Hinterland Series Book 1: The Wolf's Bounty by K.T. Harding

Author:K.T. Harding [Harding, K.T.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Brooks Heath
Published: 2017-12-04T16:00:00+00:00

Chapter 16

Bishop let himself through a side door into a cozy room lined in green velvet. A fire blazed on the heart, and he stood with his back to it to drive away the chill. Raleigh took a turn around the room. Comfortable chairs, bookshelves, and decorative lamps made the place comfortable—a lot more comfortable than most places she’d seen in this town.

Almost the instant they got into the room, the servant returned and informed Bishop that Ms. Cross would see him now. The old man escorted Bishop and Raleigh up the majestic staircase to another luxurious compartment tastefully furnished and comfortably warm.

A stately lady stood before the fire. Her curly golden hair hung in immaculate tresses to her shoulders and tumbled over her ivory bust. Her lace bodice set off her perfect skin, and her ornate gown brushed the floor. It rustled when she glided forward to offer Bishop her hand. “Knox dear! How I’ve missed you.”

Bishop kissed her hand, and a strange haunted look came into his eyes. “It’s good to see you again, Angela. Your company always gives me a restful feeling I can’t find anywhere else.”

Raleigh couldn’t resist the opportunity to needle Bishop. “Knox dear?”

Angela waved her hand aside, but a rosy blush flashed over her cheeks. She resembled a beautiful porcelain figurine, preserved for all time in her most perfect state. “Leave all that flattery at the door, my dear, and introduce me to your charming companion.”

She turned her sparkling blue eyes on Raleigh, and Raleigh shrank into herself before that gaze. It reduced her to a crude, brutish outsider in this world of beauty, manners, and propriety.

She understood now why Bishop wanted her to wear that dress, but it would only have made Raleigh feel even more out of place. She might not be as beautiful and elegant as Angela, but at least she was herself. No one could ever take that away from her. She belonged in her own context.

“This is Raleigh Douglas,” Bishop was saying. “She’s my new apprentice.”

Angela’s face fell. “Oh. It’s such a waste of a beautiful woman, working as your apprentice. There must be some way we can preserve her a little longer.”

“I think you’ll find Raleigh is not like my other apprentices. She has proved herself most skillful on a number of occasions, and I’m really starting to believe she just might actually survive.”

Raleigh’s head whipped around and her mouth fell open. Did he just praise her like that—in public? She never dreamed he could value her that much. His words changed her whole conception of their working relationship.

Angela took a few steps toward Raleigh and extended her hand. “It’s so wonderful to meet you, Ms. Douglas. Any friend of Knox’s is a friend of mine.”

Bishop showed no sign of annoyance at Angela calling him the name he told Raleigh he hated more than anything. “This is Ms. Angela Cross. She’s a very old friend and colleague of mine, and she knows even more about Hinterland than I do.

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