The Hummingbird Dagger by Cindy Anstey

Author:Cindy Anstey
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Feiwel & Friends

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“WHAT ON EARTH were you doing? How could you possibly believe that using yourself as bait was a sensible thing to do?” James asked, trying very hard to keep his tone even—trying to hide his frustration and concern. “Foolishness beyond measure.”

“Perhaps not a brilliant plan,” Beth agreed. “But I thought my recapture was their intent … Apparently I was wrong.”

“But they didn’t want to recapture you. They wanted to kill you.”

“Exactly.”

The room was silent except for the swishing of water as Dr. Brant wrung his cloth out in the bowl. Beth was tired; her wound throbbed and all her muscles ached. But more than anything else she was disappointed—gravely, gravely disappointed. It had all been for nothing. She still did not know who she was or why someone was menacing her.

James tightened his grip on her hand and leaned closer. “If you had waited, I could have told you of their deadly intents.”

Dr. Brant’s hand stopped moving and Walter slowly turned to look at his brother.

“Why?” “What have you learned?” they both asked, one question on top of the other.

James straightened but he did not drop Beth’s hand. “Daisy’s death was not an accident.”

Beth closed her eyes. No. Oh no. She swallowed against the ache in her throat; her eyes swam, awash in unshed tears.

“Nothing suggests Daisy’s death is tied to Beth’s villains, but…” James left the sentence hanging as if he did not want to complete the thought. “When I looked around just after Beth’s accident, I found a small bundle of cut rope in the water where the carriage had been mired. I thought it insignificant,” he said. “I didn’t, at the time, understand the marks and bruises around Beth’s wrists.”

Dr. Brant studied the floor for a moment, and then nodded. “That would explain why she was the only person injured. She was tied up, and as a captive, Beth would not have been able to hold on to anything, or brace herself as the carriage went over the embankment.”

Walter sat with a thump on the window ledge.

“But until today,” Beth said, “there was no intent to murder. I would have been an easy target on Mill Road, but the villains tried to grab us, not kill us. And Mr. Paterson meant to run off with me. If they could murder Daisy, why then did they hesitate with me?”

“You must know something,” Walter said. “And they must have suspected that you had shared confidences with Daisy as well as a room.”

The raw ache continued to eat at Beth. The thought of causing Daisy’s death was devastating. She took a deep breath to steady her emotions. “But I have no memories to share.”

“Perhaps that’s what changed,” James said with a pensive nod. “Until Mr. Paterson’s visit, the villains believed your new name was meant to be a deception.”

“James, if that is true, then Beth is in greater danger now.” Walter’s voice began to rise. “My little game, our little game, only delays. They still know where she is.

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