'Are you all right, Dorothea?' George's voice was quiet as he touched my arm.
I nodded, nerving myself to step inside. Now that the time had come I was not so sure of my idea.
'Then let us play the game.' George winked and smiled, with his little scar crinkling across his chin. 'Life is all a game Dorothea, God's chess game and we are the pawns, knights and rooks.'
I had a last look around before I entered. The Grassmarket was busy that evening, as it usually was. Situated right at the foot of the Castle Rock, and where the West Bow and the Cowgait debouched into relatively open ground, tall tenements surrounded the market space, with the site of one of Edinburgh's execution spots to add sordid memories. With the Grassmarket being so close to the garrison, there were a sprinkling of sca
