'All his life', eh? So he has home-field-advantage; and my goal must be exploration of the tunnels and elsewhere. A home this old, with all the mystery that such succession of ownership entailed, had to have many surprises. I was going to discover them! Tonight and tomorrow would be spent exploring the island and buildings. And meeting potential allies.

Luisa finally joined us at the table; she was obviously disappointed at the first course of dinner. DId she believe that this soup appetizer was the entire dinner? Perhaps so. But I was looking forward to the next course, hopefully a beef or pork roast of some kind.

As Luisa started to eat, she began to make some small talk; I responded brightly to her words, as I listened to all her answers. They would assist in giving a read on her personality.

Her lateness to dinner could have had many causes, but Jason missing as well gave some kind of hint. His obvious immaturity and the view of his face when he met the young woman told much about him. He was clearly a youngster who was thinking with his little head, thinking his cock could conquer. He would clearly learn differently over the next days, and I did not expect him to last even a few days.

The wine Michael offered was fair, not a bad year, but obviously had not been well-stored; the flavor suffered from being overly-cooled in storage. I think I'll check into the cellars later as to why. The boorish host didn't bother to offer any wine to Luisa; this was a poorly thought-out move. He was making her angry.

The cook came in shortly, bearing a domed serving plate. Once on the table, she removed the lid to expose a lovely lamb roast, fragrant with warm mint jelly. She carved the roast, and offered a thick slice to Michael, then served me and Luisa. Sampling the meat, I welcomed the pleasure across my palate. Properly seasoned and cooked, it was excellent.

Passing on dessert, I gave my regards to my opponents. I had much to do this evening and tomorrow, and was going to be dressed for getting "down and dirty" tonight.