Dead Dukes Tell No Tales by Catherine Stein

Author:Catherine Stein [Stein, Catherine]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: steampunk, steampunk romance, romance, adventure, fantasy, fantasy romance, historical romance, historical fantasy, historical fiction
ISBN: 9781949862287
Publisher: Catherine Stein, LLC
Published: 2021-05-21T04:00:00+00:00

29

The men trailing them had disappeared from sight. Sabine had a lifetime of experience watching her surroundings and the people around her, but she still couldn’t locate them. They were well-trained. Quiet. Competent. Worth every penny she had paid.

A young, middle-class couple brushed by her, on their way into the toy store where Cliff and Lola had been for the past quarter-hour. Sabine could easily have picked their pockets. Even as a child thief she wouldn’t have bothered. She’d learned early on to spot wealthier prey.

She took a step further back into the entranceway, tucking her skirt behind her to keep it beneath the small awning. The rain was coming harder now, and people everywhere had ducked into the shops to wait out the storm. Perhaps her bodyguards weren’t so good after all. Maybe they’d merely hidden from the rain. Or given up on the boring assignment and taken themselves home.

Wind swirled, flinging fat droplets of frigid rain and biting through layers of fabric. Sabine had turned halfway toward the door when it swung open and Cliff and Lola stepped out. Lola clutched a rag doll dressed as a pirate in one arm. Her opposite hand held a small rubber rat. She let out a powerful sneeze, then wiped her snotty nose on her sleeve.

“It’s pouring!” she exclaimed. “Daddy, put Sabine under your coat so she won’t get wet.” She thrust the doll at him.

Sabine’s chest tightened. Lola had named a doll for her? Sabine didn’t know whether she wanted to laugh, scoff, or give Lola the biggest hug imaginable. Perhaps all three.

Cliff didn’t take the doll. He stepped up to the edge of the awning and opened his umbrella. “I’ll hail a cab. Wait here.”

He dashed off, leaving Lola, Sabine, and doll-Sabine alone.

“See what Daddy bought me?” Lola asked. “I named her Sabine because she’s a pirate like you. She used to be a princess, but I took the clothes off a boy pirate doll and switched them. The store man said we had to buy both dolls because no one wants a boy princess doll, but then a boy near us said he wanted the boy princess doll. His daddy said, ‘Wouldn’t you rather have a pirate or a soldier?’ but the boy said, ‘I want a princess.’”

The door opened again and the boy stepped out, clutching his princess doll, his face bright with joy. The father followed after, an uncertain frown on his face. Sabine gave him a smile and his expression relaxed. He scooped the boy up, hugged him close, and dashed through the rain to a waiting carriage.

“What an incredible thing it must be, to have a good father,” Sabine mused. “Do you know how lucky you are, Lola? Do you think that boy knows?”

Lola sniffled and hugged her pirate. “I don’t know. Are some people’s fathers bad?”

Hartleigh’s well-timed return saved Sabine from an explanation. His trousers were soaked halfway up his calves and splattered up to his thighs, but the umbrella had kept his top half dry.

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