Page 82 of The Romance Game

“The very one,” Royal says with a yawn.

The sisters fix everyone’s coffee and Robyn eyes a plate of lumpen, soggy pastries with concern. “Why do they look like that?”

Royal takes his wife’s hand. “We’re working on baking skills.”

Everyone piles into the front of the bookstore with its cushy chairs. Nutmeg, the cat, weaves around everyone’s legs, selecting who she’ll allow the honor of petting her.

In turn, we give Robyn a rundown of everything we learned, which helps us sift through all the new information.

“But there’s a torn-out page,” I say, showing Robyn the diary. “And there’s a blank note.” I tell them about the envelope with the seal.

“Kind of odd,” Robyn says.

I still haven’t wrapped my head around why he left this to me when everyone else has been helping decode it.

Robyn flips the blank page over and squints at the back of it. “What’s this?”

“A blank page,” Isla says. “Maybe Chip wanted to divide his section from Márcia’s, but that doesn’t explain why there’s a torn-out page.”

“No, if you look carefully...hold it up to the light.” She angles it toward the window.

The sun burns as it comes up over the horizon in a blaze of fiery oranges and reds.

“Red sky at night, sailor’s delight. Red sky in morning, sailors take warning,” Magnus repeats.

“There’s a faint symbol there,” Robyn says.

We all take a look at the diary page and agree that it looks like Chip must’ve sketched something on the torn-out page and the lead from the pencil rubbed off onto what, at first glance, looks like a blank page.

Lally gasps. “I’ve seen that before.” She looks out the window again toward the shoreline. “I saw it on the poker table. It was like a wood burning.”

“Like it had been on fire?”

From the doorway, someone shouts, “Da!” From Harley’s arms, Luke reaches for me.

“You guys are up early.”

“Someone missed you.” Harley smiles.

“Do I want to ask which one of you?” I ask, kissing her on the cheek.

“So, you think it’s a brand of some sort?” Magnus asks Lally, resuming the conversation, which is more like speculation at this point.

“Oh, Uncle Eddie has one of those for the buns at the Plundering Pelican,” Harley says, describing it.

Lally taps the air. “Yes, just like that, but on a much bigger scale.” She widens her arms.

“Where did you see it?” Magnus asks.

“The poker table,” Lally answers.

“On the Dark Seas? Listen, this is not up for debate. You are not boarding that ship again. It’s too dangerous.” Magnus speaks with the authority of a military leader.

“No, the poker table used by the Pirate Defense League.”

“Who?” Harley asks.

“We have a lot to catch up on,” Isla says.

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