Read Online A Quiet Death by Alanna Knight - Free Book Online
Authors: Alanna Knight
Tags: Historical fiction, Historical, Literature & Fiction, Crime, Genre Fiction, Mystery; Thriller & Suspense, Crime Fiction, Thrillers & Suspense
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question as to how he became involved with Shakespeare's plays, he smiled.
'Even as a child the books I liked best were his penny plays, more especially Macbeth , Richard III , Hamlet and Othello and I gave myself no rest until I obtained complete mastery over these four characters. This I did, gentlemen, by grim determination in the evenings after fourteen hours at the weaving. Life was not easy then, we were very poor, always on the move. But even then, gentlemen, I knew I had a calling.'
Vince had to leave for a morning surgery and Faro accompanied him down the road. 'Did you have a good evening?' he asked, unable to restrain his curiosity any further when the information had not been volunteered.
'Not really, Stepfather. A bit of a disappointment. I decided to call upon Rachel, sure she would be at home in the evening and eager to receive me. I was told she had retired early with a headache.' A tone of exasperation and something worse. Anxiety, uncertainty, had crept into Vince's voice.
'I told that odious butler to kindly relay my message, but was informed he had orders that Miss Deane was not to be disturbed. Would I leave a message? I reminded him that I had already done so and would he impress upon his mistress that as my stepfather's time in Dundee is short, I would therefore present you to her this afternoon without fail.
'I was intending coming straight home, but I didn't like the look of one of the three fellows who were injured last week on the bridge. He is in the infirmary so I decided to pop round. There were, as I expected, complications and we had to do an emergency operation.'
'Will he recover?'
'I hope so. It really is intolerable, especially as I find all my protests about not having proper safety precautions are being ignored, set aside as too expensive. It seems to me sometimes that only men's lives are cheap.'
As they reached the crossroads Vince said: 'I'd better see how my patient is. What about you, Stepfather, how will you spend the morning?'
Assuring Vince that he could amuse himself until the visit to Rachel Deane, Faro decided to take the ferry across to Newport and have a closer look at the bridge from the other side of the river.
There was a strong wind blowing in from the sea and the groaning of the iron columns above his head did little to reassure him.
As a casual observer, unfamiliar with the world of engineering, he felt that nothing short of a miracle could ever safely bridge the spans of the two piers across that vast and turbulent expanse of water and gales.
It had all looked extremely perilous on a mild morning when he had parted from Vince. Since then the day had deteriorated rapidly. Heavy clouds scurried across the sky making for a blustery stroll and he had to be content with a very brisk walk facing into an unpleasantly fierce wind whipping the river into a white foam.
As he feared, his return journey across the two-mile stretch of water was accompanied by all the less engaging qualities of open sea as far as his stomach was concerned.
Far above his head, creaking cranes and pulleys elevated baskets of enormous dimensions up the piers, presumably containing building materials. This activity was accompanied by warning shouts and directions from the workmen who bravely crouched on frail platforms where wooden screens served as shields to protect them from vagaries of wind and weather. On the sandbanks the seals, which Vince had told him to look out for, had wisely disappeared.
The rain began as he stepped ashore and decided him to indulge in a more luxurious meal than could be found in the Old Steeple Dining Hall. In the Glamis Hotel, encouraged by a handsome fire and sofas waiting invitingly in the main reception room, he was able to ignore the gloomy prospect outdoors.
Summoned to the dining room, he had just taken two spoonfuls of excellent Scotch broth when the walls reverberated to the sound of gunfire. The other diners promptly left their places and surged to
'Even as a child the books I liked best were his penny plays, more especially Macbeth , Richard III , Hamlet and Othello and I gave myself no rest until I obtained complete mastery over these four characters. This I did, gentlemen, by grim determination in the evenings after fourteen hours at the weaving. Life was not easy then, we were very poor, always on the move. But even then, gentlemen, I knew I had a calling.'
Vince had to leave for a morning surgery and Faro accompanied him down the road. 'Did you have a good evening?' he asked, unable to restrain his curiosity any further when the information had not been volunteered.
'Not really, Stepfather. A bit of a disappointment. I decided to call upon Rachel, sure she would be at home in the evening and eager to receive me. I was told she had retired early with a headache.' A tone of exasperation and something worse. Anxiety, uncertainty, had crept into Vince's voice.
'I told that odious butler to kindly relay my message, but was informed he had orders that Miss Deane was not to be disturbed. Would I leave a message? I reminded him that I had already done so and would he impress upon his mistress that as my stepfather's time in Dundee is short, I would therefore present you to her this afternoon without fail.
'I was intending coming straight home, but I didn't like the look of one of the three fellows who were injured last week on the bridge. He is in the infirmary so I decided to pop round. There were, as I expected, complications and we had to do an emergency operation.'
'Will he recover?'
'I hope so. It really is intolerable, especially as I find all my protests about not having proper safety precautions are being ignored, set aside as too expensive. It seems to me sometimes that only men's lives are cheap.'
As they reached the crossroads Vince said: 'I'd better see how my patient is. What about you, Stepfather, how will you spend the morning?'
Assuring Vince that he could amuse himself until the visit to Rachel Deane, Faro decided to take the ferry across to Newport and have a closer look at the bridge from the other side of the river.
There was a strong wind blowing in from the sea and the groaning of the iron columns above his head did little to reassure him.
As a casual observer, unfamiliar with the world of engineering, he felt that nothing short of a miracle could ever safely bridge the spans of the two piers across that vast and turbulent expanse of water and gales.
It had all looked extremely perilous on a mild morning when he had parted from Vince. Since then the day had deteriorated rapidly. Heavy clouds scurried across the sky making for a blustery stroll and he had to be content with a very brisk walk facing into an unpleasantly fierce wind whipping the river into a white foam.
As he feared, his return journey across the two-mile stretch of water was accompanied by all the less engaging qualities of open sea as far as his stomach was concerned.
Far above his head, creaking cranes and pulleys elevated baskets of enormous dimensions up the piers, presumably containing building materials. This activity was accompanied by warning shouts and directions from the workmen who bravely crouched on frail platforms where wooden screens served as shields to protect them from vagaries of wind and weather. On the sandbanks the seals, which Vince had told him to look out for, had wisely disappeared.
The rain began as he stepped ashore and decided him to indulge in a more luxurious meal than could be found in the Old Steeple Dining Hall. In the Glamis Hotel, encouraged by a handsome fire and sofas waiting invitingly in the main reception room, he was able to ignore the gloomy prospect outdoors.
Summoned to the dining room, he had just taken two spoonfuls of excellent Scotch broth when the walls reverberated to the sound of gunfire. The other diners promptly left their places and surged to
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