FAN FICTION

GENERAL REGENCY

Previously:

"Come in and say good-bye to my wife and Miss McDowell . Driving off without a proper farewell? That would look strange."

Adair's Connections

Ch. 15

The tavern was a gloomy and smoky place, filled with the noise of drunken voices and clinking glasses. The owner and his daughter were kept busy refiling glasses once any were emptied. The air was heavy with the smell of ale, tobacco, and sweat. The two men at a corner table were the only ones who seemed sober and alert, ignoring the boisterous crowd around them. They eyed each other cautiously, holding their mugs of ale close to their lips, waiting for an opportunity to talk. But every time they opened their mouths, someone would bump into their table or stand too near them, forcing them to be quiet. It was only when the coast was clear that the two men finally spoke.

"So, you are back from Scotland, then?" the first man asked in a low voice, leaning closer to his companion.

The second man nodded and said, "Yes, I am. Not a moment too soon as far as I am concerned. It was a bloody mess up there."

"What happened?" the first man asked, his curiosity aroused as he had unable to go with his companion but had, instead, held down the fort so to speak.

The second man looked around nervously and then whispered, "You remember Adair McDowell, right? The man who hired us to find a ring of the ancient kings of Scotland. And to gather other...information?"

"Of course, I do. How could I forget? He promised us a fortune if we could locate the thing and bring it to him. He said it was his friend's rightful inheritance and a symbol of his power and glory. That is why we were up there in the first place, or should I say you were. Though I really would have preferred to go along, you took a risk meeting up with him by yourself. Someone could have handled things on this end besides me."

"Never mind that, I am back. When I left, he said we had been looking for the wrong item. We are supposed to be looking for a brooch. Also, why he had me up in Scotland, I do not know. I would still be up there if I had not had to come back for family business. And now I am glad I did."

"Why is that?"

"I found out from a William Collins that he overheard a Mr. Bruce McDowell say it was here in England - more specifically at Longbourne , not in Scotland. Collins insisted had done his duty by reporting Mr. Bennet to the authorities."

"He reported his own kin?"

"Yes; and now, back to our boss, he did not tell us that one of their own kin now has it, or at least knows where it is."

The first man gasped and said, "What? Who? How?"

The second man said, "Her name is Caitlin, and she is a cousin of the one who hired us. She married that same Englishman."

" Let me get this straight. Our boss's newest relation, Thomas Bennet, who owns a fairly prosperous estate called Longbourn, now has the brooch is, or so he suspects." The first man's frown greatly deepened and said, "So, what do they need us for?"

"The man says he cannot risk coming to England. He claims the law has an axe to grind with him if he sets foot back in this country. I doubt any of it, but - like I just said - it is what he told me. He sent me there to spy on her and her husband, and to look for any signs of the brooch."

The first man's gloomy look evaporated, he smiled and said, "Have you done any spying yet? Have they been alone?"

"What kind of crazy, insane, stupid question is that? I just arrived back. But, yes, I sent word ahead and had one of our ... friends... check on them; once. Mr. and Mrs. Bennet were with his girls and I guess a cousin or some relation of Mrs. Bennet." The man's words showed he had not been told about Kirsty. "But I have not had time to do anything beyond that because I was told to meet up with you. I am pretty sure they saw my friend though, or at least Mr. Bennet did, because he has not dared watch them again, and said he would not until I arrived back in England."

"Good, good. Let Bennet wait and stew. We have the advantage, my friend. That brooch has to be on his land, or in his own house, and we will get it before they find it. But tell me, what is the deal with this Caitlin? Why do they really care about her?"

The second man shook his head and said, "I cannot pinpoint it, but the way our boss acts you would think he was not kin to her, though the man swore they were."

Neither one had mentioned each other's names could easily be hanged for treason if caught in all their activities. No, handing information over to France about the economic and trade conditions of Britain, such as the production and consumption of goods, not to mention the foreign markets and competitors, alone would put an English rope around their neck. And, if the crown knew about their efforts to keep alive a senseless feud in Scotland, a second rope - if not an axe - would surely find their heads; especially since their efforts in that department were seriously beginning to fizzle out.

"How does that boss of ours expect us to get anything on Longbourn property that belongs up in Scotland? That couple, from what I hear, now have guards, so apparently Mr. McDowell has not been as discreet as he has led us to believe."

"First, watch your tongue, slipping twice on his name is bad enough, do not do it again. Second, there are ways around guards."