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“Yes”

“What prompted them to deliver it to Pembourne?”

“The fact that it was addressed toan unsealed envelope marked The Earl of Pembourne, Pembourne Manor, Dawlish, Devonshire Deftly, he removed the sin

gle sheet of paper within, unfolding it and offering it to Courtney

She scanned the contents, which read:

Pembourne:

The exchange will be ht Eleven pm Ten lish Channel Take a small, unarmed boat Come alone, accompanied only by the diamond Heed these instructions or your sister will die

“A ransom note,” Courtney murmured

“Indeed What puzzles ht me to your ship”

Courtney inclined her head quizzically “I don’t understand”

“Do you recallyou that the week Aurora disappeared, I received several ransom notes?”

“Yes You said only tere credible, accompanied by locks of what you assumed to be Aurora’s hair, but were, in fact, mine”

“Exactly And this e is a replica of the second of those notes”

“Are you sure?”

“I committed every word to memory Yes, I’m sure Even the hand is the same” He frowned “The only difference is the date The one I received was dated one day earlier than this one”