A small boat rested on the muddy bank, two men standing by it. One chewed a piece of straw as he watched us. The other watched the river like he saw more than darkness and water.

“Mrs. Burgin, don’t you think it’s time you told us where we’re going?” I asked. “You can’t expect us to leave—”

“Stay here. I’ll only be a moment.” She walked away.

I let out a shaky, exasperated breath. This had already gone farther than I’d expected. At least an hour had passed since we’d left home.

“We shouldn’t go out there.” Malcolm stared at the river. “It’s past curfew, and there are night patrols.”

He was right—boats out after gunfire were in defiance of General Clinton’s laws. There were plenty of other dangers, too. When Maggie laced my stays and curled my hair in the mornings, she sometimes told me about wealthy Tories being kidnapped and held for ransom. About women, lured from the city and ravished. Best you know a little truth about the world, she’d say.

I knew plenty of truth. If we went out on the river, we might not make it back.

“I cannot protect you out there, Miss Em.”

“Go, then.”

“Not without you.”

I’d put Malcolm in a terrible position, but I couldn’t turn back now. I was close to something important. Something valuable. Whatever awaited at the end of this journey was calling to me. “I have to see this through.”

“Then so must I.”

Mrs. Burgin returned. “They are ready for you,” she said.

I knew better than to question her for more.

As we walked down to the waterside, my heart punched inside my chest.

Mrs. Burgin made quick introductions. The man with the straw in his mouth, Austin, handed Malcolm a scull. The black man with eyes as clear as water was Beckett. He offered an arm to help me aboard.

“Wait,” I said as they pushed off the gravelly shore. Everything was happening so fast and Mrs. Burgin hadn’t yet boarded. Then I saw how she stood on the river’s edge—her arms crossed, her feet planted firmly—and realized she’d never meant to come with us.

“You will have your answers, Miss Coates,” she called out. “For better or worse.” Without another word, she hurried back to the trail by the ropewalk and disappeared into the darkness.

I settled on the thwart beside Malcolm. There was nothing to do now but continue.