“And I specifically informed you”—Perrault fluttered over me, forcing me to stand—“that you were not to be seen in such a state on deck.” Horrified, the protocol officer straightened my dress, even as he tried not to touch me. A handsome sailor named Vishnu tried not to laugh, crossing his muscled arms so the monsters and mermaids in his tattoo sleeve eddied and shifted like ocean currents against the deep brown of his skin. His brows arched, stretching their empty piercings.

“Furthermore, we don’t have water to spare for these.” One of the sailors, an East Asian man with close-cropped hair and angular dark eyes, frowned at me. “I’m glad you’ve found a way to amuse yourself, but we can’t waste valuable resources so you can grow flowers—”

He broke off as a blur of black clothes and shiny chestnut hair streaked down from the ropes overhead and fell into a crouch, hitting the deck six feet away with a thud. Perrault clapped a hand to his chest. Lang rolled his eyes.

“Enough,” Cobie said, dragging out the word. “Lay off her. Four against one isn’t a fair fight.”

“We’re not fighting her,” Perrault said, officious and offended. “I’m looking after her rep—”

“You’re picking on her,” Cobie said, pointing at Perrault, then at Lang. “You’re high on control.” She nodded at the East Asian sailor. “And, Yu, I’m aware you’re the ship’s doctor, but you’re overly concerned with hydration.”

“What about me?” Vishnu said with a laugh.

“You’re okay,” Cobie conceded. Vishnu grinned at her, and she waved him off. “So—three against one. Still.”

I turned back to Yu. “These aren’t flowers, they’re herbs. And I hadn’t planned on wasting fresh water—or manpower, or any other valuable resources on them,” I added pointedly. “I’ll tend them myself and set up barrels to collect rainwater, if we get any.”

Yu pursed his lips, not replying.

Cobie turned to me. “Now. You—stay out of the lower hold. Lang’s right: you don’t belong down there, and the last thing we need is our royal charge arriving in England with a broken neck.” I jerked back, trying not to let them see how stung I was as Cobie stalked away. Yu and Perrault followed her, apparently not finished with their argument; Vishnu must have had actual responsibilities to manage.

“Do all Potomac’s royals enjoy yard work?” Captain Lang picked at a thread on his navy canvas jacket. Three deep furrows creased his forehead.

I sat back, dusting earth off my palms.