Acting the Innocent Abroad

"Centaur?" she said. "There's no such thing as a centaur. Now a unicorn..."

"No, that's right, there's no such thing as a centaur," the black- bearded Rob agreed, directing a frown at the man who had spoken. Astra guessed that whoever had hired these men to kidnap Horace would have warned them to be very discreet.

"It's a pity, though," she said, taking another sip from her drink and trying not to screw up her face at the taste. "The Baroness will pay well for a unicorn, but a centaur would of course have been worth much more."

"So you'll have a lot of money on you, to pay for this unicorn?" Rob asked.

"Oh yes," Astra answered, trying to sound guileless.

"Excuse us just a moment, Astra," Rob said. He then had a whispered conversation with Fat Jack. Astra guessed that they were debating whether to sell her the centaur, risking incurring the wrath of whoever they were working for, or simply to rob her.

Evidently they arrived at a decision, for Rob said:

1. "Perhaps I spoke too hastily before. We think we may know where there's a centaur being kept."
2. "If you'll come with us, we know where there's a unicorn for sale." Astra thought they had probably decided to try to lure her somewhere where they could safely rob her.

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