Secrets to Reveal by Tilly Wallace

Author:Tilly Wallace [Wallace, Tilly]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Ribbonwood Press

15

Aster

* * *

For the first time Aster could remember, it was the dawn light through the curtains that woke her instead of noxious Dougal-breath. A sharp pang sliced through her chest. She had never imagined she would miss his hideous morning routine. The book was tucked on the pillow next to her head, the chain holding the brass button tangled through her fingers, and her skin felt tight from dried tears.

She stretched, and decided self-pity was something best left to the midnight hours. During the day she had far too much to do to indulge in tears over lost opportunities and impossible daydreams of Hamish. For surely that was all the ache in her heart was—the space left after the removal of the delusion that she could have had something with him.

Aster poured water from the pitcher into the ewer and washed her face, then scrubbed the rest of her skin. Once satisfied, she pulled on her dress and slipped out the door.

“Cup of tea, love?” Betsy called out as she stepped into the main room, wiping her hands on a towel.

“That would be lovely, thank you.” She didn’t think her stomach would cooperate with breakfast just yet. “I’ll just nip out for the newspaper and I’ll be back shortly.”

“I’ll have it waiting at your table.” Betsy threw the towel over her shoulder and headed out to the kitchen.

Out on the street, noise and activity assaulted Aster’s senses. She’d never realised people could be so loud until you crammed carts, horses, dogs, children, and hundreds of people into a narrow road. The tall buildings leaned inward and seemed to push the chaos back down to street level, rather than letting it escape up into the sky. She glanced around until she spied an urchin with the daily under his arm. She passed him a coin, and he held out a newspaper with a big gappy grin where his two front teeth were missing. She hastened back to the tavern and found a pot of tea waiting for her. She spread out the paper and then took a moment to pour a cup. Perhaps that would settle her stomach.

The first few pages were the usual articles about the latest sally by Napoleon and badly-behaving members of the ton. She understood keeping the public abreast of the war, but she wasn’t quite sure why drunken lords were newsworthy. They should be ashamed of themselves, tumbling into fountains or being discovered asleep under rose bushes.

Then there were articles about the Unnatural Act that was before parliament. It would give Unnaturals the same rights as any other Englishmen. Debate raged on both sides of the arguments. One side said they were animals that should be either exterminated or caged. The other argued they had as much right as anyone so long as they obeyed English laws. Aster didn’t care how Hamish was afflicted—she wanted him just the way he was.

Flicking over the pages, she scoured the advertisements, searching for the coded message to tell her the events were a ruse, a game to test her preparedness, and she could return to the Arsenal.

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