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CHAPTER ONE

Rose Higginbotha roohtest bit of attention, but that wasn’t necessarily a bad thing right now She needed to be ignored for a few lance her way, she used her fan to disguise the calculating look she threw at the doorway that led onto the balcony If only she could get the chance to use it she would be happy, for a little while at least Dare she?

“If only,” she whispered as she studied her ne ani she wanted was to draw the old lady’s attention and be forced to endure another diatribe about the old woout Time was precious

“I need to go now,” she muttered beneath her breath as she turned her attention to the other revellers in the tightly packed ballroom

As usual the too s servants ferrying trays laden with refreshments this way and that In Rose’s opinion balls and routs were the worst kind of social engageeach other’s clothing,about other people’s lives It was a fete of endurance that tested her to her liet outside, even though the night air was considerably cooler than the stuffy ballroo stuck inside with people she really didn’t like very much

In that ave her a perfect view of her parents They were deep in conversation with friends of theirs, and oblivious to everything but the depth of their cups She knew they wouldn’t bother to try to find her, even if she vanished for the re They never bothered and therefore posed no risk to what she was about to do

Satisfied that nobody was even aware she was alive, Rose sauntered casually toward the door In an attempt to appear as normal as possible, she took one last sip of her Ratafia, and carefully placed her elass at the base of a potted pallance around she opened the door and slithered through the narrow gap The sense of accomplishment she felt when she h of relief when the din was i of the door behind her

A small slanced up at the star-lit sky

Quickly taking several steps into the darkness, Rose slid her warm hands up and down the now chilled flesh of her upper arms and looked for a darker corner in which to savour what she craved Although the silence that settled around her was interspersed by the muted hum of noise from within the room, the cacophony was bearable now that she didn’t have to stand within it It gave her a sense of not being completely isolated

Unfortunately, the blissful silence didn’t last long Only a few moments into her foray, Rose beca from so voluht until every word of the conversation overtook the distant buzz froust was quickly replaced withelse to do Brows lifted, Rose blatantly listened to the brewing argument

“I said I don’t know,” a man cried loudly

Rose frowned as she studied the shadows on the empty street It was just like any other street in this rather nondescript town; a mixture of small, narrow houses interspersed with business of all descriptions This particular street had more businesses on it than most, one of which was a coal merchants located almost directly opposite the Town Hall Rooms where she stood

The coal ue point, Rose was able to see inside the se, burly hly against the wall of a narrow brick house She read the faded sign above the yard’s entrance: Mr Roger Morley, Coal Merchant Not being from the area, it was impossible for her to know if the small man was Mr Morley, or someone else

Thankfully, none of the men even looked at the balcony to know that she was there Rose re It felt terribly wrong of her to pry into their argument but if sheshe wanted was to draw their attention

“Just finish your arguain with increasing vigour, eager to get back inside She was starting to grow cold, and would soon be frozen if they didn’t get a ument

“I told you I don’t,” Mr Morley protested loudly as he clawed at the hand holding the front of his shirt “I a honest with you, Jones I am Why would I lie?”

Jones was the wirier of the twothe coal uishness about him that bordered on bullishness, but was not entirely different to his associate He was a considerably larger gentleround Even from a distance Rose could see that both of the coal s She had to wonder what Mr Morley had done to anger them so much

“Please, don’t,” their victi into his jacket pocket

Rose glanced nervously at the door to the ballroom and wondered if she should fetch help, but it was too late The argument in the yard quickly turned violent In a quandary to knohat to do for the best, Rose remained frozen in place and watched the altercation

“I a tone when Jones ly, but it had no impact on Jones and his accomplice

“You are hiding it from me,” Jones accused loudly

“Why would I hide anything from you? We are friends, you know that” Mr Morley turned pleading eyes toward Jones’ acco tio there? How could I hide it? I just don’t have it”