Read Online Heart of Brass by Kate Cross - Free Book Online Page A

know the names of them all, but there were small golden logs topped with cream, swirls of bright orange batter that had been fried and dipped in sweet syrup, and different-colored squares topped with silver leaf. The sight of them set her mouth to watering.
    Dhanya joined her, offering her first tea, then a sweet. “You know that if your husband is working for the Company, the rest of the Wardens will call for an inquiry into your own loyalties.”
    Arden nodded as she took a bite of a sticky swirl. Bliss! “To be honest, Dhanya, if my husband is truly alive, I don’t care if the Wardens want my blood.”
    The darker woman watched her closely. “Is he a traitor or a victim, then?”
    “Victim,” she replied immediately. “He looked at me as though I were a stranger.”
    Licking a drop of syrup from her thumb, the director leaned back in her chair. “You believe his mind has been tampered with.”
    “I do. When Luke left seven years ago he was determined to bring the Company to an end once and for all. I am convinced they caught him and have somehow altered his mind.”
    A frown furrowed Dhanya’s usually smooth brow. “I have heard of such things happening, but I’ve never witnessed it for myself. I’ve always thought it to be the agency equivalent of a monster in the cupboard—something to keep operatives on their toes.”
    Arden found her tone dubious at best. Why did everyone doubt her judgment? “I know my husband. It was Luke.”
    The director raised her honey-colored gaze. It was like staring into the eyes of a lioness. “Arden…my friend. You do realize what will happen to this man, especially if he is your husband?”
    Arden’s heart staggered against her ribs. “He is one of us , Dhanya.”
    Not a flicker of emotion crossed the other woman’s face. “Which is precisely why if you see him again you have to try to reach him. It is because of who he might be and what he might know that we cannot allow him to continue to be used by the Company. If you cannot turn him, or find some way that he might serve our cause, I will have no choice but to give orders that he is to be terminated.”
    If fear could have fingers, it would have her very soul in those icy digits. “You cannot kill my husband.”
    The cool façade dropped for a second, and she saw real sympathy—pain even—in her superior’s gaze. “If he has been programmed to murder you and is willing to carry out those orders, I will put a bullet in his brain myself.”
    Arden swallowed hard against the bile churning in her stomach, threatening to rise in her throat. She set her cup and saucer on the desk, unable to countenance the thought of eating or drinking. “I understand.”
    “I do not think you do.” Dhanya leaned forward. “I’m giving you the chance to find him first. I pray to God I don’t regret it, but I have faith in your abilities. Find him and fix him and I will rejoice in his return with you, but if you cannot…”
    There was no need for her to say it again. Arden understood perfectly. “I will find him,” she vowed—as much to herself as to Dhanya. Then she rose to her feet—ashamed to find her knees trembling. “I have taken up enough of your time. I will leave you now.”
    The darker woman also stood, and came around the desk to give her a hug. “You may not believe this, but I very much hope that you succeed.”
    Arden nodded, not daring to speak for fear she might burst into tears. She had only just found Luke again and now was faced with the very real possibility that she might lose him again—for good this time.
    Just as she turned the doorknob to make her exit, Dhanya called after her, “It’s good to see you in some color, Lady Huntley.”
    She managed a smile while inside wishing she’d worn the protection of her blacks and drabs. She wouldn’t have felt quite so vulnerable in them.
    She said good-day to Mr. Chiler and made her way back to the surface, as far away from the oppressive secrecy of the