Page 49 of The Swan Syndicate
She carried motion sickness pills, a small amount of ginger, and several tablets of an antacid. After glancing around and not seeing anyone paying attention to her, she slipped an antacid under her tongue.
“I told you to stick with the chicken.” Lando filled their mugs with ale and shoved one toward her. “This will settle your stomach faster than whatever you just took.”
“It never hurts to double down on this type of thing.” She glanced around again. “I hope the others are having better luck than us. Most of these people don’t look like sailors to me.” Her belly gurgled, but with the current noise level, she doubted Lando heard it. If he did, he was gentleman enough not to mention it.
“If MacDuff is still in port, even if he isn’t meeting anyone, he’s likely to come for dinner. Most get tired of the same fare available onboard. Some will even eat the fish.”
“Funny.” But she gave him a wink. She took another sip of ale, not expecting the burp that came afterward. The combination of ale and antacid worked well. Good to know.
They went silent, each in their own thoughts, though Lando never stopped scanning the room. Based on other couples she’d seen her first time in this century, a man and a woman eating at an inn rarely spoke. She quietly snorted. Sometimes not all that different in her time period.
“How much longer should we stay?” Stella asked. “We’re going to start looking strange if we just sit here.”
“Give it another fifteen minutes. Time to finish our ale.”
“Can we try one of the pubs?”
He shook his head. “You know better than to ask.”
She sighed. Next time she’d dress in pants and shirt and wear a hat. Not that she had one, but she’d seen a few at the mercantile. Before she had time to think on it further, Michelson entered the inn. He glanced around as if looking for someoneand walked their way, then dropped something on the floor by their table.
He bent down until he was eye level with them. “Jamie wants everyone back to the ship. No delay.” He picked up whatever he dropped, then surveyed the room and with a light shrug left the inn.
If Lando was surprised by the order, he didn’t show it.
“What do you think that means?” Stella whispered.
“Don’t know. Finish your ale and let’s find out.”
When they reached the galley, everyone from their evening surveillance was there except Beckworth and Fitz. Her stomach gurgled, but she didn’t think it was from the fish.
She sat and didn’t bother waiting for Jamie to start the meeting. “Where’s Beckworth?”
Jamie appeared to be writing a letter. He dipped the quill but paused to look at her. “That’s why I called everyone back. Give me a moment and we’ll begin.” He wrote for another ten long minutes. When he was finished, he sprinkled blotting sand over it then set it aside. He leaned back and took a sip of whiskey. “I wanted to finish this letter to Hensley. I’ll be sending a rider in the morning.”
“It must be important if you’re sending someone rather than using our normal system.” Lando didn’t appear concerned, but she didn’t understand how their typical communication route worked. But if they were changing it up, something important must have happened.
“Beckworth and Fitz might not return for a while, so I’ll tell you what I know, which isn’t much.” Jamie must know enough to send a message to Hensley with a rider, but Stella kept her mouth shut and waited for him to continue.
“Cheval showed up at the pub Beckworth and Michelson were monitoring.”
“They were too far away for us to hear anything,” Michelson added. “At first, it appeared to be nothing more than a night of drinking, eating, and telling stories, based on their laughter. We were considering leaving when someone else joined their table.” He waited until everyone focused on him, and Stella laid a hand over her stomach.
“MacDuff and a bodyguard.”
No one spoke. They simply stared around the table at each other as if trying to make sense out of it. Clearly, they hadn’t expected MacDuff to join the party. But to her, it only meant one thing, and being new to this, decided to just ask.
“You mean they’re working together?”
“That’s what we need to find out.” Jamie finished off his whiskey and pushed the glass away.
Boots running down the stairs made them all turn. Fitz strutted in, and Stella held her breath until Beckworth trailed in a minute later. He looked tired, and when his gaze landed on hers, she knew they had trouble.
“Where were you?” she asked Fitz, but her focus was on Beckworth as he joined them at the table.
Fitz poured a whiskey for himself and one for Beckworth. “Lane and I worked our way through three pubs, but it wasn’t until we left to double back and start over that I caught sight of two men leaving a jolly boat. A third man remained behind with the boat. We managed to step into an alley and watch them. Once they got close to the pubs, it didn’t take long to recognize MacDuff.”
Lane, who rarely spoke, couldn’t seem to hold back. “When we noticed the pub they entered was where Beckworth and Michelson were, we thought it best to notify Jamie.”
