"He was on the verge of tears, and I felt terrible for the anxiety my games had caused him. He was obviously much more sensitive to my probes than I e...er sensed or imagined. But I had to handle this carefully. I couldn't just come right out and admit to manipulating his thinking.I stood up and asked, "How about a nice hot cup of tea, Kevin! Come on in the kitchen."He followed me in and sat at the kitchen table while I heated some water in the microwave and put some herbal teabags in the mugs. I. "I'll take a vinhos verdes," Eduardo responded as she arrived at the table. "What are you looking for in Lisbon?" A woman," Clegg answered.Eduardo peered around the room A good half of the couples there looked as though they were looking for a room you could rent by the hour. He leant forward. "That should pose no problem in Lisbon, Mr Freddie. Unless of course you seek a particular one."Clegg smiled, tolerantly. He summarised what he knew from his own researches and what Sister Sarah had been. " And what time is it now?"Alex watched as the other employees in data entry tried to hide their eyes from this public embarrassment. "It's 8:37AM, sir. I'm sorry for being late sir. I... uh... had medical difficulties." I see. Does that have anything to do with those ridiculous bumps on your back?" Yes!" Alex had thought up his excuse ahead of time. "It is a back brace recommended by my doctor for a bad back. That's why I was late this morning." Is that so?" Mr. Farley sounded. We had plenty of time to get there, so we did not push the horses. We arrived at the town the day before the usual market day. I double checked the scales, the weights, and the packages of mother-of-pearl. I had 43 pounds of the stuff, and I hoped to turn all of that into amber at this market.I had never been to this town before, so I didn't know what to expect, exactly. We waited until mid-morning to enter the market place and went directly to the section dealing in luxuries. My wives had.