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“Because, as I’ve said before, the sex was good. If he hadn’t decided it was time to get married and reproduce, I’d probably still be in his bed.”
Lugh grunted. “Well, at least there’s finally a decent relationship prospect on the horizon.”
“Speaking of which, do you think I should ask Eljin to do a more detailed reading of Rogan? It might be one way to uncover what—if any—secrets he might be harboring.”
Lugh hesitated. “It’s probably better not to. We’ve already dragged enough people into the situation. Besides, he hasn’t really got a legit reason to be talking to Rogan.”
I raised my eyebrows. “He works at the museum, in Rogan’s department. How is that not a reason?”
“Because I’m in charge of Antiquities Retrieval—”
“But if you’re not there, Eljin would report to Rogan, would he not?”
“Yes, but he has no reason to do so right now, and if Roganisinvolved—willingly or not—then we can’t risk any deviance in regular behavior in case it gives him—or whoever might be pulling his strings—warning.”
“It was just a thought,” I said, somewhat glumly.
“A good one, and if he’d been there longer than a few days, worth trying. But I won’t risk the life of your future husband just yet.”
“Just yet?” I said, ignoring the whole “future husband” jibe. “Does that mean you’ll only do so once he’s settled into the job?”
“Well, relic hunting does come with inherent risks.”
As Mom’s death had amply shown. Although in truth, it wasn’t so much relic hunting that had killed her but trusting someone she shouldn’t have. At least, that’s what I’d sensed when I’d found Egeria’s Coin, a good luck token that had been handed down through the generations in my family. Mom had never taken it off, so me finding it in the grit of a walled-off tunnel had been no accident. It was mine by right now, but I hadn’t worn it yet. I couldn’t. Not until her body was laid to rest in the ancient forests of our traditional homelands deep in the heart of Devon.
“When do you want to head out? Immediately?”
He shook his head. “I need to buy caving gear, given all of mine remains in the trunk of my car. Besides, we’ll need all of our stamina for what will no doubt be a long and arduous exploration underground, so we should grab an early night and head out in the morn.”
The kettle boiled, so I made my tea and his coffee, then broke open a packet of chocolate Hobnobs and plucked one free. “You want me to tell Cynwrig to meet us here or in Trefil?”
A somewhat devilish twinkle entered his eyes. “I’m guessingthatwould depend on how well you want to sleep tonight.”
“You’re the one that said we’d need all our stamina for caving tomorrow. While his presence here will undoubtedly mean I’ll be a verysatisfiedwoman in the morning, it’s unlikely I’ll be at peak stamina. The man has a rather large... appetite.”
He laughed. “Trefil it is then. It’ll take him at least three hours to get there, so maybe suggest around ten? In front of the pub?”
I nodded, finished my biscuit, and took another. “You might as well bring dinner home with you. I only bought the essentials.”
“I noticed.” His voice was dry. “We have a kitchen—you could have at least purchased steak and some chips.”
I raised an eyebrow. “Were you going to cook them? Because this little pixie wasn’t.”
“If you had purchased, I most certainly would.”
“Then there’s a supermarket just down the street.”
He rolled his eyes, drained his coffee, and then headed out. I rang Ingrid to get an update on what was happening at the tavern, then called Cynwrig.
He answered almost immediately. “Didn’t expect to hear from you so soon—is something wrong?”
“You mean other than the possibility that my aunt was murdered? No.”
He sucked in a breath. “When did that happen?”
“Sgott went up there yesterday to break the news about Vincentia, but he’s not sure when it actually happened. At the moment, there’s no body.”
“Ah damn, Bethany, I’m sorry.”
