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She frowned “My sense of ti have I been here?”

“A day and a half, nearly two”

“Then it was five days prior to the night you e when he seized our ship He forced Lexley—that’s Papa second in command—to thrust Papa overboard He imprisoned me beloas permitted no visitors, food, or water He tied me to a chair and left me in my cabin Hence, I was privy to very little of what occurred topside, until the night when they dragged me up and shoved me into that sack”

Hope died in Slayde’s eyes “So there’s nothing you can relay”

“I didn’t say that” The screa pain in her skull was back, but Courtney refused to succumb to it “First of all, I can describe the scoundrel fro black hair, black eyes, and a thickening —about forty, I should say His nose was scarred It had definitely been broken— on the little finger of his left hand It was engraved with the letter A”

Slayde’s brows rose “You certainly scrutinized him closely”

“Very closely” Courtney’s chin jutted forward “I memorized his features, his walk, his voice I intend to identify him the precise instant I next see or hear him, at which point I intend to kill him for what he did to Papa”

“I see”

“Yes, I believe you do” Courtney sed “In any case, he made repeated trips toabout hoorth a fortune to him and about how much smarter he was than the two of them—whoever ‘they’ are”

“I assurandfather and Geoffrey Bencroft, the late Duke of Morland”

“Morland—wasn’t he the other noblerandfather for the recovery of the black diamond when it first disappeared?”

“I’m impressed”

“Don’t be I’ve spentto Papa’s crew spin their yarns And your fa slash of pain across her ribs nearlyabout the wonderful hoax he’d engineered, a hoax that would win him his treasure”

“Indeed” Slayde’s rim line “And that hoax was you”

“I don’t understand”