The Man in Shadow by Taylor O'Connell

Author:Taylor O'Connell [O'Connell, Taylor]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9780578559971
Publisher: Taylor O'Connell Books
Published: 2019-11-07T16:00:00+00:00

16

A Red Dress

Sal brushed the hem of the Lady’s stone dress as he and Vinny passed beneath the archway of the bridge tower façade.

“A fine cut of cloth that is,” said Vinny between bites of a folded flatbread, stuffed with some kind of meat and greens, all wrapped in paper. “How is it you came across such a thing? Nicked it off some lord’s estate, did you?”

Sal grinned, adjusted his jacket, and turned up his nose. “How dare you, peasant. Why I ought to have the fine men of the City Watch summoned to give you a good beating for suggesting such a thing. What is that thing you’re eating anyhow?”

Vinny examined the folded flatbread holding it up at eye level, shrugged, and took another bite. “Some old Miniian woman sold it to me. Can’t remember what she called it, sujuck—sojock—something like that—good stuff, anyhow.”

“Stinks,” Sal said, waving at his nose. “What kind of meat is that?”

Vinny shrugged and continued to eat as they walked along the bridge, sticking to the righthand side.

Sal looked out over the choppy black water and put a hand on the parapet. “What of the mark?” Sal asked. “What carriage did he take?”

Vinny smiled broadly, bits of green stuck in his teeth. “They took the town coach.”

“The town, but that would be the six-horse. That means two drivers?”

“Ay, two drivers, that it does.”

“But that’s bad, isn’t it?”

Vinny shook his head. “It was a lucky thing for us. If Lord Cheese was any less of a swank, he might have taken the two-horse, and our man would have been left back at the stables.”

“Ah, I see,” Sal said, as understanding struck. “So, it was the second driver that had the gambling problem.”

Vinny shrugged. “I got who I could, let’s just be happy it’s all worked out.”

“You did well, Vin, and I didn’t mean to imply otherwise. Tell me, what of the guard?”

“Ponder and Amos,” Vinny said, his grin growing.

“Another stroke of the Lady’s luck,” Sal said, returning the smile.

Ponder, and Amos were the two fattest guards on duty with the Bastian family. A fact that would serve Sal and Vinny well.

“And the jeweler, did he give you any trouble?” Sal asked.

“Anyone ever given the big man trouble?” Vinny laughed. “Odie told the jeweler to get in the back, and the man practically jumped to obey. Would have trussed himself up if he could have managed it, too. Might be you could have found a part for him, he was really quite enthusiastic to help.”

Sal smirked. “The big man does tend to have that effect on people.”

As they passed beneath the archway of the High Town bridge façade, one of the steel caps eyed Sal in a way that sent a shiver down his spine. Sal told himself it was his new clothes that had drawn the steel cap’s eye, yet he was anything but certain.

They headed along the Kingsway and wound up High Hill, then into an alleyway that led them onto the brick streets of the Agora.

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