Read Online Come the Night (The Dangerous Delameres - Book 1) by Christina Skye - Free Book Online Page A

a sense of restlessness as he slid behind a grimy table in one dimly lit corner.
    “What’ll it be, guv?” The proprietor had the raw-boned look of a seasoned pugilist and had in fact been famous in that capacity for a few seasons in London.
    “A bottle and a glass,” the highwayman said shortly, easing his hat lower over his face.
    While he waited, Blackwood sat back in his chair and surveyed the room. It held the usual blend of merchants, travelers, and women who provided their services to the inn’s none-too-fastidious clientele.
    As a place for a drink and a smattering of local gossip, it had never bothered Blackwood before.
    But for some reason it did tonight, even though he’d come to get that very sort of gossip. He wanted to find out who might have bought the services of the sullen trio who’d been racing over the heath the night before.
    Even more, he wanted to find out why they were pursuing the woman.
    He hunched his shoulders as the proprietor brought back his bottle. He filled his glass to the brim, raised it in silent salute to a pair of unforgettable green-gold eyes, and drank. The brandy left a pleasant burn all the way down. It made Blackwood almost believe he could forget her.
    He settled back and emptied another.
    A woman with too much perfume and too little bodice minced across the floor and balanced one elbow on the table, giving him an unrestricted view of the bosom that threatened to spill from her gown at any moment. “Don’t remember seeing you around, dearie, but then I’m new here. Like some company, would you?”
    The air was smoky, and Blackwood was starting to feel a pleasant heat from the brandy he’d consumed. He tugged his hat lower, curious about the information he could glean from his eager companion.
    The smile he gave her didn’t quite extend to his eyes, but he doubted she would mind. “Yes,” he said tightly. “Why not?”
     
     

~  6   ~
     

     
    Silver stared down at the angry words scrawled on the crumpled paper. The letters swam in and out of focus.
    The boy is next.
    They were going to hurt Bram! It had been bad enough when only the farm was threatened, or even just herself. But now they’d threatened an innocent twelve-year-old boy.
    Silver bit her lip. He’d come so close to dying six months ago, and he still wasn’t strong. If they took him, it would kill him.
    She couldn’t let anything endanger Bram.
    But how could she leave now, when she was finally on the verge of solving the mystery of her father’s death?
    Angrily she kicked at the brick. It skittered over the shards of glass like ice on a frozen pond. Then the answer came to her.
    It was reckless.
    It was desperate.
    It was madness itself.
    But she had no choice. It was the only way to keep Bram and her farm safe.
    After one last glance at the floor to be sure that slate and cubbyhole were concealed, she caught up her shawl and raced off to the house.
    ~ ~ ~
     
    “You’re going to do what?”
    Tinker shoved his callused fingers onto his hips and glared at the slip of a girl he’d come to consider more daughter than employer. “You’re crazy, girl, that’s what. I won’t even hear of it!”
    Silver didn’t look up from the old trunk she was busy searching. “On the contrary, it’s a perfect idea, Tinker. I’ve thought it all through and it will answer quite nicely.”
    “Aye, it will serve nicely to get you tossed into Bedlam, that’s what!”
    “Not at all.” Silver’s head reappeared. She was carrying an old black dress and a thick veil. “He’s the perfect man for the job. Do you deny that?”
    “Not a bit,” Tinker said grimly. “He’s too perfect and that’s the whole bloody problem.”
    “You’re just jealous because you didn’t think of it first.”
    Tinker snorted, telling her exactly what he thought of this accusation. “How do you even aim to find him? It’s not likely that the man would put out a shop sign, after all.”
    “I’ve thought of that too,”