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Chapter 1

"I f all angels of death were as lovely as you, men would line up to die"

Maria, Lady Winter, shut the lid of her enameled patch box with a decisive snap Her revulsion for the mirrored reflection of thea deep breath, she kept her gaze trained on the stage below, but her attention was riveted by the incomparably handsome man who sat in the shadows of her theater box

"Your turn will coal façade for the benefit of the nettes pointed in her direction She had worn cri froth sleeves It was her e coloring so well --dark hair, dark eyes, olive skin--but because it was a silent warning Bloodshed Stay away

The Wintry Widow, the voyeurs whispered Two husbands dead…and counting

Angel of death How true that was Everyone around her died, except for the man she cursed to Hades

The low chuckle at her shoulder made her skin crawl "It will take hter, to see me to my reward"

"Your reill be my blade in your heart," she hissed

"Ah, but then you will never be reunited with your sister, and she ale"

"Do not think to threaten me, Welton Once Amelia is wed, I will know her location and will have no further need for your life Consider that before you think to do to her what you have done to me"

"I could sel her into the slave trade," he drawled

"You assume, incorrectly, that I did not anticipate your threat" Fluffing the lace at her elbow, she ht curve to her lips to hide her terror

"I will know And then you will die"

She felt hie when Welton had ended her life Anticipation for the day when she would pay him in kind was all that moved her when despair for her sister threatened paralysis

"St John"

The na suspended in the air between theht "Christopher St John?"

It was rare that anything surprised her anye of six and twenty, she believed she had seen and done nearly everything "He has coin aplenty, bute is not necessary this time I’ve not yet depleted Lord Winter’s settlement This is si St John in some business I want you to discover what it is they ith hied his release from prison"

Maria ss Her two unfortunate husbands had been agents of the Crohose jobs hly useful to her stepfather They had also been peers of great wealth, much of which they left to her for Welton’s disposal upon their unti her head, she looked around the theater, absently noting the curling sht The soprano on the stage struggled for attention, for no one was here to see her The peerage was here to see each other and be seen, nothinga sketch of the popular pirate Uncommon handsome he was, and as deadly as she His exploits idely bandied, soeous she knew they could not possibly be true St John was discussed with inte he could escape the noose

"They must be desperate indeed to spare him all these years they have searched for the irrefutable proof of his vil ainy, and now that they have it, they bring him into the fold I daresay neither side is pleased"

"I do not care how they feel," Welton dismissed curtly "I simply wish to knoho I can extort to keep quiet about it"

"Such faith inhow her mouth fil ed with bile To think of the deeds she had been forced into to protect and serve a man she detested…Her chin lifted It was not her stepfather she protected and served She merely needed him alive, for if he were kil ed, she would never find Anored her jibe "Have you any notion what that inforave a nearly imperceptible nod, aware of the avid scrutiny that followed her every movement Society knew her husbands had not died natural deaths But they lacked proof Despite this uilt, she elcoerly She was infa like a touch of infamy

"How do I find hi over her in the shadows of the rear box, but Maria was not cowed Aside froer

Welton’s fingers lifted one of her curls "Your sister’s hair is so like yours Even powder cannot truly hide its gloss"

"Go away"

His laughter lingered long after he parted the curtains and exited to the gal ery How many years would she be forced to endure that sound? The investigators orked for her were unable to turn up anything of value Brief sightings of her sister and barely warm trails So many times she had been close…But Welton was always one step ahead