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"Of course" Slayde's pal "What better way to ensure that only the Huntleys and the Bencrofts—together—find the gems recovered by the Fox and the Falcon than to bury clues in both our homes"
"Exactly," Julian confirh stolen treasures myself to know that there are an infinite number of sites where one can conceal therassy tracts—the possibilities are limitless Any of those sites would take either detailed instructions or a randfather obviously believed that the saacy would also be shrewd enough to amass the clues he and Jauide to their specific hiding place"
"So where do we begin searching for these clues?" Courtney demanded, a spark of excitement in her eyes "At least those concealed here at Pembourne?"
"We begin by reviehatever knowledge Slayde has of James Huntley: his habits, interests, which rooms at Pembourne he customarily occupied We also pore over any docuht still exist, any of which ht help determine our path"
"Personal effects?" Frowning, Slayde rose "I don't recall Ja as drao through every shred of paper at Pe for a clue of so toelse in England, for that matter As you well know, he spent most of his time abroad He seldom returned to Pembourne for more than a feeeks at a time"
"But when he did, he could usually be found on the fa
r grounds with his falcons," Aurora inserted "They were his greatest fascination—significant enough, obviously, to spawn his alias"
"That's true" Even as he spoke, Slayde arched a surprised brow at his sister "I didn't realize you knew so randfather I are of James's affinity for falcons because Father referred to it several ti our discussions on the Huntley family history—discussions meant to prepare me for the title I would someday inherit But you were no more than a babe then How is it you recall those conversations?"
"I don't Nor do I need to Mr Scollard told randfather's preoccupation with his falcons" Aurora pursed her lips "Now that I think of it, perhaps I should have paid more attention to Mr Scollard's stories I always assu tidbits of uessed he was revealing soreat value In any case, that's how I learned of James and his falcons Moreover, I picked up scraps of information froes I was fifteen at the time, and insane with boredom I accosted Siebert the moment I returned to the manor; after all, he'd been at Pembourne forever, so it stood to reason he'd heard tell of James's pasti with the countless questions I fired at hiested I peruse the library where James kept dozens of volumes on the subject of falcons"
"And did you?"
"With pleasure It provided me with a much-needed diversion" Aurora shot Slayde a pointed look "Need I remind you that I was confined to this estate for over a decade?"
"Need I re to escape, giving uards a merry chase?"
Aurora grinned, feeling not a shred of re those few occasions when I wasn't eluding your guards or visiting Mr Scollard, I was reading I'ood portion of the, with Jains You'd be surprised at how leaned about the different types of falcons and their characteristics Which brings estion: I think we should pore over every one of Ja to do since Julian's first visit—to see if there ht be some clue concealed within them"
"They've been untouched for years," Slayde re in them but cobwebs and dust"
"Still, it's worth a try"