CHAPTER THIRTEEN

MATTHIEU HAD BEEN THINKING. Madeleine hadn’t said one word about it, but he knew she had heard the word too. Auction. He knew what that meant. It meant they would be sold, like horses.

When he was little, maybe, he would have imagined an auction for nice families who didn’t have children of their own. Not now. No, he would be no better than a plow horse or sheepdog, a beast existing only to work and obey. And Madeleine...It would be worse for Madeleine.

But that one word had given him an idea.

“Maddy, listen. I think we should try to get that guy back, the one who speaks Krylaise, and tell him who we are.”

Madeleine was bent over with her hair tumbled forward, scratching the back of her scalp with both hands. It brought only temporary relief from the tiny, bloodsucking lice that infested all of them, but the sensation was glorious while it lasted. She flipped the dirty curls back and sat on her hands before they moved on to claw at her wrists and ankles.

“Why?” she asked dully. “What difference will it make?” She was different since that man had spoken to them, thought Matthieu. Sometimes it seemed like she was only half there.

“They’re going to sell us, right?” Madeleine’s eyes shifted away at his words, but her tiny reluctant nod acknowledged them. “So they’re only after money. Our parents would pay to get us back— and you too,” he added, bringing Luc into the family with a wave of his hand. “They’d pay more than anybody! So if we tell them who we are, that they can just sell us back, maybe they will!”

Her blue eyes grew round. “Oh, Matthieu, I wonder...Except they would have to bring us all the way back.”

“So we promise them even more money!”

Madeline nodded, slowly. “I can’t see any reason not to try.” She flashed him a smile, his old Maddy back, hope kindling her features. Then she grew serious and lowered her voice. “There’s another thing. We don’t want the pirates to know they may be trying to follow us. Don’t say anything about that.”

“The rescue” had become a little fiction they were careful to keep alive, though neither had mentioned it in days. It was the storm, Matthieu thought, that had put an end to any real hope. Clinging to Madeleine in the dark as the ship plunged and lurched and spray cascaded down the hatch, he had begun to grasp the vastness of the ocean and the invisibility of their passage. There was nothing for his father, or the best tracker in the world, to follow.

Luc broke in. “Your family must be some rich if they could buy you back.” He was eyeing them queerly, as though they had turned into strangers.

“My father will be king of Verdeau,” Matthieu announced. It was not a boast, exactly, but he could not keep the pride from his voice. Luc would be impressed, even if the Tarzines were not.

But he had not intended to make his new friend grovel. Luc’s face became the picture of dismay. Then he dropped his head nearly to his waist, his fist clamped to the rough forelock that hung over his eyes.

“Beggin’ yer pardon,” he muttered. “I didn’t know. I wouldn’t have made so free with ye—”

“Luc, stop.” It was Madeleine, looking as upset as Luc did. She walked over and pulled down his arm. “Please, stand up. Look at me.”

It was hard for him, but there was no evading those round blue eyes. “It was exactly right, what you said when we met. It means nothing here, being noble-born or not. And now that I’ve met you, I wish it meant nothing back home.” She took a deep breath, and her pale cheeks colored. “I’m proud to have you for a friend—Matthieu too, I’m sure.” Madeleine fixed Matthieu with the same demanding stare.

He nodded, hard. Luc had got his lip split open defending Maddy, had held Matthieu’s shoulders while he puked into that vile bucket. They were in this together.

TWO DAYS OF CLAMORING, entreating and gesticulating every time a sailor passed near finally brought the interpreter back to the children’s cell.

He listened with undisguised impatience and gave a dismissive laugh as Madeleine laid out their proposal. “Is pretty plan. But you need very rich father to pay Turga his price, plus return trip!”

Madeleine drew herself up and spoke now with quiet emphasis. They had agreed to save this trump card for last.

“He is very rich. He is the king.”

The broad back, already turned toward them, froze. It hovered, undecided, for a second. Then the man faced Madeleine once more. His eyes narrowed as he searched her face, and she did her best to stand tall under his scrutiny.

“You lie about this, Turga makes you very sorry.”

“I do not lie. My brother here is heir to the throne.” The words startled Madeleine as she spoke them. She had never before thought of Matthieu as—well, as anything but a kid.

Another hard stare, a curt nod, and the man was striding down the gallery.

Time crawled by. Madeleine’s stomach became more and more jumpy as she weighed the possibilities: Would he dismiss their claim? Present it to Turga? Matthieu became so restless she wanted to yell at him. And then more time, a crushing silence, hope bleeding away with every passing moment until Matthieu, kicking the bulkhead with a curse, threw himself onto the platform and burst into harsh sobs. Madeleine felt her own throat close up and the hot tears spill. She cried, helplessly, into her hands.

The touch was so light, so hesitant, that she didn’t notice it at first. Luc’s hand on her shoulder, skittish as a deer. “Hush, now,” he whispered as though to a baby.

She had never needed a friend more. She leaned into his skinny chest and wept.

“MADDY, HE’S COMING!”

What passed for dinner was over, and the light from the hatch-ways had dimmed to gray when their interpreter returned.

“Turga thanks you for your offer.” The formal tone was confusing. Was it serious? A mockery? The children held their breath.

“But is no good. Here he has gold in his fist, easy, safe. There— is long trip, no guarantees and at end maybe more fighting. Not worth trouble.”

The man’s gaze sharpened on Madeleine, became somehow cold and hot at once so that she colored to the roots of her hair. The smile was tight, wolfish. “You make Turga happy. Young princess is sure to bring top price!”