Destination, Wedding! by Xavier Mayne

Author:Xavier Mayne [Mayne, Xavier]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: gay romance
ISBN: 978-1-63533-198-1
Publisher: Dreamspinner Press
Published: 2017-01-30T05:00:00+00:00

AS THEY exited the restaurant—after blueberry pancakes, of course—Sandler stopped for brief conversations at four different tables. Donnelly dutifully waited in the foyer for these hushed confabs to conclude, which they did in just a few minutes.

Sandler emerged from the restaurant and pointed down the colonnaded corridor to the aft of the ship. “Apparently there’s a card room that’s pretty much been taken over by the staff of several embassies. One of them may have been interested in that pouch.”

“You didn’t tell me how it went with the protocol officer,” Donnelly said as they strode purposefully along the corridor. “I did my best not to listen in.”

“He was, naturally, upset,” Sandler replied, “as much about the theft as about my being the one who let it get swiped. I guess my record helped me out there—this is the first one I’ve ever lost.”

“You were robbed,” Donnelly said seriously. “You didn’t lose it. Someone stole it from you.”

“Still, it’s not something anyone likes to have happen.”

They walked along awhile. “Did he say anything about what you should do about it?”

“I told him Lyndon was on it, and that I’d be working whatever contacts I could find on the ship. He seemed okay with letting it go for a couple of days. But if we don’t find it before we arrive, I think he’s going to pat down every passenger personally.”

“Sounds like fun. Let’s hope it doesn’t come to that.”

“I have a few tricks up my sleeve,” Sandler said, smiling for the first time this morning.

They arrived at the ornately carved doors of the card room, and Sandler grasped the massive brass handle and pulled. The room within was hushed and rather dimly lit for card playing. Heavy tapestries hung on the walls, and rich velvet curtains marked the placement of what were probably windows. The occupants of the room sat in knots of threes and fours, and many cast suspicious eyes at the doorway. No one was holding cards.

“Fun group,” Donnelly whispered.

Sandler nodded but made no reply. He stepped into the room and looked purposefully about, seeming unaware of all of the eyes turned toward him. A quick nod let Donnelly know he had found the person he came to speak to, and he stepped briskly across the room, smiling widely. Donnelly kept right with him, a half step behind.

Sandler approached a group of three men sitting in closely drawn club chairs. Two of them held cups of tea in both hands as if partaking in a ritual of some kind while the one in the middle held a small leather-bound notebook, which he quickly but casually closed as he looked up with a practiced smile.

“Sandler,” the man said softly, in a voice that seemed to Donnelly’s ear that of a serpent rather than a diplomat, “what a delightful surprise to find you here.”

“Oswald,” Sandler replied with a perfunctory nod. “It’s a pity I didn’t know you were on board until this morning. We should be better friends than that.”

“Yes,” Oswald said with a soft sibilance.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.