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The floorboards stopped shifting, and I relaxed I leaned forward, letting er

“Ignorant, are we, lass?”

I tossed back ut that stretched his cheap green satin tunic The leader of the troupe, I assuone silent, save the sounds of the fire popping and the bar now

“It was a private conversation,” I explained “You shouldn’t have listened in if you didn’t want to hear e had to say”

The thinwoed his wooden stool next toin so close that I could smell the sour beer on his breath “You’ve a fine accent City folk, are you? If you’re smart, you’ll turn back” He dropped his voice to a theatrical hush “Strange things happen this far north Flashes of colored light Pools of black water They say half the women smell of witchcraft”

He was trying to frighten“It’s probably the snize that particular odor”

The barmaid snickered

Montgo we need is to draw attention to ourselves,” he whispered in my ear

He was right I started to turn away, but the thin ed it over until host story, then by all means, lass, tell us”

Montgoh

I narrowed o upstairs I should leave it be But itated, and ht I didn’t have

I started to open my mouth I could tell him about a madman banished to an island isted anis Or athe streets of London who left behind white flowers tinged with blood Or I could go upstairs and unlock Edward’s door and let the Beast’s six-inch claws show these carnival performers what real terror was

“We’ve had a long journey,” Montgomery answered for me “Our nerves are frayed We didn’t mean to offend” His words had a finality to the back to the fireplace, where the old woman let out another belch

“I could have handled it on my own,” I said

He raised an eyebrow “By du a brawl I told you, we need to remain unnoticed Now I should check on the horses while there’s still a bit of daylight Eat that soup before it goes cold You need it”

He pulled his oilskin jacket over his shirt and disappeared into the freezing rain Alone at the table, ignoring the din from the carnival troupe, I watched the steam rise from my soup while I calculated the distance to Ballentyne Manor We’d been riding for three days, but the rain and snow and a broken strut had slowed us, so it ht be another full day before we arrived Not much time to keep Edward’s fever stabilized until we could find a cure