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finds it necessary to have a secret that makes him a mystery to those around him.”
    A frown creased her brow as she thought. “I can see that I misjudged, or more correctly, prejudged Alejandro. He is not all carefree and teasing, for beneath that thin veneer lies a man of considerable depth.”
    She could see the captain had a comment about that, but suddenly she remembered what she had forgotten. “Hout! I have left without my traveling bags.”
    “Don’t fret. I made arrangements to have them delivered to the inn. They should arrive shortly. And now, if you will come with me, we will be on our way to Dessin’s Inn, and that hot cup of tea I promised you.”
    Kenna felt a sudden panic, although she did her best to hide it. Before she left Inchmurrin Island, she had hidden money for France in the false bottom of one of the traveling bags, and her gold coins in the other. How could she have been so foolish as to leave it on the ship? It was too late now to do anything more than to pray for its safety.
    He offered her his arm, and she started up the cobbled street, walking alongside Captain Fischer, with his red beard, cocked hat and a saber swinging at his side.
    Along the quays the people of Calais bustled and stirred, unaware that Kenna had only recently arrived, and unconcerned with why she had come. She saw dozens of foreign sailors in peculiar attire speaking inguttural tones that were harsh and grating. Robust fish-wives hurried by carrying baskets of lampreys, herring and capelin on their heads, calling out in shrill voices to advertise their wares as they passed crewmen in woolen caps and knee-length, baggy trousers, peasants in heavy coats of sheepskin, the heavy sound of their wooden shoes clattering as they tripped across the cobblestone streets.
    They passed well-dressed tradesmen dressed in black, and wealthy merchants wrapped in long fur coats, and were almost run down by one king of the city’s merchants, who sped along in his two-horse cabriolet, a whip snapping. They paused at a street corner, to watch a fine-featured lady carried past in her sedan chair, a fur robe tucked around her and her hood lined with velvet.
    The streets were still wet as they passed several men sitting upon crates and playing cards. They looked to be from one of the ships in the harbor, judging from their earrings, curly beards and tarred pigtails. When one of the men began to eye her in a way that made her uncomfortable, she pulled her cape a bit closer, thankful that she had the captain’s arm, and his sword beside her, instead of being left to her own devices to make her arrangements to go to Paris.
    By the time she saw the sign swaying in the breeze over the door of the inn, Kenna thought she had seen every class and nationality of personhood that dotted the earth.
    As soon as they stepped inside the inn, they learned that Monsieur Dessin and his wife had gone to a weddingin Amiens, but their daughter, Celeste, would take excellent care of the mademoiselle.
    Captain Fischer waited until Kenna was settled cozily at a table near the fireplace in the embrasure of a window overlooking the garden. Although few flowers were in bloom at this time of year, it was a lovely spot nonetheless.
    “I shall be very comfortable here, Captain, so you may take your leave with an easy conscience.”
    Once Captain Fischer was gone, Celeste brought Kenna a cup of tea and a basket of pastries.
    “Would you care for anything more, mademoiselle ?”
    “No, thank you, Celeste. You seem to have thought of everything.”
    She could see that the sun had broken through the clouds, and now shed its pale, wintry light over the garden. While Kenna relaxed and let the warmth of the fire seep down to her chilled bones, she studied several paintings depicting scenes of Paris that were hanging on three of the walls, and one intricately woven Aubusson tapestry that decorated the other. With its exposed beams and old stonework, Dessin’s Inn was charming