"What sort of questions?" Gifford guided her through the crush of brilliantly dressed people.
"About your watch."
Gifford gave her a startled glance. "What in blazes does my watch have to do with anything?"
"I'm not certain yet, but I would very much like to know why you chose the motif of a sea serpent for the decoration."
"Damnation." Gifford came to an abrupt halt near the open French doors. His eyes were very intent as he searched her face. "You know, don't you?"
"I believe so," Olympia said gently. "You are Captain Edward Yorke's great-grandson."
Gifford ran a hand through his carefully tousled hair. "Hellfire and damnation. I had a feeling you would guess the truth. Something about you made me think that you would add up all the parts and get the correct sum."
"You have no cause to be alarmed, Mr. Seaton. I see no reason why we cannot work together in this matter." Olympia eyed him curiously. "May I ask why you have kept your identity a secret?"
"I never lied about my identity," Gifford said wearily. "And neither did Demetria. Our family name is Seaton. We just never told Chillhurst who our great-grandfather was."
"Why ever not?"
"Because Captain Jack Ryder was my great-grandfather's sworn enemy, that's why not," Gifford burst out in a savage snarl. "Ryder believed that Yorke betrayed him to the Spanish but it's not true. He was betrayed by someone else. In any event Ryder escaped that damned Spanish vessel. He went back to England a rich man."
"Mr. Seaton, please, you will cause a scene."
Gifford flushed a dull red and glanced quickly about to see if anyone had overheard him. "Lady Chillhurst, could we discuss this outside in the gardens? I do not want half the ton listening to this conversation."
"Yes, of course." Worried by the obvious volatility of his emotions, Olympia allowed Gifford to lead her out into the balmy night. "Mr. Seaton, I understand your interest in the missing treasure, but I do not comprehend why you have been so secretive. That old feud between your great-grandfather and Chillhursts was finished long ago."
"You are wrong, madam. It was never finished." Muscles bunched in Gifford's arm. His hand clenched. "The Earl of Flamecrest vowed eternal vengeance against my family. He swore that he would never allow Edward Yorke to get his half of the treasure they had buried together on that damned island. He also swore that his descendents would honor his vow in the name of family honor."
"How do you know all this?"
"My grandmother left an accounting of the entire affair together with my great-grandfather's half of the map."
"So you do have the other half of the map?" Olympia asked eagerly.
"Of course. My grandmother left it to my father." Gifford's mouth twisted. "It was the only thing my father managed to leave to Demetria and me. He probably would have pawned that along with everything else if there had been a market for partial treasure maps."
"What did you learn from your grandmother's account of the affair?"
"Not much. Apparently she made an overture to the Flamecrest clan after her father's death. It was rebuffed. She urged my father to try again some day." Gifford sneered faintly. "For the sake of the old friendship that had once existed between Yorke and Ryder."
Olympia peered at him, trying to read his face in the deep shadows. "She tried to make peace?"
"Trust a female to try something so useless. The Flamecrests have never wanted to mend the quarrel. Harry, Captain Jack's son, sent word to my grand-mother saying he intended to honor his father's sworn vow. He would not allow the treasure to fall into the hands of any descendent of Edward Yorke. Claimed it was a matter of family honor."
"That's a Flamecrest for you," Olympia mused. "An emotional lot."
"It was not right," Gifford whispered fiercely. "Flamecrest and his family have prospered but Demetria and I had nothing. Nothing."
"Neither did the present Earl of Flamecrest until he had the wit to turn his business over to his son," Olympia retorted. "Sir, there is another thing I do not comprehend. If you hated my husband's family so much, why on earth did your sister consent to marry Chillhurst?"
"She never intended to go through with the marriage," Gifford said. "In fact, she never intended to get herself engaged to him in the first place."
"I do not understand."
Gifford sighed impatiently. "I convinced Demetria to arrange an introduction. We had heard that Chillhurst was searching for a bride. Demetria found a way to get herself introduced to him through a connection that would intrigue him."
"Felix Hartwell."
"Yes. She learned that Hartwell was his trusted man of affairs and she found a way to meet him. Demetria is very beautiful." Brotherly pride shone in Gifford's eyes. "No man can resist her."
"So Mr. Hartwell saw to it that Demetria received an invitation to the Isle of Flame."
"Correct. Naturally, as her brother, I was invited to go with her. I thought that if I had an opportunity to search the Flamecrest family castle, I might be able to turn up the missing half of the map."
"What happened?"
Gifford laughed sourly. "We were not in the house more than a few days before Chillhurst asked Demetria to marry him. Demetria accepted because we had not yet found the map. I told her that I just needed a little more time."
"Good heavens," Olympia murmured. "I'd had no notion that Chillhurst had gone about searching for a wife in such a logical, practical fashion. It is not at all like him, you understand."
"On the contrary. It is very like him from what I know of him. The man has no blood at all in his veins."
"That's not true. I believe he must have formed a tendre for your sister," Olympia said slowly. "He would never have asked her to marry him otherwise."
Gifford looked at her as if she were a simpleton but he did not argue. "Be that as it may, the fact is, he did ask her to marry him. Which gave me more time to hunt for the missing half of the map."
"Which you never found," Olympia said with cool satisfaction. "It serves you right, sir, if you do not mind my saying so. You should never have gone about it in such a sneaky manner."
"I had no choice," Gifford raged softly. "Captain Jack Ryder refused to allow my great-grandfather to hunt for his share of the treasure out of sheer spite and all of his descendents have been just as spiteful."
Olympia wrinkled her nose. "It is quite obvious that we are dealing with two passionate, highly emotional families, not just one. I think the time has come to make peace. Do you not agree, Mr. Seaton?"
"Never." Gifford's eyes flashed with fury. "Not after the way Chillhurst treated my sister. I shall never forgive or forget."
"For heavens sake, Mr. Seaton, it does not sound as though your sister particularly wanted to marry him in the first place. And as for yourself, you were just using her and her engagement as an excuse to prowl through the Flamecrest castle. You can hardly act the offended party."
"The point is Chillhurst insulted her," Gifford said with righteous indignation. "He ended the engagement in a most cruel fashion simply because he discovered she was not an heiress. I only wish he had not been too cowardly to meet me on the field of honor."
Olympia touched his arm. "I realize this is a very emotional subject for you. Please believe me when I say that I am certain Chillhurst did not end the engagement merely because he learned that your sister was not an heiress."
"Oh, I know he insists that he ended it because he and Demetria did not suit, but that was a lie. I know the truth. He was quite content with the engagement for several days. Then, one afternoon, he simply ended it without any warning."
"No warning at all?"
Gifford's eyes slitted angrily. "Demetria and I and Lady Kirkdale were ordered to pack and leave within the hour."