Fire Raven by McAllister Patricia

Author:McAllister, Patricia [McAllister, Patricia]
Language: eng
Format: mobi, epub
Tags: Romance/Historical
Published: 2013-03-09T05:00:00+00:00

Chapter Twelve

THE MAN IN THE garden stiffened when he heard the night watch call out the hour. A moment later he relaxed, the lips beneath his trim black mustache thinning into a satisfied line. Just past compline; already it was dark. Any moment now, he expected to see a figure hurrying along the dimly lit garden path, breathless and bemused as she sought out her secret admirer.

Adrien Lovelle experienced a brief qualm. The first time it had been difficult. Destroying such a spirited woman seemed wrong. Kat Tanner fascinated him. She still did, even in death.

Now he must strike again and further fulfill his and his sister’s burning need for revenge. Remembering the greater outrage dealt his beloved Gillian, he shrugged aside any last-minute considerations for mercy where Merry Tanner was concerned. Instead he relived the bitter circumstances that led him here.

Fools! All the English are fools, Adrien thought. They assumed “Count Saville” was a charming representative of Henri IV’s Court; none suspected, in truth, what prompted Adrien to follow the Tudor Court in its annual procession.

Vengeance — Revenge — The words contrasted with the gentle stillness of the night. Adrien mouthed them, lingering over each syllable in French. He had never appreciated their beauty so keenly before.

Sometimes Adrien wondered at his own obsessive need to right a wrong nearly a score of years old. Whenever his resolve faltered, he took out a miniature of an angel-faced woman. She smiled serenely at him from the past. Something inside him burned whenever he gazed into those pale blue eyes.

Had Slade Tanner felt any hesitation when he force-fed Gillian red salvarsan? Obviously not. Had the Englishman mused over the dosage at all, or had he dumped the entire amount in a goblet of sweet wine and handed it to poor Gillian with a devilish, knowing smile?

Adrien felt perspiration break out on his brow. Memories, anger, flooded back in a surge of dark emotions. He was but twelve when his sister returned to France and told him the story of how Tanner ruined her beauty. Slade had deliberately exposed her to the pox. He sought her death so he might marry an Irish wench of lowly birth.

Young Adrien cut his teeth on tales of Slade Tanner’s treachery. When he became a grown man, he realized what he must do.

It was not enough to kill Slade Tanner, nor his precious bitch of a wife, Bryony. Gillian kept careful track of the Englishman’s accomplishments over the years and noted Slade’s success with rising agitation. Discreet inquiries revealed the extent of the man’s personal fortune, paid with the price of Gillian’s beauty.

Tanner was a wealthy man now, almost untouchable. The Tanner Trading Company was renowned for its honesty, staked upon its owners’ reputations. Slade shared everything — success and fair fortune — with his Irish wife. They sailed together, trading in faraway lands, such as Barbados and the Indies. Both Courts — English and French alike — were intrigued by the notion of the couple; their obvious popularity enraged Gillian.

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.