"I’m impressed. I didn’t think many places down here served this." The young woman blushed again and Morgan smothered a flattered smile as she answered.

"’Tis from the reserve in the cellar, ma’am, we’re not supposed to offer it, but ye seemed to know what ye wanted." Morgan nodded and flashed a grin at her.

"Yes, that I do. Thank you very much…?" Morgan let her voice lilt on the last word, and the young woman ducked her head slightly, looking up at her through her eyelashes.

"Liz," she said softly. Morgan smiled at her.

"Thank you very much, Liz. I greatly appreciate the thought." The girl turned to move away and Morgan reached out a hand to stop her. She received a stunned look in response and Morgan smiled at her reassuringly. "I was just wondering if you could answer a question for me?"

"If I can," Liz answered quietly. Morgan cocked her head a little.

"I’m looking for an Irishman that I was told was staying here?" Liz’s expression went stony and she started to back away.

"Is he a friend of yours?" The young woman’s voice quivered a little and Morgan quickly shook her head.

"No, not at all. I was told that I might want to do business with him, but from your reaction I’m going to guess that I wouldn’t." The bartender hollered Liz’s name and she glanced furtively over her shoulder. Morgan reached into her pouch, pulled out a silver coin, and reached out to tuck it into the barmaid’s hand. "Tell you what, I’m just going to hang around and enjoy my wine. If he comes in will you point him out to me?" Liz nodded and tucked the coin into her bodice then slipped away before the large man behind the bar could yell at her again.

Morgan sat in the shadows and sipped at her wine, casually watching the room’s occupants. Occasionally a brave man would start towards her table, but cool looks turned them all around. After a couple of hours the room started to empty out and she still had no sign from her barmaid that Joseph had arrived. Sighing softly she finished off the little bit of wine in her glass and set it down, sitting up and stretching the kinks out of her back. A dark eyebrow arched up as she spied Liz making her way patiently through the slowly emptying tables. She leaned back in her chair and motioned for Liz to take a seat, momentarily surprised when the young woman eagerly sat down with an exhausted sigh.

"E’s gone drinking somewhere else tonight," the barmaid said, a relieved tone creeping into her voice. Morgan cocked her head at her.

"Will you tell me about him, then?" Liz then looked back over her shoulder then glanced down at her hands for a moment, before meeting her eyes briefly.

"Ya won’ be wantin’ ta do business w’ ‘at un, Ma’am," she said quietly. "E’s a mean un, always rough on any ‘f us workin’. ‘E left a welt on Mary’s face when someone tripped her and she spilled some lager on ‘im." Morgan’s hands balled up into fists under the table as Liz continued. "We all feel sorry for ‘at gal that ‘e married, seems a right shame that anyone should ‘ave to live with ‘at man." Liz’s voice dropped to a whisper. "They say ‘at she’s turned ‘im away ev’ry night since t’marriage." Morgan’s eyes widened and Liz met her gaze, nodding emphatically. "Ev’ry day ‘at passes ‘at Irishm’n’s temper gets shorter and shorter. We’re all just grateful ‘e went somewhere else tonight." Another barmaid scurried up.

"C’mon, Liz, break’s over," she said quietly. Liz nodded and pushed herself away from the table. Morgan held up her hand to stop her.

"Would you put the wine away until tomorrow, Liz? I’ll be back in the evening." The barmaid’s eyebrows pulled together but she nodded and corked the bottle before grabbing it and the glass. "I think I need to gather some more information so I can warn my friend about this man." Morgan held out a couple of coins and Liz palmed them, nodding once before turning and heading back across the room. Morgan pushed her chair back and shoved herself to her feet, pulling her cloak back around her shoulders before moving slowly back across the common room.

The cool night air was refreshing as she strode quickly across the street to where Jacob and the other members of her crew waited. Jacob and Jonathan stepped out from the shadows of the crates and looked at Morgan expectantly.

"Jacob, Jonathan, do me a favor and keep up your watch, but also follow him. Joseph went drinking somewhere else tonight, so tomorrow if he leaves I want you to follow him and let me know what he does. I want to know how he acts, what he drinks, everything. I won’t be able to spend too much time down here during the day…I’m too conspicuous, so I’ll wait and come down tomorrow evening." The two men nodded quickly and Jonathan turned and melted away into the night. Jacob leaned against the crate and looked down at her.

"You alright, Mor’?" Morgan nodded slowly.

"For now. I can’t say that I liked what I heard in there, Jacob." The tall man nodded slowly, a pensive look on his face.

"We’ll do whatever you want us to do, Morgan. You just say the word." Morgan glanced up at him in surprise and he flashed her a grin.

"I’m not the only sailor that wants to see his Cap’n happy, Morgan. The crew decided on their own that they were gonna keep an eye on the lass." Morgan dropped her eyes to the ground and blinked away the tears as her eyes started to burn.

"Tell them I said thanks, Jacob. It’s nice to know that." Morgan patted the tall man on the arm and started away, pausing briefly as Jacob’s voice trailed after her.

"Don’t give up, Morgan." She nodded slowly but didn’t turn around, continuing to where Mercury was waiting. Swinging up into the saddle she nudged him into a slow walk and started back up the hill to the Stromwell’s.

Carolyn sat behind her desk in her office, looking over the books of her business, making sure there wasn’t anything amiss, eyes occasionally drifting to the sealed letter she had received earlier. She was dressed to kill, expecting a visit from Henry at any time, and every so often she would check the neckline of her dress, adjusting the amount of cleavage or changing the lay of the teardrop pendent nestled there. Soon she heard movement in the servants’ hall that ran along the back of her office and looked towards the wall expectantly. After a long moment a section of the wall swung open and Henry stepped through, closing it quietly behind him.

"Did anyone see you?" she asked sharply. He glared at her briefly as he shook the rain out of his jacket and motioned at the window across the room.

"I don’t think anyone even looked at me with the way the rain is coming down, Carolyn." She pushed herself to her feet and moved around the desk, watching with a calculated eye as Henry’s gaze immediately focused on the shadowy curves revealed by her dress. She let an enticing sway move her hips as she approached him, smiling as he stepped forward and pulled her forcibly against him.

"Ah-ah-ah, Henry, business before pleasure, dear," she said laughingly, flattening her hands against his chest to maintain some distance. A slight pout tugged at his lips as he loosened his grip on her reluctantly.