Chapter Nine
Hawthorn“What do you know about the river ahead?” Lut asked Katkin. They both stood at the steering oar, while Poppy, Myrie and Gwillam crowded the prow, watching for obstacles in the churning water. The River Ariane ran high, spilling over her banks, drowning the bases of the willows and other trees that hugged her sides.
“Not much,” Katkin admitted. “I sailed this stretch of water a few times with Jacq, but never when it was running this high. But I do know one thing — now we have passed under the Mardon Bridge, we have reached Beaumaraisian territory. We had better be careful.”
“Should I bring the Able Drake all the way to the City, Grandmother?” At a shout from Gwillam, Lut steered the boat to the right, as they shot through a narrow channel between two sand bars.
The
