Page 86 of The Empire and the Wolf King

I said, “Tae the horrible brutal aching deaths of my enemies, slàinte!”

He said, “Mairead, hearing you speak like this sends a chill down my spine! It is exciting, slàinte!”

I drank and then asked the room, “Tell me all ye ken about the death of Asgall. Where did he die?”

The computer went silent for a moment and then returned with: “There is no place of death for Asgall, except for a note written in an older book and the date on the dead man’s shirt today. Both records do not list his place of death.”

I thought for a moment, eating a piece of chocolate, then asked the room, “Can ye list all the deaths that took place on or around June 18, 1775 in Staunton, Virginia and the surrounding areas?”

The computer listed a death a few days before, but twas an unknown man murdered on the three notch’d road.

“Can ye include all the deaths in all of Virginia on this date that might hae involved a discrepancy?”

The room returned with: “I have a discrepancy found on June 18, 1775, it involves the Duke of Awe.”

I said, “Out with it!”

“In Charlottesville, Virginia, on June 18, 1775, there was a brutal slaying of three highwaymen in an attack on the Duke and Duchess of Awe. This attack occurred at the Oakhurst Inn on Main Street. The highwaymen were all killed, the Duchess was injured in the assault.”

My eyes went wide. “Did the Duke and Duchess survive?”

“Yes.”

Wilfrey teased, “I have no idea what is happening, who is the Duke of Awe?”

“Magnus. When he is in the past he sometimes uses his earlier title of Duke.”

I began tae pace. “…Archibald wasna able tae kill Asgall at the brothel as we discussed — show me a map of colonial Virginia!” A map was projected showing Staunton, Virginia. “Mark the brothel.” The location was marked. “Show me the walking route tae Charlottesville!”

It appeared on a road called the Three Notch’d Road. I paced. “…therefore he must have followed Asgall tae Charlottesville and killed him there.”

The dates were a few days apart, this all made sense.

I surmised that Archibald met with Magnus and Kaitlyn. “Ye said this information was also in a note in a book?”

There appeared upon the wall an image of the book, Gulliver’s Travels From Jonathan Swift. Twas the book I had given tae Archibald, I was certain. “Where was it found?”

“In an antique bookshop, Todd & Sootheran in London, in 1852. No one can determine the origins of handwritten notes on two of the interior pages.”

My heart sped up. “This was not seen before?”

“Therein is the discrepancy.”

“Show me the page.”

The image showed a video of the three dimensional book, standing up, then lying on its side and opening at the ribbon place-holder and then flipping three pages tae the half page at the end of the chapter and then centering on the page, and there twas, Archibald’s note, a repeat of the one he had scrawled on the shirt.

Archibald

Killed

Asgall

June 18, 1775

I asked, “Who has the book now?”

The voice in the room said: “It is held at the Armagh Robinson Library.”

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