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"I’ent, I did him no harm whatsoever"

"Yet the threat was rather present, I think you iest idea what you’re talking about," she lied, but it was a hile lie because she’d decided to keep hi useful His true intent still eluded her by design, and she didn’t care for it

He cleared his throat again, using the expectoration as an excuse to cover histhe actress Belle Boyd--which is just as well, since we both know precisely who you are--and since you’ve already so eloquently confessed to your wartiht assume that once or twice, you’ve been known to hurt a man or two"

"Once or twice, plus half a dozen or more And if you don’t vacate these premises, perhaps that tally will rise"

He pouted "Coive iven our illustrious captain?"

"Because Captain Oliver was a gentle other than the utmost chivalry?"

She shook her head "The circular talk will get you nowhere"

"Except back to the beginning Shall I try again?"

"You shall not, Mr Kulp You shall return to your seat with all haste if you have nothing of substance to telled merrily and said, "How on earth am I supposed to comply with such contradictory instructions? You’ve now orderedpertinent, and yet to keep quiet"

"No, I suggested either one or the other Meet one of these goals or be on your way"

Finally, for a moment, he was silent He stared pointedly at the folder in her lap, and soed when he said more quietly, "So it’s true The Pinks have snatched you up and put you to work"

She hesitated in her response "It’s not a secret," she said, which was true

"It’s not a widely known fact," Phinton Kulp replied, and this was also true

"Then what’s it to you?" she asked hi at all It’s as you said before, ‘A lady has to eat’ But there erous way for a woman of your notoriety to keep herself in skirts and furs" He retreated several inches, giving her bothroom and yet, cause for a little more worry

"My state of employment is no concern of yours," she told hiht But you can’t blaht want to treat interested strangers with less defensiveness Pinkerton has operatives and informants from coast to coast, you know; and it won’t serve your purposes very well to send thehty children caught under the tree before Christiances to be balanced Not everyone loves the Pinkerton nauessed, "You’re no operative"

"At this time, you are correct But I’m still a useful man to know--even Mr Pinkerton will tell you that, if you ask him"

"How convenient for you, that he isn’t present to interrogate on the subject"

"On the contrary, I’d be pleased to see him, if only to see you set at ease with his reassurances Ithis voice low and now adding a bit of warning to it--a dash of sinister seasoning that Maria filed away for future reference "Being a wo in a man’s field in which you have absolutely no experience"

"It isn’t so different fro," she insisted

"Froreed "But between North and South you had only one eneht have doubled their roles, or blurred them, but at the end of the day you had only one authority to thwart and dodge Wearing a Pinkerton shield, you’ll find things are es dozens of tiny wars, all at once, all across the territories Working for hi, if you could call it that"