Nia came back to the lounge without the crew member at her side. She had her ticket in her hand. Leonie had expected her to fold into the chair and ask what Ada intended; instead she stopped by the window, studied the dark outside, and walked the length of the room before returning to the table.
“I saw him,” Leonie said. “He spoke to me while you were gone.”
Nia looked at her cup beside the empty chair. “I guessed.”
“He wants you to go to his sister's house at Moss Point. He said he's afraid Miriam will let you down.”
“He's been telling me that since I called her.” Nia sat. “Did he say he'd let me back on the ferry in the morning?”
“He said meetings can be moved.”
“So no.” Nia pushed the cup aside and set down her ticket. “Ada listened. She didn't promise I could stay aboard no matter what happens.”
“She wouldn't.”
“She said if he tries to take me off, she'll have people near enough to help. She said she'd tell me what the stop will look like before we get there.”
“Did she tell you who she called ashore?” Leonie asked.
“An operator contact. I asked why she made the call before she met me. She answered.”
“And?”
“I didn't like it. I understood it.” Nia pulled the paper sleeve over her ticket, then pushed it back again. “She didn't ask me to prove my father is a bad person. She asked what he said and whether I had agreed to leave. I could answer those.”
“I didn't tell her the meeting is set,” Leonie said.
Nia turned the ticket sleeve face down. “She asked me if there was someone he might approach first. I said yes. I didn't tell her who.”
“I want to tell her there's a meeting,” Leonie said.
Nia let go of the ticket sleeve. “There it is. You promised the place was mine to give.”
“The place is. I can tell her there is a voluntary meeting in Westhaven without naming the table or the hour.”
“Then she'll ask who you arranged it with. You'll say Inez. Then she'll ask where Miriam is staying. You've done this before. You think you can hold one line and the rest stays private.”
“I won't give Miriam's address,” Leonie said.
“You don't have it.”
“No.”
“And you didn't tell me that until now.”
Leonie had Inez's number. Suddenly that felt very little.
“You're right,” Leonie said. “I should have said I don't know it.”
Nia stood, taking the ticket. “I need a minute.”
“Do you want me to come?”
“No.” Nia took the way toward the open passage, not the quieter corridor Cal had used. At the door she turned back. “I'll tell Ada about the meeting before Moss Point if she needs it. Don't give her the place.”
Leonie nodded. She watched Nia ask the crew member where she could get water. It was a small exchange, with no Leonie in it. Nia chose to remain where she could be seen, but not at Leonie's side.
Across the lounge Cal reappeared. He saw Nia at the counter and paused. Leonie did not rise to intercept him. The crew member handed Nia a cup, and Nia walked to another table before her father could make his pause into a conversation. Cal sat where he could see her.
Leonie found she had stood without noticing. She sat again. Nia kept her seat at the other table, her water untouched.