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“Just three? No, I didn’t.”
She was enthused by her horses. He learned that she was married to the much older Major Eric Browne and that together they owned and ran a breeding stud at Ashford. Originally she was from Kentucky, which was where she had gained her knowledge of bloodstock and horse-racing. He knew Ashford vaguely—it was a small town in Kent, on the road from London to Dover.
The trout arrived, deliciously grilled over a charcoal brazier. It was served with a local dry white wine from up the Marathassa Valley.
Inside the hotel, beyond the patio doors open to the terrace, a group of three men had moved into the bar.
“How long will you have to wait?” asked Rowse. “For the stallions?”
“Any day now, I hope. I worry about them. Maybe I should have stayed with them in Syria. They’re terribly mettlesome. Get nervous in transit. But my shipping agent here is very good. He’ll call me when they arrive, and I’ll ship them out personally.”
The men in the bar finished their whiskey and were shown out onto the terrace to a table. Rowse caught a hint of their accents. He raised a steady hand to his mouth with a forkful of trout.
“Ask yer man to bring another round of the same,” said one of the men.
Across the valley, Danny said quietly, “Boss.”
McCready jackknifed to his feet and came to the small aperture in the stone wall. Danny handed him the glasses and stood back. McCready adjusted focus and let out a long sigh.
“Bingo,” he said. He handed the glasses back. “Keep it up. I’m going back with Marks to watch the front of the hotel. Bill, come with me.”
By then, it was so dark on the mountainside that they could walk around to where the car was still waiting without fear of being seen from across the valley.
On the terrace, Rowse kept his attention fixed entirely on Monica Browne. One glance had told him all he needed to know. Two of the Irishmen he had never seen before. The third—clearly leader of the group—was Kevin Mahoney.
Rowse and Monica Browne declined desserts and took coffee. Small sticky sweetmeats came with it. Monica shook her head.
“No good for the figure—no good at all,” she said.
“And yours should in no way be harmed, for it is quite stunning,” said Rowse. She laughed away the compliment, but not with displeasure. She leaned forward. By the candlelight Rowse caught a brief but dizzying glance of the channel between her full breasts.
“Do you know those men?” she asked earnestly.
“No, never seen ’em before,” said Rowse.
“One of them seems to be staring at you a lot.”
Rowse did not want to turn and look at them, but after that remark it would have been suspicious not to. The dark handsome features of Kevin Mahoney were fixed on him. As he turned, Mahoney did not bother to glance away. Their eyes met. Rowse knew the glance: puzzlement. Unease. As of someone who thinks he has seen a person somewhere before but cannot place him.
Rowse turned back. “Nope. Total strangers.”
“Then they are very rude strangers.”
“Can you recognize their accent?” asked Rowse.
“Irish,” she said. “Northern Irish.”
“Where did you learn to detect Irish accents?” he asked.
“Horse racing, of course. The sport is full of them. And now, it’s been lovely, Tom, but if you’ll excuse me, I’m going to turn in.”
She rose. Rowse followed, his fleeting suspicion allayed.
“I agree,” he said. “It was a wonderful dinner. I hope we can eat together again.”
He looked for a hint that she might want him to accompany her, but there was none. She was in her early thirties, her own woman, and not stupid. If she wanted that, she would indicate it in some small way. If not, it would be foolish to spoil things. She gave him a radiant smile and swept off the terrace. Rowse took another coffee and turned away from the Irish trio to look out across the dark mountains. Soon he heard them retire back to the bar and their whiskey.
“I told you it was a charming place,” said a deep, cultured voice behind him.
