Read Online Sergeant Verity and the Blood Royal by Francis Selwyn - Free Book Online Page B
Authors: Francis Selwyn
Tags: Crime, Historical Novel
Ads: Link
? Within twelve hours of landing in New York, you have burgled a house of charity, menaced a naked young woman, almost severed the right hand of a United States government clerk, savagely beaten a New York City police officer and committed criminal damage to civic property!'
'Wasn't like that, sir, with respect, sir. That Miss Jolly-is a young person of bad reputation and the story of 'er coming to be adopted by an old couple is gammon, sir.'
'How dare you traduce a brave and selfless young woman?' hissed Captain Smiles, his trim dark head thrusting like a game-cock.
Verity's face creased with incomprehension.
'Brave and selfless, sir? 'cr? She and her fancy-man been setting up every jeweller's in the city! I had a list, till they emptied my pockets. There was Hancock's, though, and Hunt and Roskell's, and a big new place called Ball and Black's.'
'And where is this fancy-man?' asked Smiles contemptuously.
'He gone off, sir. But he was there, with her. I saw him and I'd know him again!'
'You will forget the matter, sergeant. You were mistaken. Do you understand me?'
'Yessir,' said Verity with ill-suppressed indignation. 'One other thing to say, sir.'
'Well ?'
'That Magdalen Asylum where they got Miss Jolly. It ain't nothing but a thieves' kitchen. It's full of heavy swells gaming, drinking shrub, smoking cheroots, and fouling the air with their slum talk, sir. And that little minx looked as though she'd took her things off and was ready to spread her legs for all of 'em in turn, sir!'
'Sergeant!'
'That's 'ow it looked, sir, with respect, sir. And that Irish bully'd have killed me if I 'adn't done it to him first, sir! Being Irish wasn't any excuse for what he tried to do, sir!'
Captain Smiles cocked his head on one side, bright-eyed as a little bird, and looked up at the dishevelled sergeant.
'I shall not waste time with you,' he said flatly. 'Indeed, but for some service which it seems you performed for the Prince of Wales a month or two since, you would already be on your way home. Now you may choose. Your conduct last night will be overlooked, provided that you forget the entire incident.'
'And if I can't forget, sir?'
'Then,' said Smiles reasonably, 'you are to be sent home on the orders of His Royal Highness. And make no mistake, if that happens, your service with the Metropolitan Police will be at an end.'
'Don't seem to have much choice, sir, do I ?'
Captain Smiles shrugged as Verity persisted.
'Ain't I to be told anything, sir? There was a fancy-man. And she been putter-up to robbery and blackmail at home, sir! All the world knows it! And I've seen whore-houses that looked more like Magdalen Asylums than that one! And why was I the wrong one ?'
'Curiosity killed a cat, sergeant.'
'Yessir. Just as you say, sir.'
Verity's flushed jowls and dark eyes were as close to glowering as he had ever been in the presence of a superior officer.
'Come along, then,' said Captain Smiles impatiently, leading the way with a bandy-legged swagger, down the gloomy passageways and into the sunlit slums of New York.
6
The smooth-skinned young man with his mild blue eyes, carefully-flattened fair hair, his heavy mouth and jaw disfiguring an otherwise pleasant face, stood on the edge of the flat rock and gazed in awe at the sight before him. On every side of him there rose a long incessant roar, which seemed almost to be emitted from the deep centre of the earth. The broad river, smooth and wide, flowed swiftly on, each rock and islet diverting the current in a recoiling feather of spray. Presently the first foam appeared on the eddies, and there were whirlpools that made the youth's head spin until he had to look away from them. Torn, and jagged, and roaring, the broad torrent poured and throbbed over rocks and stones in mounds of spray, like loosely-driven snow. In the mad onward rush of the stream, trees tumbled over and over, their branches rising from the surface briefly, like the arms of drowning
'Wasn't like that, sir, with respect, sir. That Miss Jolly-is a young person of bad reputation and the story of 'er coming to be adopted by an old couple is gammon, sir.'
'How dare you traduce a brave and selfless young woman?' hissed Captain Smiles, his trim dark head thrusting like a game-cock.
Verity's face creased with incomprehension.
'Brave and selfless, sir? 'cr? She and her fancy-man been setting up every jeweller's in the city! I had a list, till they emptied my pockets. There was Hancock's, though, and Hunt and Roskell's, and a big new place called Ball and Black's.'
'And where is this fancy-man?' asked Smiles contemptuously.
'He gone off, sir. But he was there, with her. I saw him and I'd know him again!'
'You will forget the matter, sergeant. You were mistaken. Do you understand me?'
'Yessir,' said Verity with ill-suppressed indignation. 'One other thing to say, sir.'
'Well ?'
'That Magdalen Asylum where they got Miss Jolly. It ain't nothing but a thieves' kitchen. It's full of heavy swells gaming, drinking shrub, smoking cheroots, and fouling the air with their slum talk, sir. And that little minx looked as though she'd took her things off and was ready to spread her legs for all of 'em in turn, sir!'
'Sergeant!'
'That's 'ow it looked, sir, with respect, sir. And that Irish bully'd have killed me if I 'adn't done it to him first, sir! Being Irish wasn't any excuse for what he tried to do, sir!'
Captain Smiles cocked his head on one side, bright-eyed as a little bird, and looked up at the dishevelled sergeant.
'I shall not waste time with you,' he said flatly. 'Indeed, but for some service which it seems you performed for the Prince of Wales a month or two since, you would already be on your way home. Now you may choose. Your conduct last night will be overlooked, provided that you forget the entire incident.'
'And if I can't forget, sir?'
'Then,' said Smiles reasonably, 'you are to be sent home on the orders of His Royal Highness. And make no mistake, if that happens, your service with the Metropolitan Police will be at an end.'
'Don't seem to have much choice, sir, do I ?'
Captain Smiles shrugged as Verity persisted.
'Ain't I to be told anything, sir? There was a fancy-man. And she been putter-up to robbery and blackmail at home, sir! All the world knows it! And I've seen whore-houses that looked more like Magdalen Asylums than that one! And why was I the wrong one ?'
'Curiosity killed a cat, sergeant.'
'Yessir. Just as you say, sir.'
Verity's flushed jowls and dark eyes were as close to glowering as he had ever been in the presence of a superior officer.
'Come along, then,' said Captain Smiles impatiently, leading the way with a bandy-legged swagger, down the gloomy passageways and into the sunlit slums of New York.
6
The smooth-skinned young man with his mild blue eyes, carefully-flattened fair hair, his heavy mouth and jaw disfiguring an otherwise pleasant face, stood on the edge of the flat rock and gazed in awe at the sight before him. On every side of him there rose a long incessant roar, which seemed almost to be emitted from the deep centre of the earth. The broad river, smooth and wide, flowed swiftly on, each rock and islet diverting the current in a recoiling feather of spray. Presently the first foam appeared on the eddies, and there were whirlpools that made the youth's head spin until he had to look away from them. Torn, and jagged, and roaring, the broad torrent poured and throbbed over rocks and stones in mounds of spray, like loosely-driven snow. In the mad onward rush of the stream, trees tumbled over and over, their branches rising from the surface briefly, like the arms of drowning
Similar Books
