Chapter 9 - Savages and Scoundrels
Louisa Sophia and A Legion of Sisters
“Again,” Brigadier Eugénie commanded.
One by one, the clan members detailed their parts in the plan that Louisa had hatched and that had been refined by the collective.
Louisa had spent two nights spying on her mark. With her friends’ help, she’d been able to sneak into the hold while the sailors were up top and conceal her absence at evening roll call. She hid in the dark underbelly of the ship behind several crates and watched Gruff, the cheat, lock his belongings, including his loaded dice, inside his footlocker.
The end of the river chain remained only a few hours away at the town of Tancarville, and the Dissipated were on a war footing. Virginie would serve the roll of the blocking force, while Eugénie would be the reserve, ready to enter the fray on several fronts. The best actress, Marie, had the hardest role as the distraction. If needed, she would cover for Louisa’s clandestine activities and at the right time would bring the enemy to the battleground of the clan’s choosing.
Eugénie nodded her approval on the plan and said, “We’re as ready as we can be.”
Time crawled for Louisa as she sat cross-legged on her bunk. Everyone else seemed deep in thought while waiting to reach the pier. This wasn’t the first time Louisa had recruited the clan to correct an injustice, but their silence reminded her that not all her schemes had been successful. To keep from fidgeting, Louisa practiced her lock-picking techniques as, in her lap, her fingers danced an intricate pattern with all its variations. The skill enabled her to bypass any standard lock in seconds.
Everyone jumped at the knock on the door.
The clear, stern voice of Mère de la Nativité followed one last rap on the wood. “Ladies, check your room, and bring your luggage to the deck. The captain wants us to disembark quickly.” The nun’s voice grew muffled as she roused the occupants of the next cabin.
Marie handed her small suitcase to Virginie and hurried outside. Louisa held open the door as Eugénie picked up her own suitcase along with Louisa’s. The two without luggage waited until the other rooms emptied before they stepped into the crowded passage. Louisa scanned the narrow corridor before entering behind her friends and scooting backward to the rear hatch.
Marie’s voice carried through the doorway and over the chattering girls filing out onto the deck. “Look, a toad is in the water.”
At the signal, Louisa tossed the hatch open and crawled through head-first so she did not have to hold her dress. Her hands went down several rungs while her thighs kept her from plunging to the wood below and held her skirt in place against the edge of the hatch. She tucked her knees and flipped over the rung to land on her feet in a crouch. Above, the hatch banged shut.
The barge shuddered as it made contact with the pier. Louisa raced down the narrow path between boxes and sacks toward the sailors’ sleeping quarters. She pulled the special hairpins from her bun.
She squatted before Gruff’s footlocker, and her fingers blurred. At the count of three, she pulled on the padlock, and its shackle popped free. She threw open the lid, and a musky cloud made her shrink back. She lifted the tray that held the man’s odds and ends to reach his clothes.
She rummaged through Gruff’s belongings and placed each item in a pile next to the tray. Louisa ran her finger into the four corners. Finding a slight slope in one, she poked down, and the thin board popped up on the opposite side. She wedged a finger under the false bottom and lifted it.
Eight pairs of white dice formed a line beside a bulging burlap purse. Louisa pocketed the dice and the coin bag. Thirty seconds later, the lock clicked with everything in its place.
The mental clock in Louisa’s mind tolled midnight, but she still had one thing to do. She frog-hopped over to Léon’s locker. Its lid flew open even faster. She opened Gruff’s purse, removed a ten franc note, and replaced it with a brief letter she had written in advance. She dropped the coin sack on top of Léon’s possessions.
Light poured into the hold, and the cargo hatch banged against the deck as the lock clicked.
Skatá
Louisa bear-crawled along the path away from the light and dove behind two crates as boots padded down the small stairs. She curled into the darkest corner and controlled her breath, becoming a shadow.
“Get your hands off me!” Marie’s shrill command bounced into the hold, and the boots stopped.
The captain yelled, “What the hell’s going on?”
“I didn’t do nothing,” came the trembling reply of the pervert.
Marie’s voice rose to new heights. “By the Blessed Virgin, this man grabbed my bottom!”
The boots clattered up the steps as the pervert squealed, “I did no such thing!”
Louisa ran toward her exit. After reaching the ladder, she pushed hard on the lid and raced up.
Virginie stood in the hall with her two suitcases hiding Louisa’s entry. “Took you long enough.” She flattened herself to the wall.
“Justice takes time.” Louisa skipped sideways to the door and burst outside.
“Captain, what kind of savages do you employ?” the colonel roared.
The captain stood with his palms outstretched. “Sir, I can assure you, he will be punished.”
“Oh, my. Oh, my,” said Mère Sainte Adeline, wide-eyed, while Gabrielle and the Jetons snickered.
“Ladies. Off. Now.” The finger at the end of Mère de la Nativité’s straight arm directed them to the gangplank.
The other girls shuffled toward the dock with their luggage while Louisa fought against the tide of black. Marie locked eyes with Louisa, winked, and burst into tears.
How does she do that?
Louisa popped free of the fleeing girls. Gruff stepped between the pervert and the captain, with his back to Marie. “Sir, don’t be hasty.”
Gruff stumbled forward from Marie’s hard shove, and Louisa stepped into his path. They collided and went down in a pile. With arms tangled, Louisa said, “Excuse me, Monsieur.”
The captain held out his hand to help her up, and as she reached for it, she let go of all eight dice in her other hand. White cubes scattered around the deck.
“Wha-What?” Léon said behind Louisa.
The dice had settled around the small open area. The flustered faces of the crowd soon changed to confusion.
“Ch. Chea. Cheater!” Léon yelled.
Louisa mimicked their confused expressions and suppressed a laugh.
Léon bent down and picked up one of the dice showing a single dot. He squinted at it and then at the rest of the gaming pieces. His eyes narrowed at Gruff, who wobbled on his feet in bewilderment. Léon’s right hook caught Gruff on the cheek, and the man sprawled backward.
Louisa snatched Marie’s hand and pulled her toward the gangplank while the captain yanked Léon’s arm. Full of rage, Léon snapped his head around and said with nary a stutter, “He’s a cheat, Captain. He stole my money.”
Still holding Marie’s hand, Louisa laughed as she bounded down the plank. The colonel bellowed, “Savages! Savages and scoundrels!”