Chapter 4
We rode together back to the Hound Pits Pub on Samuel's boat, while Emily continued to shift about inquisitively as she tried to figure out how the boat's complex machinery.
"I've seen my share of mechanics," Samuel commented proudly, "but I've always had a knack for simple designs. This here boat has been my life since I left the navy; wouldn't exchange her for all the gold in the world."
"Does she have a name?" asked Emily.
"Well, to tell the truth, I've never really thought much about it. I guess Amaranth comes to mind."
"One day I'm going to explore all over the isles in my own boat, including Pandyssia," Emily said happily, straightening up.
"Well, you're certainly braver than I am," Samuel answered, before turning to me. "So you did the business, did you Corvo?"
"What business?" Emily inquired.
"Ah, adult business…"
"Here, I brought a present for you," I interrupted, unwrapping the newspaper around a small embroidered carmine box from my pocket. "It's a jewel box I found at the Golden Cat, and I thought you'd like it."
"Wow, thanks Corvo! I'll be sure to keep the coin I collect in it," Emily said, taking the box and admiring it.
When we arrived at shore, we were greeted by most everyone with great optimism. Havelock in particular appeared pleased as he shook my hand, a gesture I rarely witnessed in the otherwise stoic man.
"I'll go with Callista. See you later, Corvo," Emily waved as she trudged off to her quarters.
"You'll want to speak with Lord Pendleton. He's got to be somewhere around here," Samuel added.
I dreaded bringing the news to the noble, but there was no way around it. Somehow I felt a fine line between his loyalty to the cause and to himself, but now that his brothers were kept alive while posing no threat to the Parliamentary votes, I suspected that the damage had been somewhat mitigated.
Pendleton himself, who was standing at the tower alcove overlooking the sea, exhibited awe as he curtly acknowledged my efforts while commenting that one day he would visit his siblings. Without so much as thanks, he proceeded to his business; as he walked away, I very much doubted he would not regret his decision to spare their lives after eventually discovering their fates somewhere deep underground, slaving away in their own mines.
Until that day came when I would finally be vilified by those around me, it seemed Havelock and Martin never found shortage of ideas for their antics against the Lord Regent.
"We know the Lord Regent has a mistress who is a close enough ally and recently sat for a portrait by the Royal Physician, Anton Sokolov. He'll know her name. If we can track her down, we will be another step ahead," said Havelock, drinking from his glass at the bar. "Sokolov lives near Kaldwin's Bridge; Samuel can take you there."
"With that book you've recovered from Campbell, I can't believe all the blackmail that's been going on in the Abbey," added Martin.
Now the Royal Physician was to be abducted. Just how far would our operation go before we commit the same kidnapping and extortion that our enemies relied on?
"Deliver him here for questioning, and then we can decide our next move," Havelock concluded.
Considering the many leaps we had taken lately, the mission was nonetheless unsurprising. The only concern that lingered in my head was how long it took before we were discovered, before our lives would be endangered by the mayhem we had caused for ourselves. Would there have been a different solution, I would have sought it; unfortunately, I could find none, and as draconic as our actions would become, I had no choice but to oblige.
I examined the furnishings around the bar; fillings spilled out from the fringes of seats, the wood revealed numerous cracks and tears, and the liquid dispensers rusted away from years of neglect. Even with all the comfort of food and warmth, our entire operation would have crumbled to dust without the funding provided by Piero's black market exchanges.
Hoping that my next destination would provide profitable salvage, I set out for the bridge as the sun began to set.
