Read Online Merciless Reason by Oisin McGann - Free Book Online

had a chance of knocking Gerald from his position of power … with physical force, if necessary.
    And as time had numbed her grief for her murdered husband, Daisy’s feelings for Nate had changed too. Their relationship had never been easy, but his disappearance had cut her deeply, making her wonder if her feelings for him had always been more … complicated than she had imagined.
    Dear God, she thought, clutching the letter to her breast, but can I tell Tatty? Her sister-in-law was her best friend and an unshakeable ally, but the girl was something of a flibbertigibbet. Cathal could possibly be told, but Daisy was not entirely sure Tatty could keep a secret of this magnitude. Daisy groaned. How could she not tell her? How could she tell Cathal and keep Tatty ignorant of it? Tatty idolized her big brother; when they were together, they were as thick as thieves. But if Gerald found out that Nate was coming back, he would do everything in his power to have him killed. And he had almost limitless resources with which to do it.
    â€œWhat’s got you all up to high doe?” Tatty asked from behind her.
    Daisy’s heart thumped the front of her ribcage in fright. She turned to find her sister-in-law standing behind her, having entered the office with uncharacteristic silence. A small, bird-like engimal perched on her shoulder.
    â€œDaisy? Are you all right? You look quite piqued.”
    â€œTatty!” Daisy exclaimed in a slightly shrill voice, hiding the letter behind her back. “I just came down from the roof—a charming chat with Gerald. That bracing cold air … you know.”
    â€œAnd fearing for your safety, no doubt. I was down the hall in the press office. I thought I heard a cry.”
    â€œI stubbed my toe.”
    â€œGod, I hate it when I do that. I kicked the leg of my bed the other day, nearly split my bally pinkie right open. It was jolly sore. Do you want to go for a ride with me? I was thinking of taking the brougham out towards Enniskerry.”
    The bird opened its mouth and emitted a passable impression of a horse cantering along a gravel road to a chorus of joyful animals and birds. It looked pleadingly at Daisy, eager as it was to get out of the house. The creature’s name was Siren, and it was capable of generating almost any kind of sound, including peculiar, pulse-pounding pieces of music that Daisy was sure had no place in any civilized society. It was certainly unpopular in Wildenstern Hall, due to the near-demonic influence it had on Tatty’s taste in music, and the volume at which she liked it to be played. Tatty suspected more than one family member of plotting her pet’s untimely demise. Its fist-sized, blue and silver body was made of some kind of almost weightless metal and an even more mysterious feather-like material. The little engimal had a white breast, a copper-colored beak and bright, intelligent orange eyes. It chirped hopefully at Daisy.
    Daisy, in return, regarded her sister-in-law with suspicion. Over the last few years, Tatty had developed an obsession with a local criminal known as the “Highwayboy.” Some held that he was a Robin Hood figure, stealing from the rich to give to the poor. To most of the gentry, however, he was just another brigand. Tatty took frequent trips along the roads he was known to haunt, in the hope of happening across him. Daisy was unsure if it was in some romantic hope of capturing him, or if Tatty entertained thoughts of actually joining his gang. With Tatty, it could be hard to tell which way her mind was working.
    â€œI’m very busy here, Tatty. Besides, it’s a bit late to be setting out for Enniskerry, and it’s not a good road to be traveling after dark.”
    â€œIt’s not fair!” the younger woman protested, flopping down in the armchair Daisy kept near the south-facing window of her corner office. “You never do anything I want to do.”
    While Tatiana gazed