William continued to watch the cutter through the assistance of a spyglass. They were making surprising progress through a nest of rocks and coral. Those who manned the boat were making it look as easy as a carriage ride on an open road.
All the while he watched them his mind raced around a little saying that Ilex had muttered over and over. She was in such a state by the time he questioned her about the fortune, that much of what she said had come in haltering whispers. Most of it sounded like half forgotten nursery rhymes, but she had repeated one thing more than anything else...
"White folds under red curtains."
At first she had used the phrase only by itself, sometimes adding to it, and sometimes subtracting. She was the proprietor of an establishment with a similar name, so he had given it little thought. However, she had spoken of it so often during her interrogation, that he was certain it had some meaning outside of this.
She had also used such phrases as "coition with Poseidon's horse" and "Drink the water, mind the salt."
William had given each of these truncated remarks to Mister Lasseter, along with some vague instructions about coral and a cave entrance. They had by her the general description of the area and some minute details about the location itself, but the rest of it had been a sort of miasmic babbling.