“It’s the truth,” Jane said. “But it doesn’t stop me from worrying. It’s one of those times.” Eve was still looking at her. “Svangar. It’s a township near the Congo. I won’t be able to see him for a while and I miss him.” She grinned. “And that’s all I’m going to say. Now you’ve squeezed it all out of me just like you did when I was a teenager. All you had to do was take one look at me.”

“Because I know you.”

“Yes, you do. No one could know me better.” She chuckled. “In fact, I had a discussion with MacDuff about you and Joe and Fiona just today. And I made it clear to him for the zillionth time that I belong with you guys. Maybe I got through to him this time.”

“Or maybe you didn’t,” Eve said. “MacDuff’s family is important to him, too. I’ve told you that I don’t mind sharing.”

“But I do. I’ve always known you were special. Stop trying to get rid of me.”

“Not a chance,” she shot back. “Look, I can’t blame MacDuff for being persistent. You have a history with him from the time you showed up at the castle because you’d been having dreams about Cira, his ancestress, who came from Herculaneum and later established the MacDuff family. I was worried about you, too, since they started when you were only a teenager.”

“I stopped having the dreams. They eventually went away. It was probably something I read or saw on TV.”

“That’s what Joe and I told you, but you seemed driven. We were glad when they went away. But they left that relationship with MacDuff behind. You’ve been friends for a long time.”

“And I’m grateful. I love it here, even when he and Caleb persist in sparring off each other. I just want him to stop trying to adopt me.”

Eve laughed. “I believe you can handle MacDuff. So now tell me what unusual thing Caleb has done that made you run to tell me how usual he’s being.”

“A kind of difficult job with MI6.” Jane shrugged. “I told you, nothing that he’s in the least worried about.”

“Except where it concerns you,” Eve said. “Then he does worry. Like a tiger on the prowl.”

“He’s not prowling now, which must mean I’m safe here at MacDuff’s Run.” She smiled. “I just felt the need to talk to you. Maybe I’ve been bored this week and felt a little lost.”