A Grave Matter by Anna Lee Huber

Author:Anna Lee Huber [Huber, Anna Lee]
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
ISBN: 9780425253694
Publisher: Berkley Trade
Published: 2014-06-30T16:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO

When I had myself more in hand, I risked a glance out the window, and upon seeing the classical buildings of the New Town, I reached up to rap on the ceiling. The coach immediately slowed, and a few minutes later the footman appeared in the doorway.

His eyes were wide in his face. “My lady, are you well?”

“Yes, yes,” I assured him. “What of you and the coachman? Did they harm either of you?”

“No more than our pride, m’lady.”

I nodded, relieved to know that at least we’d all come through our encounter with Bonnie Brock unscathed.

“I’m sorry, m’lady. They ambushed us on Charlotte Street. And they told me if I said a word to you at the theater, they’d shoot you.”

“It’s all right. They put us all in an impossible situation.” I pressed a hand to my forehead. “Where did they leap out at?”

“Near The Mound, m’lady.”

At the intersection of the Old and the New Town.

The coachmen yelled down something I couldn’t hear, but it made the footman glance up and down the street. “Do you wish to return to Charlotte Square, m’lady?”

“Not yet,” I replied, giving him an address on Princes Street and instructions on who to fetch once we were there.

He nodded and closed the carriage door before moving to the front to relay my message to the coachman. There must have been a small bit of squabbling over my orders, but eventually they were obeyed.

I huddled inside the carriage, shivering within my cloak. The hot brick Philip and Alana had left had long since cooled, and most of the heat had escaped when the footman had opened the door earlier. As the minutes ticked by, I couldn’t stop myself from peering out the window toward the darkness of the trees lining the opposite side of the street. The shadowy outline of the castle on its rock outcropping towered over the scene, offering no deterrent to the criminals that might lurk below it.

When finally the carriage door opened, I jumped, having spent too long imagining terrible scenarios. Gage peered inside at me, a confused expression on his face.

“Kiera. What’s happened?”

I gestured him inside and once he’d settled on the seat and closed the door behind him, I couldn’t stop from flinging myself into his arms. He held me close and allowed me to bury my face against his neck. I breathed in deeply, comforted by his scent and the solidness of his form, and the steady beat of his heart beneath my palm.

My own pulse began to slow and I turned my head, feeling the scrape of his whiskers against my forehead. It was then that I realized his cravat was missing. I opened my eyes to see that Gage’s shirt was partially unbuttoned, allowing me a glimpse of the wiry hairs growing at the top of his chest. My fingers brushed against them where my hand pressed to his hard pectorals. His dark greatcoat was draped around him, but he had not buttoned it before hurrying out to me.

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