Scene 38

Grand Dining Room, Great Hall of X Marks the Scot

The banquet was a lavish affair in honor of the return of all those who had been kidnapped. A silent toast was given to the two men who had not survived.

All the members who had been injured were each awarded the Golden Thistle for the wounds they had received and other medals were given for the actions.

Grant and his men were officially thanked for their role in the rescue of the children. Mikey and Standard seemed honored by the presentation, but Grant seemed to project an aura of entitlement.

We had managed to find the valuables that Spasm had hidden. It turned out that there had indeed been stables attached to the Great Hall, but they had long ago been converted into the garage. Spasm was the only person around old enough to remember them as stables. That also explained why he insisted that a pony be kept in one of the garage bays.

Dinner was followed by dancing. It seemed that all the ladies who had been kidnapped along with us wanted to dance with me. All the men likewise wanted to dance with Ms. Stork. I made it a point to reserve the last dance for her myself.

I noticed that several of the ladies also wanted to dance with Mikey. Although he seemed a bit awkward, he graciously danced with them all.

As I was taking a break from dancing, I heard a woman’s voice from behind me. “Mind if I sit down?”

I turned around and saw Julie. I rose to offer her a seat. “Please do.”

After we were both seated, she spoke again. “I want to thank you.”

“For anything in particular?”

“Well, all of it – the escape and especially the talk in the chapel. You helped me put it all in perspective.”

I took her hand. “I was glad to do it. Now, let me ask you something.”

“What?”

I heard the band start playing the distinctive music. “Do you tango?”