“Ben’s afraid.” said Lotti, feeling like a traitor. “He says he isn’t but I know he is, and so am I.”

“Well, blinking hallelujah,” grunted Frank. “You’ve come to your senses.”

“Not exactly,” Lotti hesitated. “More like I’ve come with a business proposition.”

Frank’s eyes glinted.

“Will you take us over?” Lotti asked in a rush. “To France, I mean? You said you know the Channel.”

“I’ve never crossed it in a blinking narrowboat,” said Frank.

“I’ll pay you,” said Lotti. “I don’t have a lot of money, and what I do I rather need, but I was wondering if you might take this.”

She pulled Papa’s ring over her head.

Frank stared. “What is it?”

“It was my father’s.” Lotti fought to keep her voice level. “It’s very old, and immensely valuable. I once heard my grandmother say it’s been in the family since before the French Revolution.”

Jim took the ring from Frank and whistled.

“It means a lot to me,” Lotti continued. “But then so does getting to France. For … for all sorts of reasons.”

Oh, Moune …

Frank smoked on and said nothing. It was Jim who spoke again, softly, using the same line of argument with his brother as on the day they helped to hide the Sparrowhawk from Albert Skinner.

“If it was our Jack, Frank, stuck in France …”

Frank’s hand closed around the ring.

“I got two conditions.”

Back on the Sparrowhawk, Lotti shook Ben gently by the arm.

“Wake up,” she whispered. “I need to talk to you.”

Ben turned on his side and looked at her sleepily. “Is it morning?”

“No, it’s still night. I need to talk to you because … well, because I went to see Frank, because I knew you were worried, and I was too. And the good news is he’s going to come with us all the way to France. You don’t mind, do you?”

“No, it’s good.” Ben sounded relieved, and Lotti was glad. “But shouldn’t we pay him?”

Lotti’s throat tightened. “I’ve given him Papa’s ring.”

“The one you wear round your neck?” Ben sat up in his berth and looked at her, dismayed. Lotti had told him about the ring, and he knew how much it meant to her.

“I don’t mind.” It was a lie, but somehow the fact that she had had to give something up did make what she had to say next easier. “Ben, there’s more. Frank says he’ll only attempt the crossing if the weather’s good. He says unless the conditions are perfect, the deal’s off.”

“Fair enough,” said Ben.