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I thought back to the last night as I wandered back into the kitchen Went over the events involving ether a big, hearty breakfast

Was Travis really trying to getback over his last days, it did seereat deal of stuff into ured his throat hurt, or he just couldn’t speak

A

nd now…

Now it see It hurt a little that he hadn’t shared this knowledge with me, but there could’ve also been a thousand reasons why he hadn’t

I found o back in ti he knew or suspected Instead I served breakfast out at the gatehouse, and a big lunch right outside in the bailey The guys wolfed down both ht back to work like they were on some kind of a mission… which of course they were

Bit by bit, things were getting done The curtain as finished, the mill tower reinforced The courtyard had been leveled, and Julian had finished fabricating and setting a new keystone, as required on the latest round of bullshit paperwork from the bullshit inspector’s office

I thought about this in the late afternoon, on my way back from toith dinner AfterInstead I’d stopped for a Mediterranean pizza, which oefully short of Aetting

As I pulled through the castle gate I noticed two things right away One, both Julian and Noah’s trucks were inexplicably gone And two…

There was a stranger standing at my front door

I felt uncertain, then frightened, then angry If this was so up a feeeks early, a boot was going up someone’s ass

“Hi! Miss… Lockhart?” the man said cheerfully

He was a short, wispy-haired trespasser in a button-down shirt He looked like a banker, or maybe a lawyer Some poor, unfortunate bastard whose job required them to wear a tie in middle of summer

I sto key into my front door I was in no mood at all

“Miss Lockhart, my name is Jonathan, from the—