[b]Mount Pleasant, SC[/b]


"Good afternoon, madam," Sir Thomas Bennett said with a gracious bow.

He and Ames stood in the doorway of Mrs. Abigail Cross' boarding house. The little old lady with the dour expression before them had to be Mrs Cross. Her wrinkled face and toothless mouth gave her the appearance of one who had sucked on a lemon for far too long. A pair of spectacles stood on the bridge of her nose and threatened to fall off due to her stooped posture.

"There's no rooms for rent," she shouted. Before eyeing Ames and Bennett, making an assumption, and scowling. "Especially not to bloody sodomites."

"I have no interest in renting a room," Bennett said as politely as he could. "Nor do I have an interest in... the sodomic arts. I am here on an inquiry. My name is Sir Thomas Bennett and this is my associate, Sergeant William Ames and we are here at the request of His Majesty's government."

Ames held out a piece of paper written by Lord North's secretary that empowered them with the right to search whatever and whomever they saw fit in the course of their investigation. The letter was stamped with Lord North's personal seal, that of the Exchequer's office, and even the seal of His Majesty's Government. Mrs. Cross took it into her twisted hands and eyed it. Bennett had very little optimism that she could read beyond very basic words, but she would know the seals for sure.

"Colonel Stephen Butler," Bennett said as Ames gingerly plucked the paper from Mrs. Cross' hands. "We understand he recently boarded here."

"That he did, sir." The old lady's sour tone had turned deferential after seeing the letter. "He was a good man, kept to himself. Paid his rent."

"How long ago did he stop coming round?" Ames asked.

"It's been almost a month." The old lady still gave Ames a withering look despite their newfound entree. "It's been known to happen, sirs. Renters come and go. He was paid up and I had too many paying people in need of a place to stay."

"So his room has been rented out?" Asked Bennett.

"For a a week now. I held it as long as I could."

"Did he leave anything behind?" 

"A whole box of belongings."

Bennett flashed his best pleasing smile. The same smile had worked on judges, clients, and nobility alike. 

"Madam, I have a proposition for you."


---


Back at his law office, Bennett sat behind his desk as Ames upturned the box and spilled its contents onto the desk' surface. Clothing, scraps of paper, and other various items.

"I think we may have gotten cheated out of two pounds, Sergeant," Bennett said as he looked at the assortment of items on his desk.

"Better than the four pounds the lady was requesting," Ames said with a chuckle. "What an old crone."

Bennett grunted in agreement as he and Ames started to sift through the items. He found a waistcoat with a few odd stains on it that he set aside. There was a pocketwatch as well. Bennett stared at it for a long moment. This was a rare item indeed. He'd seen advertisements with rewards up to ten and twenty pounds for the recovery of lost and stolen watches. He weighed it carefully in his hands before flipping it open. The glass inside was cracked and the watch was not running. He wound it up but found it still did not work. His eyes then moved to the etched inscription. To Stephen: Come Home Victorious, or Not At All.

"What do you make of this," Bennett asked Ames as he handed him the watch. 

"A lovely sentiment," Ames said wryly. "With that type of affection, it could only be a gift from a parent."

"And judging by the state of it, the dear colonel cherishes the gift," Bennett said with a touch of sarcasm. 

"Look at this," Ames said as he passed Bennett a slip of paper.

It was more a scrap, torn off a larger sheet with something hastily written on it. 

[i]Cpt. B. Roundtree -- 60 Pounds
Augusta [/i]

"Augusta," Bennett said softly. "Where is that?"

"Across the river in Georgia," said Ames. "Not exactly the wilderness, but a far cry from Charlestown."

Bennett nodded. Sixty pounds was a substantial sum of money, just a shade under the sixty-two pounds Bennett paid Ames per annum. If this B. Roundtree owed Colonel Butler sixty pounds -- or even better f Colonel Butler was indebted to this man for sixty pounds -- then he was a man they needed to talk to.

"Sergeant," Bennett said as he placed the paper back on the desk. "Have the boy downstairs fetch my riding boots and coat. I don't look forward to the ride to Augusta in this kind of weather."