I join the rest in the parlor, waiting on the dinner bell. Checking my watch and the level of the sun, I surmise that the island uses Greenwich time. A glance at the massive wooden clock standing along one wall verifies it for me.
The wait for dinner seemed interminable: I kept busy with some of the old tomes on the shelves of the room, and stoking up the fireplace for the chill of the late afternoon. One of the servants seemed miffed that I had done so; she positively sniffed when she caught sight of me poking at the growing fire.
"Madam, please allow the staff to maintain the premises." She looked me in the eye, with a withering gaze.
"Listen, slave, I'm doing something I enjoy, and you weren't around. Why are you getting your panties in a bunch about it?" Little brat needed correcting and an attitude adjustment. I started her down after a few seconds, she mumbled an apology and curtseyed to me before returning to whatever she was doing.
Looking at my competitors made me half laugh inside. I hope they all brought along enough weaponry and such; if not, they were unlikely to last out the week. Michael was haughty and acted as though he had already won. Jason was a weakling and a poorly-trained or inexperienced thief. And now Luisa; a pretty little girl with a rough edge. It seemed likely she'd been knocked around some, and that she was, now what was that quaint American term? Ah, yes; "rode hard and put away wet." If she hadn't already killed, she would be trying soon. Hmmm... she might just have the potential to be a partner to start with. I was not about to be a slave for Jason or Michael, or for Luisa, either, for that matter. I had managed to lay some of the catalyst on both sides of her hand and on her neck; it was now coursing through her blood system, as it was with the three others.
The wooden rocker seemed the safest chair in the room; any of the overstuffed chairs or sofas could easily hide restraint devices. Better to establish this chair as "mine" for the duration. Safety first.