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"H "The cookhouse would be madness And with so many folk aboutwell, we can ask Mariah and the others, but I shouldna be surprised if they dinna recall even carrying the dishes, let alone so with theirl, whisk in the glass" She waved a hand, indicating the scandalous ease hich one up to the attic under the pretext of seeing how she was, and given her soested "A syllabub would be perfect People were co stretches, between Dr Fentiman’s visit, and the time the other slaves cao up there unseen"

"Very nice, Inspector Lestrade," Brianna said to Roger, sotto voce "But there’s no proof, is there?"

Jocasta and Duncan were sitting side by side, rigid as a pair of Toby jugs, carefully not facing each other At this, Jocasta took a deep and audible breath, obviously forcing herself to relax

"True," she said "There’s not Ye dinna recall Betty offering you a cup of punch, a dhuine?"

Duncan gnawed fiercely on his , but then shook his head

"She ht not, too"

"Well, then"

Everyone fell silent for awhich Ulysses s away At last Jahtened up

"Well, so Then there’s what happened last night We are agreed that the Irishman who entered your chamber, Aunt, was Stephen Bonnet?"

Brianna’s hand jerked, and the cup of tea crashed to the table

"Who?" she said hoarsely "Stephen Bonnet--here?"

Jaht ye’d told her, Sassenach"

"When?" I said, with so to Roger, who ed, stone-faced Ulysses had swooped doith a cloth and was blotting up the tea Bree hite-faced, but had regained her self-possession

"Never ht?"

"Aye, he was," Jamie said reluctantly "I saw hiold--or one of them?" Brianna reached for one of the silver cups of port and drank it off as though it ater Ulysses blinked, but hastened to refill the cup froer reached for a fresh scone, carefully avoiding Brianna’s eyes

"How did he find out about the gold, Aunt?" Jamie leaned back in his chair, eyes half-closed in concentration

Jocasta gave a small snort, and held out her hand Ulysses, accustomed to her needs, put a piece of buttered toast into it

"Hector Caal told so theal" She shrugged and took a bite of toast

"But I’ll tell ye one thing," she added, sing "The second man in my room, the one who reeked of drink I said he didna speak, aye? Well, that’s plain enough, no? He was someone I ken, whose voice I should have known, if he spoke"

"Lieutenant Wolff?" Roger suggested

Ja between his brows

"Who better than the navy, to find a pirate when one’s wanted, aye?"

"Would one want a pirate?" Brianna murmured The port had restored her co little attention to her "No sold It would take more than one man to deal with such a sum--Louis of France and Charles Stuart kent that much; they sent six to deal with thirty thousand" Little wonder, then, if whoever learned of the gold had enlisted the help of Stephen Bonnet--a well-known sler and pirate, and one with not only the old

"A boat," I said slowly "The Lieutenant left by boat, during the supper Suppose that he went downriver, and ether, and waited for the opportunity to sneak into the house and try to terrorize Jocasta into telling theold was"

Jamie nodded

"Aye, that could be The Lieutenant has had dealings here for years Is it possible, Aunt, that he saw soold here? Ye said Hector had three bars; is any of it left?"

Jocasta’s lips pressed tight, but after anod

"He would keep a luht have seen--but hoould he have kent what it was?"

"Perhaps he didn’t at the tiested, "but then later heard about the French gold, and put two and two together"

There was a nodding and h I didn’t see quite how one would go about proving it, though, and said so

Jaed, and licked a s what’s happened is so important, Sassenach It’s ht on

"They’ll come back, a charaid," he said quietly "Ye ken that, aye?"

Duncan nodded He looked unhappy, but determined