Page 28 of The Swan Syndicate #1

“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 someone and 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.”

Fitz nodded. “So, I sent Lane back to report while I waited in case Beckworth and Michelson moved to another pub. Lane made it back to tell me Jamie was lowering a boat. That’s when Michelson came out alone. I waited, expecting Beckworth to come find me.”

“I almost stabbed you with a dagger when you pulled me into the alley.” Beckworth swallowed the whiskey and grimaced as it went down.

“What made you stop?” Fitz asked.

Beckworth grinned. “That sweet scent from your pipe. It could have been anybody, but I decided it best to confirm.”

Fitz chuckled and rubbed his belly. “I appreciate your caution.” He glanced around. “Did Cook leave anything to eat?”

Stella immediately stood. “There should be some cheese and bread handy.” She didn’t want to miss the conversation but needed time to pull her rollercoaster emotions together.

Excitement, fear, and worry for Beckworth made her stomach upset again.

Maybe some bread would settle it. She didn’t have to go far to find something.

Cook kept a spot in the front of the pantry where he kept cheese, rolls, dried meat, and fruit—when they had it—in case someone needed a quick meal.

She was surprised to find a handful of meat pies left over so she grabbed those too.

With no one else in the galley, it was easy to listen as the men continued their discussion.

“We rowed the jolly boat out to the ship moored at the mouth of the bay,” Beckworth started.

Then Fitz took over. “We needed the name, but it wasn’t easy. We counted three watchmen, but no one sounded an alarm.”

“They probably assumed if anyone was interested they’d come directly from the docks.” Beckworth rolled his shoulder. “I can’t remember a time I rowed so much in two days.”

“We decided to approach straight out of the bay from the Daphne , then turn to come in from behind the ship.” Fitz chuckled. “Any closer to the sea and we might have gotten sucked out with the tide.”

Stella shivered at the thought as she set a platter on the table. “Does anyone want coffee?”

They all shook their heads, so she returned to her seat and smiled.

The scene reminded her of being in Baywood with everyone sitting around the kitchen table at the inn, working out their troubles over the Mórdha stones.

Before she’d been kidnapped, she never had anything to add to the topic, though she listened and asked the occasional question.

For some reason, perhaps because she had nothing to contribute, she needed something to keep her busy, especially hearing the precarious situations AJ found herself in.

So, she became the hostess in their home.

It appeared she was picking up her old habits aboard the Daphne .

“We took down names of other ships moored in the bay, but none were familiar to us,” Beckworth continued since Fitz was eating.

“We rowed back toward the Daphne and waited to see if MacDuff’s boat would return to one of the ships.

We didn’t wait long. As we suspected, a boat with three men rowed out to the ship. ”

“So, we have the name of the ship?” Jamie pulled the letter he’d written closer and opened the inkpot.

“The Grey Ghost .”

“Apropos,” Lando grunted.

Jamie scratched out a few words. “What was your impression? Was the meeting of the two men coincidental or planned?”

Beckworth glanced at Michelson. “No question in my mind it was planned. MacDuff walked in and barely scanned the room before walking straight to Cheval.”

“I agree.” Michelson picked at a biscuit. “If it was by chance, I don’t think he would have done anything more than nod or perhaps stop to give their regards before going to their own table. The men at the table seemed to have expected them.”

Beckworth nodded when Jamie looked at him.

“This complicates our mission.” Lando frowned and stood but didn’t go far, deciding to sit on the edge of a table.

Jamie sat back, nursing his whiskey. He flicked a finger at the letter he’d written.

“I have Simmons riding to Waverly in the morning. But even if Barrington sends the manor’s fastest horse, it will be several days before we get a response.

We can consider our options, but until we hear back from Hensley, we stick with our mission.

We’ll stay in port long enough to see which direction MacDuff goes, then we’ll head for Gowerton. ”

“Even if MacDuff turns south? Or what if he sails for Ireland?” Stella asked.

“Ireland is always an option, but I think he’ll stick to the English coast unless British patrols come up this way. Gowerton is where we expect Hensley’s first response, and it’s where we’ll wait for the next one. As long as we know which direction MacDuff sailed, we’ll find him.”