's eyebrows to lift this time. "So a source I trust where anything about Justin is concerned. And, as you know, Lynn already spends too much of his time harassing Tenet Mik's coast out of sheer boredom when he's not in the workings on the wet because he knows I'll lie for him. Once we'd all decided on Kingston & Walsh, sending the Gem was my best option for keeping Justin on the wet a little longer so he wasn't measuring odds against James the moment he got home, and for keeping Lynn off Tenet Mik's coastline. The Gem doesn't have any business at the estate without Justin on board. Plus, the Lindy scuttling here meant we docked the Trident at the main port Kingston & Walsh sailed from. Bringing Justin with me keeps Lynn clear of Vincent for the rest of this season, and puts Justin in Dalk on behalf of Montrade." Ann shook her head at the annoyances of juggling family, family business and the workings.