"Indubitably," Don Juan returned with a smile that was contained to his mouth, not that Hudson would have noticed, from that distance and in the dark. Whom had he been expecting to find on the shores of a lake in Ireland? It was possible he hadn't been certain who had sent the letter, since Don Juan hadn't signed it, but he had to have at least made a few educated guesses. He wouldn't have been out here by accident, and Don Juan didn't think he was likely to go trouncing around the countryside on unspecified errands if he had no idea who was on the other side of them.

"Would you like a drink?" he asked, waving Hudson over. The gesture was probably needless; he didn't expect Hudson was keen to go swimming, dressed as he was, so the only reasonable direction to go was away from the lake. He was probably getting his shoes muddy down there. Don Juan had take his shoes off and left them in the tall weeds somewhere around the base of the tree, to get the feel of the bark beneath his socks. "I have a variety, if you don't mind drinking from bottles."

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