Artful Deception (The Clearwater Mysteries Book 6) by Jackson Marsh

Author:Jackson Marsh [Marsh, Jackson]
Language: eng
Format: azw3, epub
Publisher: James Collins
Published: 2020-05-28T16:00:00+00:00

Dorjan grinned when he imagined the fate that awaited Clearwater, but the grin faded when a carriage crossed the distant bridge and trundled closer. He pressed himself tightly against the trunk as the cab pulled up, and his heart kicked when he saw Clearwater step from it and say something to the driver. The carriage turned, but didn’t drive away, suggesting the viscount wouldn’t be long inside, and the gatekeeper greeted him with a bow.

Clearwater was led to the main building, and before he entered, he took a moment to adjust his cape and remove his hat, brushing it nervously before squaring his shoulders, and preparing himself for what he was about to see. Dorjan didn’t blame him. His memory of the place had been of stark, tiled walls resounding with screams and wailing. The slamming of iron doors and the clanking of chains had remained in his mind since that day, along with a foul smell of antiseptic which barely hid the stench of excrement. That had been on the ground floor. Once he had been shown up the echoing staircase to the first, the stench was replaced by the smell of flowers, the corridors were carpeted and the doors, although still iron, were locked with quieter mechanisms. The first floor was where the rich were housed, and it was to that floor that he strained his eyes, imagining Clearwater’s progress through the building.

The true viscount had been kept in the last-but-one room in the south wing, and Dorjan was able to see its bars from where he hid. Although unable to see into the cell, he could make out shapes if anyone stood close to the window, and a few minutes later, he saw one such shadow. It could have been anybody, but at least it told him something was happening, and Clearwater was still following instructions.

Dorjan had never seen a man go so willingly to his death, and he marvelled at how well Quill knew his adversary.

‘I intend to offer him a simple choice,’ Quill had said. ‘To die, or hand Crispin into my care, so that he can reclaim his title. Being as vain as he is, Clearwater will bring Crispin to me and leave with his life, but with no money, no property and no future. If we cannot ruin his reputation, Dorjan, we shall simply have to ruin his life, leaving him on this earth, so that when the mood takes me, I may cause him further pain in other entertaining tournaments.’

Dorjan wasn’t interested in the why, he was only concerned with the how and when; how he would be paid, and when he and his family would be left alone. The thought turned his mind from the past to the present.

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