his
head. "Your brother should arrive
within the hour. Mathias will rejoin us
at noon with transportation and supplies. And I have requested that Zack MacVie meet me here in the village."
"MacVie?" She grimaced, recalling how he'd stepped on
her feet at the dance to discourage her sleuthing. Then she remembered he was second-in-command for the Committee of
Safety. Her zeal over the St. Augustine
lead had made her overlook the potential complicity of her father's cronies in
his murder. Not a one of them had
stopped by to pay his condolences on Sunday. They might very well have double-crossed him. "Leave no stone unturned."
A wicked smile
twisted the Frenchman's lips. "Ask
the correct way, and MacVie will volunteer information."
She
nodded. "If we go to St.
Augustine, I shall need a man's hat and clothing." Jacques arched an eyebrow at her. "I shan't slow the party by riding a
horse in a petticoat."
His eyes
twinkled. "You are a wanton, belle Sophie."
She
grinned. "Has it taken you
thirty-three years to recognize that?"
"Not at
all."
Chapter Nine
FINGERS
INTERLACED BEHIND his head, the hammock swaying beneath him, David contemplated
flies scooting around the ceiling of the guest hut in the heat of the day. "Havana."
Sophie gave the
hammock a push. "Have you been
there?"
He regarded her
with amusement. "You know I'd have
told you if I'd wandered off to Havana. Now who'd have thought the old man would go to a place so exotic?"
"Ben
Franklin goes to Paris." She
pushed the hammock again. "I've
heard he's courted more women in Paris than there are women living in
Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, and New York."
"Three
cheers for old Ben. Still, Paris isn't
tropical. This is a once-in-a-lifetime
opportunity."
"Does that
mean you want to come along?"
"They have
women, whiskey, and whist in Havana. I'm in."
"But it
isn't certain that we'll go to Havana. We'll likely go only as far as St. Augustine."
"They have
women, whiskey, and whist in St. Augustine, too."
She
smiled. David was such an uncomplicated
man. "Of course, should we need to
go to Havana, there's the issue of passage aboard a ship."
"The card
tables of St. Augustine are generous."
"I didn't
plan for you to subsidize the venture."
"And how
are you going to pay for it?"
"I have
some money hidden away at the house."
Clearing his
throat, he sat up and rubbed the back of his neck. "Uh, your supply is now in the hands of our enterprising
younger sister."
" What ?"
"Along
with Mother's garnets and the old man's doubloons and horse pistols. For safekeeping, she said."
Anger balled
Sophie's fingers into fists. "'Enterprising?' You mean
'thieving,' don't you?"
He pushed
himself out of the hammock and gave her shoulder a squeeze. "Calm down. I was witness to her taking it. That way, at least you know where all of it is, and she can't claim your
servant stole it." He spread his
hands. "Look, you aren't an
heiress sitting on a fortune. The first lesson you need to learn if you go off on this adventure is to accept the
generosity of others when it's offered.
"The second lesson you must learn is that you won't always be in control. Dash it all, you've had that printing
business under your thumb your entire life. Month after month, year after year, those columns in your ledger have
added up perfectly and balanced. But
your debits and credits will be fouled by the time you get to St.
Augustine. If you go on to Havana,
forget about ever balancing anything."
Indignation
yielded to reflection, smoothing the pucker of her lips. "You think my life is boring."
"Abysmally
so."
"I agree."
"Then why
have you been chasing the perpetuation of abysmal boredom on an estate in
Hampshire?"
She
frowned. Edward's offer was the fond
fancy of so many women. Why hadn't she
accepted it Saturday night? "I'd
be lodged in a townhouse in London, not in
head. "Your brother should arrive
within the hour. Mathias will rejoin us
at noon with transportation and supplies. And I have requested that Zack MacVie meet me here in the village."
"MacVie?" She grimaced, recalling how he'd stepped on
her feet at the dance to discourage her sleuthing. Then she remembered he was second-in-command for the Committee of
Safety. Her zeal over the St. Augustine
lead had made her overlook the potential complicity of her father's cronies in
his murder. Not a one of them had
stopped by to pay his condolences on Sunday. They might very well have double-crossed him. "Leave no stone unturned."
A wicked smile
twisted the Frenchman's lips. "Ask
the correct way, and MacVie will volunteer information."
She
nodded. "If we go to St.
Augustine, I shall need a man's hat and clothing." Jacques arched an eyebrow at her. "I shan't slow the party by riding a
horse in a petticoat."
His eyes
twinkled. "You are a wanton, belle Sophie."
She
grinned. "Has it taken you
thirty-three years to recognize that?"
"Not at
all."
Chapter Nine
FINGERS
INTERLACED BEHIND his head, the hammock swaying beneath him, David contemplated
flies scooting around the ceiling of the guest hut in the heat of the day. "Havana."
Sophie gave the
hammock a push. "Have you been
there?"
He regarded her
with amusement. "You know I'd have
told you if I'd wandered off to Havana. Now who'd have thought the old man would go to a place so exotic?"
"Ben
Franklin goes to Paris." She
pushed the hammock again. "I've
heard he's courted more women in Paris than there are women living in
Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, and New York."
"Three
cheers for old Ben. Still, Paris isn't
tropical. This is a once-in-a-lifetime
opportunity."
"Does that
mean you want to come along?"
"They have
women, whiskey, and whist in Havana. I'm in."
"But it
isn't certain that we'll go to Havana. We'll likely go only as far as St. Augustine."
"They have
women, whiskey, and whist in St. Augustine, too."
She
smiled. David was such an uncomplicated
man. "Of course, should we need to
go to Havana, there's the issue of passage aboard a ship."
"The card
tables of St. Augustine are generous."
"I didn't
plan for you to subsidize the venture."
"And how
are you going to pay for it?"
"I have
some money hidden away at the house."
Clearing his
throat, he sat up and rubbed the back of his neck. "Uh, your supply is now in the hands of our enterprising
younger sister."
" What ?"
"Along
with Mother's garnets and the old man's doubloons and horse pistols. For safekeeping, she said."
Anger balled
Sophie's fingers into fists. "'Enterprising?' You mean
'thieving,' don't you?"
He pushed
himself out of the hammock and gave her shoulder a squeeze. "Calm down. I was witness to her taking it. That way, at least you know where all of it is, and she can't claim your
servant stole it." He spread his
hands. "Look, you aren't an
heiress sitting on a fortune. The first lesson you need to learn if you go off on this adventure is to accept the
generosity of others when it's offered.
"The second lesson you must learn is that you won't always be in control. Dash it all, you've had that printing
business under your thumb your entire life. Month after month, year after year, those columns in your ledger have
added up perfectly and balanced. But
your debits and credits will be fouled by the time you get to St.
Augustine. If you go on to Havana,
forget about ever balancing anything."
Indignation
yielded to reflection, smoothing the pucker of her lips. "You think my life is boring."
"Abysmally
so."
"I agree."
"Then why
have you been chasing the perpetuation of abysmal boredom on an estate in
Hampshire?"
She
frowned. Edward's offer was the fond
fancy of so many women. Why hadn't she
accepted it Saturday night? "I'd
be lodged in a townhouse in London, not in
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