Authors: Elizabeth Moon

Tags: #sf_space, #Action & Adventure, #Fiction, #General, #Adventure, #Space Opera, #Science Fiction, #High Tech, #Space ships, #Space warfare, #Mutiny

Trading in Danger (41 page)

Brown, speckled with green and red and yellow and something that looked like a dirty piece of glass. Ky poked it with the knife, prodded it loose, and it fell with a faint clink onto the cake plate.

“Oh, a holiday cake!” Mehar said suddenly. “It’s got little presents in it.” She picked up the object, wiped it off with a napkin, and they all stared.

Gleaming, flashing, the faceted object lay in her hand… several carats of blue-white diamond, perfectly cut.

“Holy… whatever,” Mehar breathed. She tipped the stone back onto the plate. The crew froze, staring atKy.

There were, in all, a kilo of diamonds in that fruitcake, most of them over two carats. And a letter, stained by cake batter but quite legible.

The letter said:

My dear Kylara,

I am quite well aware that you do not like my fruitcakes. Therefore I knew you would not hog them down at once, and this little surprise would be available when you truly needed it.

Best wishes,

Your loving Aunt Grace.

Ky stared at the diamonds, then at the faces of her crew.

“What do we do now?”

“Eat the fruitcake,”Quincyadvised, gathering some of thebits and pieces onto her plate. “And tell your aunt it was delicious.”

FB2 document info

Document ID: f4e54160-a354-40cb-b7aa-e64e0498fd79

Document version: 1.1

Document creation date: 17.11.2004

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