Gift of Gold

his beer. “Easy to see why Verity admires Caitlin.”
    Jonas straightened. “I think it’s time I put a stop to this.”
    “Good luck,” Emerson murmured behind him.
    Jonas strode out into the dining room and stopped at the table. All three women looked at him as if he’d just dropped in from another planet. He looked pointedly down at Verity.
    “Time to close out the till,” he said.
    Verity smiled cheerfully. “I’ll take care of it later, Jonas. Go on home with Dad if you’re ready to leave.”
    So much for plan
A, Jonas thought grimly.
Time to drop back to plan B.
This one required more subtlety. It was based on the principle of “if you can’t beat ‘em, join ‘em.” He noticed the piece of paper in front of Verity.
    “What’s the map for?” he asked.
    “I’m going to visit Caitlin on Monday. Tavi just finished drawing me a little map so I can find the house.”
    Jonas felt something clench in his stomach. He shot a glance at Evanger, who just looked back, at him with her cold, expressionless eyes. “Is that right?” he asked softly. “How are you going to manage the time away from the No Bull?”
    “It won’t be a problem,” Verity assured him. “I’ll be back in plenty of time on Tuesday to open for lunch.”
    Jonas tried a last ditch effort. “I thought you and I might drive up into the wine country next Monday.”
    Verity raised her eyebrows, clearly surprised. Jonas couldn’t blame her. He was a little surprised himself. He hadn’t planned anything at all for next Monday until approximately sixty seconds ago.
    “Maybe next week,” Verity temporized politely.
    It was Caitlin Evanger who stepped in to resolve the situation. “Why don’t you come with Verity, Mr. Quarrel?” she suggested smoothly. “You could drive over to the coast with her and see some of the wine country en route. I have plenty of room at my home for both of you.”
    Verity smiled enthusiastically. “That’s very kind of you, Caitlin.” She rounded on Jonas. “Isn’t it? Do you want to come with me on Monday?”
    Jonas sorted through his limited set of options and then met Caitlin Evanger’s eyes. “Sure,” he said coolly. “Why not?”
     
    Much later that night Tavi sat on the edge of Caitlin Evanger’s bed, massaging her employer’s ruined leg with firm, tender hands.
    “So it worked,” Tavi observed with a sigh.
    “I told you it would.” Caitlin adjusted herself on the pillows and sipped the glass of brandy she routinely used to help put herself to sleep. “I knew Quarrel would never allow Verity to visit me by herself. Not if there was an alternative. He doesn’t like me and he likes even less the fact that Verity and I are on friendly terms. But he knew tonight that he couldn’t stop her from spending the night at my home. He chose the only alternative he had.”
    “The only alternative you offered,” Tavi clarified, her fingers working deeply into the atrophied muscles.
    “I’ve told you, Tavi, that as soon as I saw the way he looked at Verity, I knew she was the key to manipulating him. The plan I’ve been putting together is almost complete.”
    “Now you’ll have a chance to test him with the rapier.”
    “I have to be certain. I have to know for sure that he still has the talent and that he can be made to use it when the time comes.” Caitlin shifted again on the pillows. “That’s enough massage for tonight.”
    Tavi halted and looked at Caitlin in surprise. “You said your leg was hurting badly this evening.”
    “It is. But the pain is good, Tavi.” Caitlin smiled her humorless smile. “Don’t you see? I use it to keep my attention trained on what I’m going to do. There is nothing like pain to focus one’s mind. Planning an execution takes a certain amount of fortitude, I’ve discovered.”

 
    Chapter Eight
     
    The nearest signs of human habitation were several miles away as Verity and Jonas drove through the tiny village indicated on Tavi’s map. They glided past a small general store and gas station, a post office, and a handful of gray, weathered cottages. A scattering of unprosperous looking fishing boats sat huddled in the microscopic harbor waiting for a tide that never seemed to arrive.
    Verity, who had been in a relentlessly cheerful mood since she and Jonas had set out from Sequence Springs, found the village charmingly picturesque.
    “I should have brought my camera,” she exclaimed, enchanted by the fishing boats. “Isn’t that a