The Lady and the Highwayman by Sarah M. Eden

Author:Sarah M. Eden
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
Publisher: Shadow Mountain Publishing

The master was awake.

You swells sure know how to complicate simple things.” Fletcher eyed his reflection, clad in Hollis’s dress coat.

“You think attending the opera is a simple thing?”

“Always is down in the gallery.” He still felt more at ease in the section of the audience where the servants and apprentices and poor folk watched.

Hollis shook his head. “If you think this is complicated, you should see how my brother prepares for a trip to the theater. It is like watching a performance before the performance.”

The Darby family were termed “old money,” except society didn’t realize most of that money was gone. Hollis’s grandfather had begun draining the family coffers back during the brief reign of the Prince Regent. His father had taken up the task shortly after Victoria ascended the throne. Hollis’s older brother had inherited a fortune so small it was hardly worth the effort to spend irresponsibly.

“Maybe it’s for the best King is draining away at my income,” Fletcher said. “Being well-to-do is a lot of bother.”

“You’ve played uncomfortable roles on behalf of the Dreadfuls before. Why does it rankle so much more this time?”

He flicked a hand, frustration getting the better of him.

“Perhaps because Miss Black will be there?” Hollis asked a little too innocently.

The fact that his nervousness increased at the guess told Fletcher his friend wasn’t entirely wrong. Still, admitting as much wasn’t on his short list of things he wanted to do. “Miss Black knows my origins.”

“Does she?” Hollis clearly doubted it. “I doubt even the Dread Master knows all the details of your early life.”

“The Dread Master values privacy.”

“He’s certainly convinced you to.” Hollis set his hat atop his head. “I can’t convince you to tell me who he is, and I know more of your secrets than anyone.”

“As I said, this one ain’t mine to tell.”

“His identity impacts everyone in the society, including me. That makes it not entirely his secret.”

This was an old argument between them, one Fletcher knew how to deflect. “And the state of your family’s coffers impacts more than just you, but you’ll not hear me whispering about it to anyone.”

Hollis looked the tiniest bit repentant. His brother went to great lengths to hide the situation, in part to save his own pride but also to help assure that his son and daughter would not be rejected outright when they were grown.

“You’re telling me I can’t complain about you keeping others’ secrets when you’re also keeping mine?”

Fletcher nodded.

“Will you ever tell me who the Dread Master is?” Hollis asked. “Maybe on my deathbed?”

“Not even then.” Fletcher tossed him a grin.

“Cruel, Fletch. You’re cruel.”

“What’s cruel is these shoes. They pinch like a pensioner’s pocketbook.”

Hollis laughed. “What is an evening at the opera without a little suffering?”

“You ain’t sweetening my opinion of this mad endeavor. Keep flapping your gums and I’m likely to let Miss Black take herself to the opera.”

Hollis walked with him to the front door of Fletcher’s town house. He didn’t live in the grandest area of Town, but his address was nothing to be ashamed of.

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