Read Online Tide and Tempest (Edge of Freedom Book #3) by Elizabeth Ludwig - Free Book Online

narrow table. In one corner sat a row of wide lockers stacked one atop the other. Ramsey flipped the latch on one. The door, about three feet wide by three feet tall, swung open with a rusty groan. Donal pinched his nose at the odor that followed.
    “In here.”
    The confines weren’t much bigger than a coffin, Donal realized with a start. A very chilly coffin when packed with ice to keep a body from decay. Or . . .
    His mind whirled with the possibilities as he watched Ramsey finish the task and then slam the locker door shut with a bang. He motioned toward the locker. “How long can a body keep in one of those?”
    Ramsey shrugged. “Depends. Gotta keep the ice fresh and all that, but otherwise they’re pretty airtight.”
    Donal knew right then what he’d do with the information he’d overheard between Captain Morgan and his brother.
    He fidgeted from foot to foot while Ramsey made out the writ and signed the bottom with a flourish. Jamming the paper into his pocket, Donal spun and left the morgue, a new determination in his footsteps.
    For sure and for certain, ’twould be of interest to The Celt to learn that someone besides Doc had sat with Braedon McKillop when he died. He might even care enough to pay Donal to take care of the problem for him.
    Aye, and he’d name his price for the service. Cash, that’s what. Lots of it. And the Caitriona Marie. Then they’d see who put whom off the ship.
    And the woman? She was naught but the key to wealthfor him. He could ill afford to see her as anything more. He would show pity, however. He’d make sure she was actually dead before he laid her in the locker next to Doc.

    Tillie put the finishing touches on a bonnet made of more ribbons than satin and held it up for examination. Across a wide table used for cutting and measuring fabric, Mrs. Wilford Darby narrowed her eyes as she scrutinized the final flower Tillie had crafted and fastened to the brim.
    “You made this?”
    “Aye, ma’am.”
    “From a pattern?”
    “No, ma’am, from memory. I saw one like it recently, in an advertisement for Harper’s Bazaar .”
    “I didn’t realize this establishment followed Harper’s Bazaar .”
    “No, ma’am. Mrs. Van Rensselaer saw my interest and gave me a copy . ”
    Mrs. Darby’s thin brows rose, and tiny lines formed around her lips. A moment later, she beckoned to the millinery shop owner, Mrs. Ferguson. “Box this for me.”
    As the woman hastened after her bidding, she turned to Tillie. “And from now on I’d prefer it if you saw to my orders personally.”
    Sensing her employer’s eyes upon her, Tillie caught her lip in her teeth.
    “Will that be a problem?”
    Mrs. Ferguson hurried back, a large hatbox clutched to her chest. “Not at all, Mrs. Darby. Tillie will be happy to see to your requests. Isn’t that right, my dear?”
    Tillie swallowed and ducked her head. “Of course, ma’am.”
    “Good. Thank you, Mrs. Ferguson.” Mrs. Darby motionedto her footman, who accepted the box from Mrs. Ferguson and carried it back to her carriage. “I’ll need something in purple. My husband and I will be attending a fund-raiser later this month and I’m having a gown specially made. I’ll send James with samples of the fabric.”
    Tillie nodded, already envisioning an array of possibilities. After signing for her purchases, Mrs. Darby left the store, a host of exhausted shop employees in her wake.
    Mrs. Ferguson shuffled past a flustered seamstress, who fanned her face with a swatch of muslin, then pulled a handkerchief from her apron pocket and mopped her brow. “I can’t believe it. This has to be the first time that woman has left the store satisfied with her purchases.”
    She pushed off the counter and ambled to Tillie, a wide smile creasing her plump cheeks. “I’ll never know how you managed it.”
    “’Twas nothing. A wee bit of prodding is all. Mrs. Darby prides herself on being up-to-date with the latest fashions.”
    “ And a distant