Emily nodded. She hadn’t brought much, beyond a change of clothes. Her staff and some of her other tools had been left with Sergeant Miles, who’d promised to take them back to Whitehall for her. There was nothing dangerous in her rucksack, certainly nothing of use to anyone else.
“Ah,” General Pollack said. He pointed towards the docks. “The welcoming committee.”
Emily smiled, despite herself. Caleb stood there, wearing a long, dark cloak. Beside him…
“Frieda?”
“Lady Barb suggested that your friend be invited too.” General Pollack looked oddly amused. “I trust she will be a suitable chaperone?”
“I think so,” Emily said. It was a shame to need one. “She can handle it.”
“Very good,” General Pollack said. Willow bumped against the dock, a trio of sailors scrambling down to secure the lines. “Welcome to Beneficence!”
Chapter Two
“EMILY,” CALEB CALLED.
Emily’s legs still felt wobbly, but she managed to make it down the gangplank and into his arms before she collapsed. She was glad, so glad, just to hear his voice again. Caleb wrapped his arms around her and held her tightly, just long enough for his father to clear his throat. Emily blushed as Caleb kissed her gently on the forehead, then let her go. Frieda coughed a moment later, warningly. She was clearly taking her chaperonage duties seriously.
“It’s good to see you again,” Emily said. She held Caleb’s hand, reluctant to let it go. “And you, Frieda.”
“And you.” Frieda smiled as Emily glanced at her. “What did you do to your hair?”
“I had a little accident,” Emily said. She didn’t think she was allowed to talk about Wildfire, at least not in public. Master Grey had made it clear that the mere existence of the potion was a state secret. “I’ll have it regrown in the city.”
She stepped back and looked at Caleb. He wore a long, dark robe – a mourning habit, she realized suddenly. He was as tall and lanky as ever, but his eyes were shadowed and he held himself in a manner that suggested he was worried. His brown hair even seemed to have greyed, marginally. She might be imagining it, but he looked older. Beside him, Frieda was wearing a brown dress that made her look like a merchant’s daughter. She’d tied her dark hair into two long pigtails that hung down to touch the top of her breasts. She looked paler too.
“You could always have it cut short,” Frieda suggested. “Or just let it regrow naturally.”
“It looks better long,” Caleb objected. Emily had no trouble realizing, for once, that he wanted to talk to her privately. Frieda might not be an ultra-strict chaperone, but there were things neither of them wanted Frieda to hear. “Father…”
“Take Emily back to the house,” General Pollack ordered. “I’ll be along once I’ve made arrangements for the coffin.”
A pained expression crossed Caleb’s face. Emily had always had the impression Caleb didn’t like Casper very much, but they’d still been brothers. Losing Casper had to hurt, even if they’d all known the dangers. Emily had no blood siblings. She had no real conception of what it was like to have brothers or sisters. Frieda was the closest thing she had to a sister, and they’d only known each other three years.
“Yes, Father,” Caleb said.
He bowed his head, then turned and led Emily along the docks. Emily resisted the urge to walk closer to him, even though it had been a long time since they’d been together. It had only been a month, the rational part of her mind insisted, yet it felt as though it had been years, as though they’d both changed. She told herself, firmly, not to worry about it. They would have plenty of time together, once they got back to Whitehall.
Assuming I don’t have to spend evenings and weekends trying to catch up with my work, she thought, wryly. Grandmaster Gordian won’t go easy on me just because I killed a third necromancer.
The cawing of seagulls grew louder as they walked along the dockside. Emily glanced from side to side, drinking in the scene. Dozens – perhaps hundreds – of fishing boats were heading out through the gap in the cliff walls and onto the open sea, followed by a pair of midsized ships practically identical to Willow. Merchants and hawkers prowled the docks, making deals and selling their wares. A passing salesman held out a tray of salt fish, inviting them to buy a snack. Caleb shook his head, dismissing the man. Emily understood precisely how he felt. The food on the docks wasn’t always safe to eat.
“This is a very odd place,” Frieda muttered. Her eyes flickered from side to side as if she expected to be attacked at any moment. “I don’t like it.”
“It’s home,” Caleb said, bluntly. “And it’s where the four corners of the world meet.”
Emily nodded in agreement as a line of sailors hurried past them, heading to one of the larger ships. They were a diverse crowd, men as pale as herself mingling with the darkest men she’d ever seen…and others who were clearly the product of mixed marriages. A handful of women followed them at a more sedate pace, their dresses clearly marking them as whores. The guild sashes they wore made Emily smile, even though she knew it wasn’t really funny. Whores might have their own guild in Beneficence, but they were still practically at the bottom of the social scale. Only slaves were lower.
“A couple of my friends had parents who were born on the other side of the world,” Caleb added. “And others went to live there.”