“La, but I am sorry for the smugglers, whoever they may be. You never saw such determined, stalwart young men as those soldiers and the Coastguards looked like bruisers. If it came to a fight, I would be sorry for the smugglers, pon my soul I would.”
“I’ll take any odds that the smugglers can look after themselves,” a young fop drawled.
“I only wish I could encounter such gamecocks,” the Marchioness retorted. “Now Isabel Calver and her brother can tell us all about them, for it was only yesterday that they went to Dover and conversed with one.”
There were exclamations of surprise at this and several of the company went in search of Isabel and Gilly to question them as to what they had seen.
“And what does our sweet Serena think of all this?” a hateful voice said close to Serena’s ear a
