The Winter Crone: The Arcane Tales of Tamsyn Pride by Natasha Bache

Author:Natasha Bache [Bache, Natasha]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Whinberry Press
Published: 2022-09-30T05:00:00+00:00

19

THE AMBER ROOM

It had been a week since the night at the river. Already, Gavin felt a profound shift. Each day, his egg yolks were perfectly golden, the whites spherical and glossy in the pan. Every traffic light turned green at his approach. The butcher handed him the largest slab of beef he had ever seen, the juicy crimson intricately laced with white. When Gavin handed it back irritably and told him there must be a mistake, that his order was the brisket, the man simply shook his head. ‘This is for you, sir,’ he said, with a strange look in his eye. When Gavin fished out a twenty-pound note, the butcher simply turned back to his chopping block. As he headed to the door, he saw her, standing, watching, her face sullen, gazing longingly at the piles of meat under the counter.

Two days ago, the proprietor of the Amber Room, the trendiest bar he could think of in these parts, had informed Gavin that all event bookings were blocked out until January and perhaps he should call back for a cancellation in the meantime. He had called again yesterday, and some prepubescent little git had told him the same.

Gavin had visited the Amber Room again earlier today, this time with his new friend in tow. He had informed the young man stacking glasses that he would like to speak to his manager.

‘Tell him it’s Councillor Hardcastle,’ he said. ‘Tell him we spoke on the phone,’ he called after the boy as he disappeared through the arched brickwork and trudged up the stairs.

When a stocky, bald man emerged moments later, he looked as though he was ready to punch Gavin in the face. From the gold sovereigns on his fingers, Gavin surmised they had seen a lot of action.

‘Didn’t the kid tell you earlier, no reservations?’ His voice was ragged from too many cigars.

‘Yes. He did. But surely you could make an allowance this time? This meeting is exclusively for the elite of Shropshire’s businessmen, MPs, and prominent landowners. All here, spending lots of money, in your bar,’ replied Gavin.

‘I don’t give a f—’ the manager began.

Gavin raised his hand to stop him. ‘No profanities, please. Not in the presence of a lady. My assistant, Vivien, will handle the details.’ He was so pleased with her new name. ‘Gavin and Vivien’ had a great ring to it.

The manager took one look at Vivien. ‘Y’know, I think a space has just opened.’ He clicked his fingers at the boy. ’Write it down, Oliver. Seven-thirty onwards, yeah?’ He did not take his eyes off her.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.