They met up with Ling and Uncle and proceeded to the Gold Rose hotel. The lounge on the main floor had highly polished wood floors and tables covered with brocade tablecloths. Men in clean, fashionable suits with well-starched collars pored over sheaves of paper as they sipped coffee. Sophie sat at a table for two, sipping tea daintily. She waved at them, looking perfectly at home. Though no one spared the travelers a second glance, Hettie felt inadequate in her dirty shirt and trousers. She was grubby and probably stank from the weeks on the road.
Behind Sophie, Jemma scanned the room with a fierce look, brandishing her Bible as if it were a bludgeon and glaring daggers at anyone who so much as glanced at her. She was the most effective chaperone Hettie had ever seen, though clearly Soph
