quite excited by the prospect of continued employment."
He winked at Bernice as he went toward the door. "Between you and me, Miss Reed, I have every
expectation of obtaining the post. There are very few other qualified candidates, you see."
He walked into the hall and let himself out the front door before either woman could get her mouth
closed.
Chapter Five
He is Vanza," Madeline said. "That means that he is playing some deep game. Hiring him to assist us will
Generated by ABC Amber LIT Conv erter, http://www.processtext.com/abclit.html
be quite risky."
"I do not think that it is wise to use words such as hire or employ when one discusses the prospect of
asking Mr. Hunt to aid us." Bernice pursed her lips. "It is difficult to envision him as a paid employee, if
you see what I mean."
"On the contrary, thinking of Mr. Hunt as a paid employee is the only sensible way to view any
connection to him." Madeline sat forward on the chair behind her desk and studied the brass paperweight
in front of her as though it were an ancient oracle. "If we pursue this plan of mine, we must take great
care to ensure that Hunt knows his place."
Bernice sipped her tea, which Nellie had brought in. "Hmm."
"My greatest fear is that we no longer have any choice in the matter."
Bernice blinked. "I beg your pardon?"
"He knows about Papa's book, you see."
"Oh dear."
"Yes, I know, it was a mistake to show it to him." Madeline got restlessly to her feet. "I told him about it
in the course of explaining how I came to learn of his connection to the Dream Pavilions. I thought it
would reassure him to know that I hadn't actively spied on him."
Bernice's eyes no longer gleamed with amusement. "Now that he is aware that some of his secrets are
recorded, he will want to get his hands on that journal at all costs."
"I fear you are correct." Madeline gazed out into the severely trimmed garden. "I saw the look in his eyes
when he came to the page with his name on it. I knew at once that I had made a grave error."
"So you offered him a bargain." Bernice nodded. "Not a bad notion. He seemed willing enough to
entertain the prospect of such an arrangement."
"A bit too willing, if you ask me, but I don't know what else to do except continue on this course."
Madeline glanced at Bernice. "There is no doubt but that he could be of use to us. I saw him in action last
night. The scheme he devised for rescuing Nellie from that tavern was quite clever. And he carried her
over his shoulder for the entire length of the alley. He appeared to be quite physically fit for a man of his
age."
"He is hardly in his dotage."
"No, of course he isn't," Madeline said hastily. "I was merely pointing out that he is not an extremely
young man."
"No."
"Nor an old one, as you just pointed out," she continued doggedly. "Indeed, one could say that he
appears to be exactly the right age. Mature yet still quite agile."
"Mature yet still agile," Bernice repeated neutrally. "Yes, that does describe Hunt, I think."
Generated by ABC Amber LIT Conv erter, http://www.processtext.com/abclit.html
"I am entertaining a few doubts about your conclusions concerning Mr. Hunt's reasons for keeping his
ownership of the Dream Pavilions a dark secret."
"Are you?"
"Yes. I am no longer entirely certain that he is doing so because he wishes to find himself a wealthy,
highborn wife."
Bernice looked mildly surprised. "Why? Forming an alliance with a powerful family seems a perfectly
logical thing for an ambitious gentleman to do."
"It is easy to believe that Mr. Hunt has a few ambitions." Madeline tapped a finger against the window
ledge. "But I'm not so sure they involve marriage. Something tells me that if that had been his goal, he
would have achieved it by now."
"A good point."
"There should have been an announcement of an engagement. At the very least, we ought to have heard
some gossip connecting his name to that of some eligible young ladies of the
He winked at Bernice as he went toward the door. "Between you and me, Miss Reed, I have every
expectation of obtaining the post. There are very few other qualified candidates, you see."
He walked into the hall and let himself out the front door before either woman could get her mouth
closed.
Chapter Five
He is Vanza," Madeline said. "That means that he is playing some deep game. Hiring him to assist us will
Generated by ABC Amber LIT Conv erter, http://www.processtext.com/abclit.html
be quite risky."
"I do not think that it is wise to use words such as hire or employ when one discusses the prospect of
asking Mr. Hunt to aid us." Bernice pursed her lips. "It is difficult to envision him as a paid employee, if
you see what I mean."
"On the contrary, thinking of Mr. Hunt as a paid employee is the only sensible way to view any
connection to him." Madeline sat forward on the chair behind her desk and studied the brass paperweight
in front of her as though it were an ancient oracle. "If we pursue this plan of mine, we must take great
care to ensure that Hunt knows his place."
Bernice sipped her tea, which Nellie had brought in. "Hmm."
"My greatest fear is that we no longer have any choice in the matter."
Bernice blinked. "I beg your pardon?"
"He knows about Papa's book, you see."
"Oh dear."
"Yes, I know, it was a mistake to show it to him." Madeline got restlessly to her feet. "I told him about it
in the course of explaining how I came to learn of his connection to the Dream Pavilions. I thought it
would reassure him to know that I hadn't actively spied on him."
Bernice's eyes no longer gleamed with amusement. "Now that he is aware that some of his secrets are
recorded, he will want to get his hands on that journal at all costs."
"I fear you are correct." Madeline gazed out into the severely trimmed garden. "I saw the look in his eyes
when he came to the page with his name on it. I knew at once that I had made a grave error."
"So you offered him a bargain." Bernice nodded. "Not a bad notion. He seemed willing enough to
entertain the prospect of such an arrangement."
"A bit too willing, if you ask me, but I don't know what else to do except continue on this course."
Madeline glanced at Bernice. "There is no doubt but that he could be of use to us. I saw him in action last
night. The scheme he devised for rescuing Nellie from that tavern was quite clever. And he carried her
over his shoulder for the entire length of the alley. He appeared to be quite physically fit for a man of his
age."
"He is hardly in his dotage."
"No, of course he isn't," Madeline said hastily. "I was merely pointing out that he is not an extremely
young man."
"No."
"Nor an old one, as you just pointed out," she continued doggedly. "Indeed, one could say that he
appears to be exactly the right age. Mature yet still quite agile."
"Mature yet still agile," Bernice repeated neutrally. "Yes, that does describe Hunt, I think."
Generated by ABC Amber LIT Conv erter, http://www.processtext.com/abclit.html
"I am entertaining a few doubts about your conclusions concerning Mr. Hunt's reasons for keeping his
ownership of the Dream Pavilions a dark secret."
"Are you?"
"Yes. I am no longer entirely certain that he is doing so because he wishes to find himself a wealthy,
highborn wife."
Bernice looked mildly surprised. "Why? Forming an alliance with a powerful family seems a perfectly
logical thing for an ambitious gentleman to do."
"It is easy to believe that Mr. Hunt has a few ambitions." Madeline tapped a finger against the window
ledge. "But I'm not so sure they involve marriage. Something tells me that if that had been his goal, he
would have achieved it by now."
"A good point."
"There should have been an announcement of an engagement. At the very least, we ought to have heard
some gossip connecting his name to that of some eligible young ladies of the
Similar Books
