Page 48 of Valour

Charlotte grimaced. “Perhaps this is for the best, then.”

“It must be lunchtime now,” Arnold groaned, rubbing his stomach.

“I can hear your belly growling louder than the dogs!” Charlotte beamed at him as she put down her shovel and collected her coat from the pile. She was ravenous too after working so hard all morning. “Let’s go and see what Mei has prepared.”

They staked the dogs to the ice outside the dogloos, pouring water to freeze the leashes in place, and filed back up the ramp onto the deck.

“Smell that?” Peggy said, inhaling deeply as they walked to the companionway and down to the galley.

“I don’t care what it is, as long as it’s ready to eat,” Arnold said. Charlotte agreed wholeheartedly.

Mei stood at the stove, stirring the pot, her straight black hair covered in sawdust.

“Pemmicin again?” Valerie asked, taking a seat at the table.

Mei brandished a wooden spoon at her. “Enjoy it while you can. We’re down to the last stocks of it now. Then it’ll be seal and penguin forevermore.”

Valerie held her hands up. “I wasn’t complaining!”

Charlotte laughed and sat in her usual spot at the head of the table. Arnold took the spot next to her, his leg touching hers briefly under the table before she tucked her feet away, heat flushing her cheeks. A part of her very much wanted to keep her leg pressed against his.

“Boss first,” Mei said, ladling the pounded beef mixture into Charlotte’s bowl. She toyed with her fork while the others were served, and then Winston, Rufus and Betty appeared, equally covered in sawdust.

“What have you been doing down there?” Fliss asked, picking bits of wood out of Winston’s hair. “Don’t shake. You’ll get bits in my food.”

Winston smiled and raked a hand through his hair. “Come and see after lunch.”

There was silence around the table as the food was devoured, and then the scraping back of chairs.

“I spend so long cooking, all for it to disappear in a blink,” Mei muttered as the bowls were passed down.

“It’s only because it’s so good,” Betty said. “I’ll help you wash up.”

“Come on, then. Let’s go and see what you’ve been doing,” Arnold said, letting Winston lead the way down to the hold.

Charlotte gasped as they reached the lower level of the ship, and Winston smiled proudly.

“Welcome to the Ritz,” he said, sweeping an arm out.

They had remodelled the interior of the ship into a large space, the stores having been cleared to the ice. There was much more room to move than in the galley. The change was wonderful.

“We’ll bring the table down when we’re finished, and we can eat and drink here,” he said.

“How splendid!” Peggy said, spinning in the space with her arms stretched wide.

“I’m glad you like it! Now—I want to see your dogloos,” Winston said, and Fliss linked her arm through his to lead the way upstairs.

“Who—” Septimus shouted in surprise.

Hester spun, stepping backwards, her eyes wide. A grin spread over her face. She whipped the lid off the box, and Satan sprang out.

“Oh no,” Septimus started to say before the cat landed at his feet, back arched, tail erect. He narrowed his eyes at the cat. “I’ve seen you before.”

The look on his face had been worth it. Oh, yes. Totally worth the effort. Hester laughed raucously and slapped her thigh, then made for the cabin window over the bed.

“Oh, no you don’t,” Septimus said, springing forwards and grabbing her by the back of the overall. She pulled against him, grasping the window frame and pushing it open. She could shimmy along to the ladder from here, if she could only⁠—

With one sharp tug, Septimus had her away from the window and in a heap on the floor. Satan had leaped onto the pillow and was hunkering down. Hester cackled madly. It was perfect. Septimus yanked her up and pulled her hood down, then snapped her goggles onto her forehead.