A Talent for Trouble by Jen Turano

Author:Jen Turano
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
Tags: FIC042030, FIC042040, FIC027050, Life change events—Fiction, Man-woman relationships—Fiction
ISBN: 9781441262783
Publisher: Baker Publishing Group
Published: 2013-09-12T04:00:00+00:00

13

A haze of smoke burned Grayson’s eyes, and a persistent itch plagued his scalp. He pushed a finger under the edge of the wig he was wearing and rubbed it back and forth, his movement stilling when he noticed a patron of Posey’s watching him through bleary eyes. Realizing his scratching was causing his red locks to wiggle, he lowered his hand and sent the patron a smile.

He really couldn’t say he blamed the man when he blinked and rubbed his eyes. It wasn’t every day one saw a lady well over six feet tall slouching against a wall.

Thankfully, the man was soon distracted by the appearance of an opium pipe, which allowed Grayson to direct his attention back to the crowd. It came as no surprise that there was little space unoccupied. Customers lounged on the floor, reclining on questionable-looking pillows, drawing smoke into their mouths from long, thin pipes with balls on the ends of them. The stench from the opium was overpowering, and Grayson felt slightly light-headed due to the fumes that hovered in the air.

He’d never been tempted to try opium, even though he’d been around it daily when he lived in China. There was just something off-putting about it—from the smell, to the smoke, to the idea that it caused men, and quite a few ladies, to descend into a permanent state of oblivion, their only goal in life being that of enjoying their next pipe.

A thread of regret stole through him as his gaze traveled over his surroundings. It had been his job to secure transportation for the opium the Wu family produced, and he’d been very good at his job, securing new trade routes to faraway countries, one of those countries being America.

How many lives had he been responsible for ruining while he’d been in the midst of securing himself a fortune?

Pushing aside that unanswerable question, he shoved away from the wall, knowing he would never complete his mission if he continued observing people instead of mingling with them. He stepped forward, hoping none of the men in Posey’s would take his mingling as a sign he would welcome their attentions. Quite frankly, he had no idea how he’d react if someone extended him a proposition.

It wasn’t that he thought he made a lovely lady, but opium was known to cause hallucinations in some people, and it would be just his luck if some poor soul decided he was attractive.

He stepped over a gentleman lying on the floor and edged around another who was rocking back and forth, his eyes vacant and an odd humming noise coming out of his mouth. He was forced to a stop when a group of men blocked his way, none of them seeming to realize Grayson wanted to pass, their attention solely fixed on a pipe they were passing around between them.

If he hadn’t been dressed like a woman, he would have simply jostled his way through them, but he didn’t want to draw more attention to himself than was strictly necessary.

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