A Soupçon of Poison by Ashley Gardner & Jennifer Ashley

Author:Ashley Gardner & Jennifer Ashley
Language: eng
Format: mobi
Tags: Mystery & Suspense, Traditional British, Historical Mystery, Historical, Fiction & Literature
Publisher: JA / AG Publishing
Published: 2015-12-14T18:00:00+00:00

Chapter Eight

I was so astonished, I froze, the warm bun halfway to my lips.

Gone was the rather shabbily dressed man with heavy gloves and mud-splotched boots who argued in a good-natured way with his son. This gentleman wore a dark, well-tailored suit, which was clean and whole—in fact, it looked costly.

Creased trousers covered shining boots, and his overcoat against the evening chill fit him perfectly, made for him. A neatly tied cravat and a gold watch chain in his waistcoat completed the gentleman’s ensemble.

Daniel’s hair, instead of being its usual unruly mop, was slicked to flow behind his ears. He paused on the doorstep to set a tall silk hat on his head.

This couldn’t be Daniel McAdam, could it? My Daniel?

My first inclination was to dart forward and look this person in the face. And if it were Daniel, ask him what the devil he meant by it.

I almost did. I hastily checked my steps, however, when I saw a woman emerge from the house and take his arm.

She was obviously a highborn lady. Her gown spoke of elegance and refinement, silk and lace, with a glitter of diamonds at her throat. Not a courtesan, I thought. While courtesans could dress as finely as any lady, this gown was demure while also being highly fashionable.

A sister, I reassured myself quickly. Or a cousin. Something innocent. But the way Daniel handed the woman into the coach told me differently. He held her hand longer than was polite, helped her inside with a touch on her waist that lingered.

A sister might laugh at his care. This lady turned and gave Daniel such a warm smile that I nearly dropped my hunk of bread.

Daniel glanced around him, scanning the street in a surreptitious manner, as I’d often seen him do—assessing the lay of the land.

That glance clinched the matter. He was Daniel, and not simply a man who resembled him. His clothes were different, but his mannerisms, the look, the way he moved—Daniel.

As his gaze roved the street, I ducked back from the streetlight, earning me a growl from a passerby I nearly trod on. I begged his pardon and pushed myself into the shadows of a house, where the gaslight didn’t reach.

I could scarcely breathe. Daniel finished scrutinizing the street and climbed up into the coach with the lady. The other lady and gentleman who’d come out of the house had entered the carriage as I’d watched Daniel. A footman from the house shut the door and signaled the coachman to go.

My heart was like stone as the carriage creaked away. I handed the uneaten bun to a beggar, drew my jacket about me, and walked on.

***

The landlady at my old boardinghouse let me have a small room at the top of the house. It was cramped and cold, and I grew nostalgic for my cubbyhole behind the kitchen fireplace at Sir Lionel’s.

It was not only the cold that kept me awake. I saw Daniel over and over in my mind, setting his fashionable hat on his head and touching the lady’s back as he handed her into the carriage.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.