He looked over the missive once more; it appeared to be in order. Adrian had come for it himself, this time. “Have you finished the letter, Captain?” “Yes.” He wondered if Drinkwater had been able to make any sense of his veiled reference to espionage. It was a long chance; the man would be knee-deep in the thousand important details that were by rights a captain’s responsibility, and the reference would probably slip past him. Even so, there was one small consolation: if Adrian had detected anything wrong with that first letter, he would not be standing there waiting for this one. “Twenty thousand for me and five each for my men,” he said, passing the paper out through the bars. “That first seems a bit high, surely?” “The three of you have already been more troublesome than any of my previous guests.” “I’m delighted to hear it.” Adrian took the page closer to the lantern outside—not, fortunately, close enough to warm the paper. “This appears satisfactory.
