Perhaps the threat of breaking down in front of strangers gave her courage. She drew a deep breath, squared her shoulders, and with all her might pretended that she was as brave as she wished she were. “Hatchlings,” she said quietly. Then she firmed her voice and spoke with more force. She pushed a smile onto her face as well. “I regret that I upset your ship, sir. But I would be extremely interested if you could share any news you have of the ‘hatchlings’ as you call them. Paragon said that I should not think of them as dragons. I find that an extraordinary statement. Can you clarify what he meant by it? Have you yourself seen them? What did you think of them?” She stacked her questions one on top of the other as if building a wall to protect herself.
“I haven’t,” the captain admitted.
“I have,” his wife said quietly. She turned and walked slowly away from them all. As Alise stared after her curiously, she turned and silently beckoned for them to follow. She led them to the captain’s quarters, invited them inside, and closed the door.
“Would you care to sit down?” she asked them.
Alise nodded silently. The sudden hospitality was a bit confusing, but also welcome. The confined room was a setting more familiar to her than the open deck. She immediately felt more comfortable. The stateroom was not large but was still impressive. It was efficiently designed and simply furnished, but every item in the chamber was of excellent quality. Shining brass and richly gleaming wood welcomed them. A chart table dominated the room. A compass rose inlaid into the tabletop was formed from various shades of wood. Heavy damask draperies curtained off a bed in one corner of the wood-paneled room. Scattered about the room were small artifacts that were obviously of Elderling make. A small mobile of fish hung near a window. As the light touched it, the fish “swam” in the air, changing colors as they did so. A fat green pot with a gleaming copper spout sat in the middle of the table. Alise felt as if she had just stepped into the drawing room of a wealthy Bingtown family rather than a stateroom on a ship. She took her offered seat and waited as the others joined her at the table.
Althea smoothed a few stray strands of hair back from her face. She glanced at her husband. Captain Trell had not joined them at the table, but leaned on the wall by a small window, watching the shore slip by. “Paragon helped escort the serpents up the Rain Wild River. He accompanied them as far as he could and had the highest of hopes for them. He was deeply and bitterly disappointed when they emerged as pitiful shadows of the dragons they should have been. Not one of them was near Tintaglia’s size. Since then they have grown, but they still are stunted.”
Althea picked up the pot on the table, hefting it to check if it still held water. “Will you have a cup of tea?” she offered as she set it down again, as if they were indeed in a Bingtown drawing room. She stroked an insignia on the side of the kettle, an image that looked rather like a chicken with a crown. Almost immediately, the pot gave a small rumble and steam began to waft from its spout.
“Priceless!” Sedric exclaimed. “I’d heard a few such Elderling kettles have been discovered, but none seemed to come to the Bingtown market. It must be worth a fortune.”
“It was a wedding gift, from family,” Captain Trell said. “Quite a prize. It requires no fire to heat the water. And of course, on a ship, fire is always a concern.” He had visited a sideboard and now brought a tray laden with cups and a teapot to the table. Althea took over the hostess duties. It was odd to watch her shift from her mannish abilities on the deck to the delicate business of measuring tea into a pot and setting out cups all around. Alise abruptly felt that she glimpsed a possible life that she had never known existed. Why, she wondered, had she never even considered making her own way in the world? Why had marriage or spinsterhood seemed her only choices? She only realized she was staring at Althea when the woman returned her a slightly puzzled glance. Alise immediately redirected the conversation with a question.
“But Paragon has never seen the new dragons?”
Althea shot her an odd glance. “Of course not. The river is too shallow to permit him to venture that far. A great deal of effort went into making that part of the river passable for the serpents. It was not as successful as it could have been, and winter storms and floods in the years since then have mostly destroyed those works. The banks of the river, as you have seen, are marshy and difficult to walk on. The forest is dense and unfriendly to creatures of that size. So the dragons have never moved from their hatching place.”
“But you went to see them?”