Page 57 of Haunting the Deep

“Aye.”

“How about we go exploring?”

Mollie watches me. “I don’t like the look in yer eyes, not one bit.”

“Steerage is in the front and the back of the ship, right?” By Mollie’s expression I know I’m right.

I bend down and duck under the chain, careful not to catch my hat on it.

“Miss!” I stop at the concerned sound of Mollie’s voice. “Ya know that part of the ship is sectioned off.”

“If it wasn’t, it wouldn’t be any fun,” I say.

She looks over her shoulder.

“Don’t worry, you don’t have to come with me. I’ll tell my aunt and uncle that it was my idea and you had nothing to do with it.” I turn around and walk as fast as my dress will allow me toward the front of the ship.

Before I get ten steps away, Mollie is at my side.

“Oh, really?” I say, smiling at her.

“Better ta be actin’ foolish with ya than ta be lonesome.” She smiles, too. “Besides, ya wouldn’t last ten minutes without me. We need ta get off this main deck before we draw attention.”

She winds me through back hallways and empty passages. And when one of the ship’s crew members comes along, we jump out of sight.

Mollie stops in the center of a quiet hall and lowers her voice. Not that there is much chance anyone would hear us over the roar of the engines in this part of the ship. “We have two options. Around this corner is a locked gate leadin’ ta third class. The guard is young and would probably be easy ta convince, but ye’ll have ta be real firm. Or, we can take the longer way around, which includes some passages only used by crew. However, if we get caught, it’ll absolutely look like we’re doin’ somethin’ we shouldn’t.”

“Hmmm. Okay. Let’s go with the first option.”

We round the corner and walk toward a ceiling-high gate with an eighteen-year-old guard in front of it.

He stands up a little straighter when he sees us. “Is everything okay, miss? Are you lost?”

“Everything’s just fine. If you would unlock the gate, please, we’ll be on our way.”

His eyes widen. “The gate, miss? I cannot do that.”

“Of course you can,” I say with a smile.

He starts fidgeting. “It is against immigration regulations.”

“It would be against regulations if ya let steerage passengers out, not if ya let us in,” Mollie says.

He seems unsure.

“If you don’t let us move through quickly, I’ll be late to my lunch with the Countess of Rothes. You wouldn’t want that, would you?”

“No, miss.” He fumbles for his key and slips it in the lock. “Just be quick.”

The moment the gate shuts behind us, Mollie and I grin at each other. She grabs my arm and leads me away from the boy before he can change his mind. As we turn the corner, the hallway bursts with life. People speak Italian and something I’m pretty sure is Swedish. The clothes and complexions vary greatly.

Mollie knocks on one of the cabin doors.

A woman in her early twenties wearing a white blouse and a floor-length black skirt opens the door. She squeals and grabs Mollie in a hug. “Mollie! What’er ya doin’ here in the middle a the day? Ya haven’t been made redundant, have ya?” Her Irish accent is strong, stronger than Mollie’s, and I love it.

“No, Nora,” she says, looking a little embarrassed. “Miss Samantha wanted to see steerage.”

Nora turns to me and smiles. “A course ya did. There’re three types a people in this world: those that create division, those that enforce it, and those that tell the first two ta kiss their bloomin’ arse.” She winks at me.