“I’m staying at Mrs. Felda’s,” Andy said. “And the stories I hear from people who come in . . .”

Walnut sighed. “It’s the fucking seedies. Worse than tax farmers. At least with tax farmers it wasn’t our own people shoving the boot in.”

“Even the Oldtown gangs are having trouble,” Jack said. “Lots of fighting over there.”

“What about the Leatherbacks?” Andy said.

“Hardly any Leatherbacks left,” Walnut said. “The girls all went with Jane, and half the boys joined the army. Only us who’ve got families to feed stayed home.”

“That’s something, isn’t it?” Andy said. “Harry seemed to show some respect.”

“Harry’s a prick,” Walnut said.

Raesinia took a long breath and said, “Janus is coming back.”

The table went silent. Eventually John, looking down at his fingers, muttered, “You want to be careful with that kind of talk.”

“Everyone knows it,” Raesinia said. “And if Janus is coming, Jane and the rest will be with him.”

“Who knows?” George said. “I heard he works for the Hamvelts now. Can’t see Jane working for the bulls.”

“Besides,” Walnut said, “they’re going to stop him at Orlan.” He grinned. “Has to be true—I read it in the papers.”

“He’ll be here,” Raesinia repeated. “And he’s going to need your help.”

“With all respect, miss,” John said, “who the fuck are you? Just ’cause you share a name with the queen doesn’t mean you get to give orders.”

Raesinia glanced at Andy.

“The thing is,” Andy said, “I’m not the only soldier hiding out at Mrs. Felda’s. Marcus d’Ivoire is there.”

“The Captain of Armsmen?” George said.

“The one who kept the black-coats from firing at the Vendre,” Walnut said. His eyes were wary. “Janus’ right hand in Khandar, right?”

“Right,” Raesinia said. “And he’s here to get ready for Janus’ return.”

Jack’s brow furrowed. “Get ready how?”

“There aren’t enough troops at Orlan to stop the Army of the East,” Raesinia said, trying to sound more certain than she felt. “That’s why the Directory is arming the seedies. They’re going to fight, and it’s going to be bad. Janus is going to have to cut through to the Island, and that means the Grand Span.”

This was an assumption, but not a difficult conclusion to reach. The bridges from the north side of the river were all small and mostly arched, and Raesinia could only imagine the nightmare it would be trying to force a passage over them. The Grand Span, on the other hand, was wide, sturdy, and flat, which made it the obvious choice for an army trying to reach the Island. Unfortunately, this would also be obvious to the defenders, and the approach to the Grand Span went squarely through Newtown and the Docks.