Read Online The Death of Dulgath by Michael J. Sullivan - Free Book Online

tired, understandable, given the recent unpleasantness. The man charged with enforcing the law and protecting the countess couldn’t be sleeping well.
    A pair of men accompanied him, neither a native of Maranon.
    One was tall, with a friendly smile and a relaxed stride, acting as if he were meeting a familiar bartender instead of a countess. He was dressed in worn leather and had dull buckles on three separate belts—none of which Thorbert Wells would have been caught in if his trousers depended on them—and a long cloak tossed jauntily over one shoulder. He one-upped Knox by wearing three swords. The one on his back looked big enough to fell a tree. The other man, a few inches shorter, might have been a woman for all Sherwood could tell. He was tented inside a dark cloak, hood up and his hands lost in its folds. Only a sharp nose, thin lips, and a pale chin presented themselves.
    “Your Ladyship.” Knox went down to one knee. Rising, he gestured to the others. “This is Royce Melborn and Hadrian Blackwater of Melengar. They come highly recommended by Viscount Winslow of Colnora and Bishop Parnell.”
    “Highly recommended for what?” she asked, tilting her head from side to side, studying the two.
    Knox hesitated and glanced awkwardly at Wells and Sherwood. “Perhaps we could speak privately?”
    “Is it a secret?” she asked.
    “In a way, milady.”
    “They are here to protect me, yes?”
    “No,” the one in the hood said without so much as a pleasant tone, much less a milady.
    The countess raised her head to stare down her nose at him, no attempt to hide her irritation. “Then why are you here?”
    “We’ve been hired to find the best ways to kill you.”
    Sherwood dropped his favorite brush, adding to the woes of its bristles. Wells clamped a meaty hand over his mouth, making his big cheeks swell as they flushed red. Knox closed his eyes, tilted his head up toward the ceiling, and opened his mouth but said nothing.
    Lady Dulgath folded her arms under the head of the fox and raised an elegant brow. “Really? And how much are you being paid? Hadrian—is it?”
    The hood shook. “Name’s Royce, and that information is between me and my employer.”
    This time even Knox brought a hand to his face.
    “Pardon me,” the taller one with the swords butted in, “my lady, I’m Hadrian.” He offered a gracious bow. “I hope you’ll excuse my partner. He’s not accustomed to speaking to… people …ah, people such as yourself. You see, we were asked to evaluate security measures to see if there are ways to improve them. Royce is an expert at finding flaws, particularly when it comes to threats of assassination.”
    The chamberlain cringed at the mention of the “a” word.
    “So you believe my life is in danger. That’s why you’re here?”
    “Don’t you think your life is in danger?” Royce asked.
    “Not particularly.” She expelled a huff of air, pivoted on her left heel, and turned her back to them. She took three steps toward the window, stopped, then spun on the same heel back to face them once more. “If I did, would I allow a man with three swords and another shrouded in a hood to enter my private study?”
    Royce shrugged. “I just thought you were stup—”
    “Royce!” Hadrian snapped. In a milder tone, he continued, “My friend is very tired from our long trip. Now, if no one is trying to harm you, there’s no reason for us to be here. But since we’ve traveled so far, and on the expectation of payment, I hope you won’t begrudge us the opportunity to at least tour Dulgath. Neither of us has been to Maranon before. Your corner of it is most beautiful.”
    Lady Dulgath continued to stare at Royce. “Draw back your hood,” she ordered.
    Hadrian laid a hand on the other one’s shoulder and whispered something to him.
    “Is there a problem?” the lady asked.
    “I’m here to do a job,” Royce said. “Not entertain you.”
    “You’ve come to my castle unbidden and have