this is the first book whom i like all the characters. i like emily b/c she is outspoken about her beliefs and she is quite self-reliant and confident about herself when she says “i’m know as a dragon There aren’t many with the guts of Saint George.” pg 69. I looked up Saint george and he is a crusader legend. i like uncle robert (alex’s uncle and also related to King Alfred in Scotland) b/c he is wise and he also wants to protect king alfred’s treasure from those who might misuse it. i like ivan in england who is the stepfather who is in financial crisis. although, patsy is a bit annoying since she is the legitimate daughter of ivan, i find her manipulative charms entertaining. she is able to use her saccharine nature and have people pity her or think she’s a good person to her advantage esp. when it comes to the legal rights of transferring the brewery to Alex or her since ivan is recuperating from a heart attack, but has a bit of depression (i feel sorry for ivan since i feel as if he represents many people who have financial worries). i also like zoe lang b/c she is a smart professor studying history and uncle robert hires her to see about the golden cup and she concludes that it isn’t really King Alfred’s but a victorian relic “worth killing for, but not worth dying for” pg 119. i have developed an interest in historical suspense books that have a natural aspect that seems to speak to me. i also like james who is the child of uncle robert and he is quite a positive person who encourages others and also likes to play golf with alex. i also like jed b/c he has alex’s trust and his uncles’s trust and he is helping them with the golden cup. i like the way alex describes zoe lang who is 89 and says “The outward appearance of age could color one’s expectations of a person’s character. I wanted to paint her as young, vibrant, fanatical, with the ghost of the way she looked now superimposed in thin light gray lines, like age’s cobwebs. I strongly sensed a singular powerful entity that might have intensified with time, not faded. We were dealing with that inner woman, and should not forget it.” pg 118-119.