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Unsure of where Birch had gotten to, Beryl paused and listened The daed that Birch and whomever he met ere located just on the other side of the stables

She stepped off the gravel ay and onto the grass to conceal the sound of her footsteps Cautiously she inched forward, closer to the building, sticking to the shadows, hardly daring to breathe, all her senses taut

As she edged toward a corner of the building, the voices grew louder

“—taking a chance by co here,” Birch said

“Don’t think so,” said a man “I wanted to deliver this myself”

Beryl peered around the corner Her eyesight wasn’t the best, and though her specs were tucked in an inner pocket of her shortcoat, she didn’t dare risk thein the dark, discerning a figure thatbefore a horseman in plain leathers and a cloak He sat his horse like a trained soldier, but if he was sohtedness confounded her ability to identify him

“You got it then,” Birch said in a pleased murmur

“Aye, and our thief has agreed to the other assignment as well He believed our cover story that our ‘e to settle a matter of honor” The horseman leaned over his horse’s withers to hand Birch a document case

“Grandmother will be most pleased to see this,” Birch said

Grand with a thief on behalf of his grandmother?

“Thought she would be,” the horseh he hed “A lady in a dress of all things! She didn’t give him much trouble”