Reaching it, she crawled off her primitive craft,emerged out of the water wading on her knees,and kneeling before us in the sandshe said she was sent ...o you as a gift,but asked for the privilege of being brought to you alive,for she had a message to deliver to you,my revered Princess,before willingly giving to youher body, her life and her meat.Such privilege must certainly be earned,so we had to test whether she was sincere,and whether she was worthyfor you to lend your earto her wordsbefore. New owners bought the mine a few months ago. They’re bringing in slaves to do the mining, and he wants nothing to do with overseeing slaves. If he could afford it, he would have quit when they brought in the first batch of slaves,” he explained.Unfortunately, the location was in southeast Missouri, requiring a lengthy overland trip to reach it. I promised to reach him as soon as I could, but needed someone sooner to get the mine started.“You need a mining engineer,” he said. “How far are you. Several minutes passed before Channy broke the silence. “So David you’re not married yet – anyone on the horizon?” I raised my left hand to show a naked ring finger. “Nope and no one” I replied. She raised an eyebrow. “C’mon I only just got back from South Africa last week!” I protested. “So why can’t you meet someone over there?” Gilly asked. “Who says I haven’t? Besides you know what my job is like.” As a senior engineer my job took me all over the world. I’d had my share of relationships and. Becky lay there watching her friend dress. Kate was aware of the younger woman's eyes upon her. As she finished dressing Becky spoke again. "Do you want to do something together this evening?" Kate looked at Becky. The younger woman was nervous, almost shaking, a pleading look in her eyes. Kate sat down on the edge of the bed. "Are you sure you feel well enough? "Not now, but by this evening the hangover will be gone." "Okay. Why don't you come be my place about seven. I'll have dinner for.