“Oughtn’t we be on our way?” says a woman with the pushed-in face of a bulldog, sitting at the front of the lifeboat with her hands in a muff.

“Get a move on!” cries another.

The QM switches his hard stare between me and the lifeboat.

Officer Merry sighs. “Fine, you get on. But not those two. They’re old enough to stay.”

“They’re only eight and ten!” I undershoot by a couple years and hope it’s enough.

“I was ten when my daddy gave me a mule and told me to git,” says a man from somewhere nearby.

A chorus of agreement comes from the men still waiting on the deck. “Ain’t fair to give those beggars a place when good women are still waiting on a spot.”

“Which women?” I look around and see none.

“They’re loading more from the gangway doors,” says another man.

Wink and Olly stand straight as pins. Officer Merry squats so that his eyes are even with theirs, and the hard lines of his face soften. “Look, lads. It’s time for you to be men. There’ll be another boat along soon that’ll take care of you, but for now, we have to get the women and tykes away, okay?”

“Yes, sir.” Olly’s voice cracks. Wink nods, his cheek as twitchy as a firefly’s bulb.

“No!” I insist. “They are in my care.”

“Then you stay with them,” says the woman with the muff.

Jamie belts an arm over Wink’s shoulder, pulling him back. “You go on, Val. Come on, lads. We’ll find another boat.”

I snort. How can he be so certain the next boat won’t present the same problem?

Olly follows Wink, and even Fong shuffles back. Cold air rushes against my teeth. The Johnnies are ganging up against me.

“Hurry, do hurry!” cries a woman.

April’s gloved hands beckon. “Come on, darling. We’ve got to stick together.”

Strudel barks, and Charlotte’s wet eyes watch Jamie and me silently fight.

But I can’t abandon my brother. Damn him. Jamie is like water in the palm, which can only be held a few moments before slipping through the fingers. I should never have let him walk away two years ago, in sailor slops too big for his spindly self, his too-straight posture full of hurt. If I take this boat, I may never see him again. Worse, because of him, I’ve grown attachments to others that will feel like bits of my soul ripped out if they are lost.

Officer Merry ticks his head at me. “Put her in.”

The QM and another crewman reach for me, but I step out of their grasp and lift my chin. “Lower away.”

“Bloody snakes, Val!” If Jamie’s arm wasn’t in a sling, he might toss me into the lifeboat himself. “We might not get another chance.”