Margaret snatched the glass out of the general's fingers. Wine spilled across the white cloth, dark as tea.The general's right hand came up off his knee to stop her. It rose an inch, shook, and sank back down.Alexander saw it. Nobody else did."It's medicine," he said. "The bark is for his joints. The ginseng is for his breath.""Medicine comes from a pharmacy," Derek said. "That's swamp water.""Then you have nothing to worry about."Derek's chair scraped back. "Fine. Somebody drinks it. If your swamp water does more than Grant's wine, I'll kneel to you. Right here, in front of Grandpa. Both knees!" He swung round and pointed down the table. "And Uncle Danny can judge. He loves old junk."Margaret laughed. Brenda laughed louder, before her husband could.Danny went red to the ears. He sat the way he always sat, bent forward over his plate, one hand pressed to the small of his back.You never stop a man who is digging his own grave, Alexander thought. You hand him the shovel."Every