This is from Kate's point of view, when she invites Hal Slater over to talk about salvaging the Hyperion... and this is the conversation Matt overhears...
So, to complete this story, I took a hunk of dialogue from Skybreaker, so anything you recognize belongs to Kenneth Oppel.
Kate smiled a fake smile.
"Why don't you sit down, Mr. Slater."
"Thank you, I think I will." Kate almost frowned at his attitude. Instead she just sat down in one of the plump armchairs of her library. Hal Slater took the one next to her.
Having somewhat sparking an interest in Matt about trying to capture the Hyperion, Kate had pursued the "connection" Philippe, her flight instructor, had suggested. That connection had been Hal Slater, the young captain and owner of an actual skybreaker, named the Sagarmatha. She had invited him to come talk with her, saying that she could use his services, as well as his ship.
"I've heard of your scientific accomplishments, Miss de Vries. Of uncharted islands and such."
Kate smiled thinly, and said,
"Yes, on a voyage to Sydney, our ship had to make an emergency crash landing of sorts." Slater smiled, again, and nodded, trying to be polite.
"And what did you find?"
"The skeleton of a cloud cat. It possesses the appearance of, a panther, perhaps, though it can fly."
"Remarkable. Quite Remarkable." Kate did not have much patience for people such as Hal Slater. He seemed to have no interest in science and discovery. Saving him the trouble of continuing with his polite ramble, she said,
"Mr. Slater, would you prefer it if we went right to business?" He raised his eyebrows a little at her bold manner, but replied,
"If you would prefer it, Miss de Vries."
"Yes, well, you see Mr. Slater, I am interested in making a bit of a salvage expedition. Of said reward you would have a portion of." This time when Mr. Slater nodded, he was clearly interested.
"What type of salvage would we be speaking of Miss de Vries?"
This was going to be the difficult part. Most people, like Matt, firmly believed that the idea of recapturing the famously un-capturable Hyperion was absurd. Then again, her only chance of convincing Slater might be saying it outright, with confidence.
"A salvage for the Hyperion, Mr. Slater. I presume you've hear of her?" A little bit to her satisfaction, Kate saw Hal Slater's eyes pop a bit. He quickly covered it up.
"The Hyperion, Miss de Vries? Do you have any idea as to how you, or we, would find it? After all, the ship is famous for disappearing. Forty years, ago I believe."
"Yes, but have you seen today's paper, Mr. Slater?" He shook his head and Kate so said, "The Hyperion has been spotted by a cargo ship. And I have its last known coordinates. You have a skybreaker that could take us to her." She choose not to tell him anymore; better not to risk it. Mr. Slater raised his eyebrows again, but didn't ask any questions. After appearing to mull the idea over some, he mused,
"Well, Miss de Vries, this certainly is not the prospect I had been expecting, but we might be able to come to some agreement. Would it be too rude to ask what my cut would be; I hear Grunel was a very rich man." Kate very nearly rolled her eyes, men and money…
"I have no particular interest in fortune, Mr. Slater, though I do have a potential companion who I would wish to reserve a percent of money for, if you wouldn't mind."
"Of course, we can discuss portions later." Slater said good naturedly. "But Miss de Vries, is there not a thing of interest for you aboard the Hyperion?"
"There is, in fact. I have heard Mr. Grunel also had an exquisite collection of fabled species and extinct animals. Taxidermy. Unless, you too have an interest in stuffed animals, Mr. Slater?"
"No, no. Please, you take whatever taxidermy you want. I have no interest. But what of your companion, would he have interest in stuffed animals?"
"No, I don't believe so." Kate smirked, remembering Matt shudder when she had mentioned the potential specimens Grunel had never shown publicly. No, he would have no interest.
Mr. Slater's eyes wandered to the marsupial specimen Kate displayed in a glass case.
"It does seem you have a certain interest for rare and interesting taxidermy, Miss de Vries," he said, getting up to get a closer look at the case. Kate was not at all sure that he was not mocking her, or trying to sound interested.
"Miss de Vries, this creature is vicious to behold." Unconsciously, Kate narrowed her nostrils.
"Nonsense," she quipped, "It's a marsupial, Mr. Slater. It's a cousin of the kangaroo. You're upset by the teeth, perhaps?"
"It's an ugly thing," he said. "It reminds me of my aunt." Kate laughed, this time not as forced. It had reminded her of something Matt would say.
"You certainly are an accomplished young lady, Miss de Vries," he said turning to face her. He obviously was trying to polite, complimentary, and alluring; but all at the same time.
"And what about you, Mr. Slater?" Kate asked, trying to be warm, "your own accomplishments are very impressive indeed."
"Ah," Slater seemed pleased, "so much of what happens to us in life is luck, do you think?" Much to Kate's displeasure, Mr. Slater came to stand behind her chair, resting his hand on the back. But she could not risk scaring him off, though; Hal Slater was her ticket to the Hyperion. Instead she said,
"I don't agree with you there. I think we make our own luck."
She could almost imagine his expression. He chuckled. "A fine notion to be sure. But chance runs like a river through all our lives, and being prepared for surprise is the best we can do."
"How fatalistic of you."
"Not at all. I didn't say we had no control of our lives. Quite the contrary. I think the man who is dealt bad luck, but makes good despite it, is the most noble of men." This sparked anger in Kate, for automatically referring to general human beings as, men.
"And does the same go for women?"
"When I say man, naturally I mean woman too."
"I prefer to say it aloud," Kate remarked.
"Completely understandable , Miss de Vries."
"Thank you, Mr. Slater." After a small silence, he said,
"Actually, I much prefer to have the word woman on my lips." Much to Kate's horror, Hal Slater bent down towards her face from his place beside her chair. To kiss her.
Two thoughts battled each other in Kate's mind, both very important.
One was, What's he doing? Don't let him touch you!
The other was, if I refuse to kiss him, especially if I snap, he might not take us the Hyperion...
But then, after one great horror was one great relief. The door opened and Marjorie entered the room before Hal could kiss her. Instead, he straitened gracefully and said nonchalantly,
"Ah, Miss Simpkins, we were wondering when you'd rejoin us."
"I was just looking for my book," Miss Simpkins said, almost sounding girlish. "I must have left it here. Ah! There it is."
"I'm amazed you have so many books on the go, Marjorie," Kate said dryly, though she was secretly grateful.
"Really, you two, it is getting rather late."
Mr. Slater looked at Kate merrily, saying,
"Yes, I must be off. I fear Miss Simpkins sees me as a disreputable suitor." Marjorie actually blushed, and seemed rather flustered.
"Dear sir, not at all," said the chaperon, "You are clearly of the most reputable sort. It's such a shame that my Kate seems to have a penchant for the disreputable kind."
Kate quickly disguised a sharp breath; she knew exactly who Marjorie was speaking of. Much to her embarrassment, Mr. Slater remarked,
"Really? How intriguing."
"She prefers cabin boys," Miss Simpkins said with a titter.
Mr. Slater laughed. "Oh, this must be the famous Matt Cruse, the young lad on the Aurora." He said it with an amused undertone that Kate did not appreciate. "Rather taken with him, were you, Miss de Vries?" Kate said nothing. It was Miss Simpkins who filled the silence.
"Well, I beleive I shall leave you now, as it seems that Mr. Slater is heading off anyways." Much to Kate's dismay, she bustled out of the room. Slater turned to face her once more.
"Mr. Cruse wouldn't be your secret companion, now would he Miss de Vries?"
"Yes, in fact he is Mr. Slater." Hal nodded, then looked at his watch.
"I better be off, if you don't mind. Though I will meet you… tomorrow, lets say, at the entrance of the Heliodrome. Ten o'clock, how about?"
Relieved that Mr. Slater didn't try to give her a goodnight kiss, Kate readily agreed.
"Yes, that would be lovely. Ten o'clock then. Deirdre will show you to the door."
"Until tomorrow, then," Mr. Slater said, tilting his head at her, and left the library. Kate heaved a sigh of relief. Hopefully tomorrow she would be able to rant to Matt about how completely insufferable a man Hal Slater was.
Just as Kate was about to get into bed, her maid said,
"And Miss de Vries?"
"Yes, Deirdre?"
"When you were in the library with Mr. Slater, Mr. Cruse called. I am sorry, I told him to wait at the door, but I then caught him going down the stairs several minutes later, Miss. I think he was watching you and Mr. Slater in the library."
That's not good.
"Thank you, Deirdre, you may go to bed."
The maid curtsied, and left. Kate went to her bedroom, and pulled back the heavy quilt.
What had Matt seen? What had he heard? She fervently hoped he had missed the scene of Hal Slater bending over her, or when he had talked of Matt, seemingly amused. Though if he had, she would just have to explain, and hope he would not be too angry.
For now, she would just get into bed, sleep, and prepare herself for tomorrow morning at ten o'clock.
So, I did have to take a large hunk of text from the book, the part where Matt overheard.
But I thought I moved pretty smoothly from my writing, to Kenneth Oppel's, and back again.
I need more ideas!