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"Can ye not decide where to begin, Sassenach?" He reached down and took the ee of thethe warhed, and swayed back against hi on his arm She smelled faintly of rice powder and warm skin, with the scent of rose hps in her hair

"I’ the jellies and preserves There are thirty-seven different ones--unless I’ve lance for the table, which did indeed hold a bewildering array of silver dishes, porcelain bowls, and wooden platters, groaning with e for a h At least not for puddings and savories

"Well, Ulysses will have seen to that; he wouldna have my aunt’s hospitality put to shame"

"No fear of that," she assured him "Did you see the barbecue pit out back? There are no fewer than three whole oxen roasting on spits out there, and at least a dozen pigs I didn’t even try to count the chickens and ducks Do you think it’s just hospitality, or is your aunt ood job Duncan’s done--showing off how profitable River Run is under his h privately he thought it unlikely that Jocasta’s enerous in nature He considered that the lavishness of the present celebration wasto her desire to wipe Farquard Ca the fete he had held at Green River in Dece of e

"Here, Sassenach" He deposited her e tray borne by a servant, and took a full one in return, which he set in her hand

"Oh, I’lass fro it to her in salute Her cheeks flushed deeper, and her eyes glowed a

I FELT PLEASANTLY liquid inside, as though belly and limbs were filled with quicksilver It wasn’t all to do with the wine, though that was very good More the release of tension, after all the worries and conflicts of the day

It had been a quiet, tender wedding, and while the evening’s celebration was likely to be noisy in the extrear hilarities for the later festivities--I needn’t worry about any of that My own intent had been to enjoy the delightful supper that had been laid on, perhaps take a glass or two o to investigate the romantic potential of the stone bench beneath the s

Jara, but I had no objection to rearranging my priorities There would be plenty of leftovers, after all

The torchlight burnished hilow like copper The evening breeze had co the torch flaues, and it nipped strands of hair frolass, s at me across the ri his eyes off h s

"Toahprivacy," I replied, with a slight lift ofpleasantly reckless, I reached slowly up, and deliberately pulled the ornamented lace from my hair Half-unpinned, curls fell loose down my back, and I heard someone draw in his breath in shock behind me

In front of me, Jamie’s face went suddenly blank, his eyes fixed onhis eyes withslowly as I drained it The scent of black grapes perfumed the inside of my head and the heat of the armed my face, my throat, lass froers cold and hard on mine

And then a voice spoke from the candlelit French doors behind hilass fell between us, exploding into shards on the flags of the terrace Ja by reflex to the hilt of his dirk Then it relaxed, as he saw the silhouetted figure, and he stepped back, riht His color was high enough to show through the powder, burning in hectic spots across his cheekbones

"My friend Stanhope has proposed a table or two of whist this evening," he said "Will you not join us, Mr Fraser?"

Jaers of his right hand twitch, very slightly The pulse was throbbing at the side of his neck, but his voice was calave a thin sood hand at the cards, sir" He pursed his lips "Though of course, we do play for rather high stakes Perhaps you do not feel that you--"

"I shall be delighted," Jamie said, in a tone of voice thatthat would truly have delighted hi Phillip Wylie’s teeth down his throat

The teeth in question gleamed briefly

"Ah Splendid I shalllook forward to the occasion"

"Your servant, sir" Jamie bowed abruptly, then spun on his heel, seized my elbow, and marched off down the terrace,step and keeping silence, until ere safely out of earshot The quicksilver had shot up out ofnervously up and down erously unstable

"Are you quite out of yourbut a brief snort in reply, I dug in my heels and pulled on his arm to make him stop

"That was not a rhetorical question," I said, rather h-stakes whist?"

Jamie was indeed an excellent card player He also knewat cards However, whist was difficult if not impossible to cheat at, and Phillip Wylie also had the reputation of an excellent player--as did Stanhope Beyond this, there remained the fact that Jah ones

"Ye expect me to allow yon popinjay to tra round to face an, but broke off It was quite apparent that if Wylie had not intended outright insult, he had e--and to a Scot, the tere likely indistinguishable

"But you don’t have to do it!"