The Bride Sale by Candice Hern Page B

uncertainty. At least she had held his gaze, she thoughtas she approached the landing on her way upstairs to her bedchamber. But was it due to strength of will or simple fascination for a man who was still little more than a dark stranger?
    Silly girl. This old place was growing on her all right. It was making her foolish.
    â€œAnd what could you possibly have to smile about?”
    Agnes Bodinar stood on the landing looking down at Verity. She wore her usual black dress and familiar black expression. Her mouth puckered with disdain, and the contemptuous look in her gray eyes caused Verity to halt in mid-stride.
    â€œWell?”
    â€œIt was nothing,” Verity replied. She gripped her bonnet tightly in both hands and stood her ground, just as surely as she had with Lord Harkness. “Nothing at all.”
    â€œHmph!” Agnes snorted. “I should hope not.” She stepped off the landing onto the stair where Verity stood and brought her face to within inches of Verity’s. Verity sucked in her breath and inhaled the fragrance of face powder and starch. The older woman’s eyes narrowed, her brows knit together so tightly they formed deep furrows down the center of her forehead.
    â€œYou’ve no cause to smile. You’re not safe here,” she hissed, wagging a bony finger next to her nose. “He’s evil, I tell you. Evil!”
    She leaned away from Verity and eyed her from head to foot. “I don’t care what lover’s lies he may have whispered in your ears, or how much he’s paying you. I’m only telling you to be on your guard if you know what’s good for you. The man’s a devil! He means you nothing but harm, mark my words.”
    I thought he had other plans for you , the steward had said.
    â€œYou should leave this place,” Agnes continued. “Leave while you can.”
    Verity turned away from Agnes and bounded up the stairs. When she reached her bedchamber, she slammed the door closed and sank heavily back against it.
    Yes, she ought to leave. These shifts between normalcy and nightmare and back again were too much for her. She thought again of sinister plots, of attempts to so confuse her that she didn’t care what happened.
    She would leave this place after Davey was fully recovered. She could not bear this bizarre game of wits any longer. She wasn’t yet certain what the stakes were, but she knew they were high. And she was bound to lose.
    The problem was, she did not know what sort of loss she faced. Would she ultimately lose her life? Would she merely lose her virtue? Or would she finally, inexorably lose her mind?
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    Thick smoke filled his nostrils and burned the back of his throat. The night air throbbed with the ceaseless din of gunfire. Shot and shell whistled through the ranks, but James held his men back while the first column stormed the breach. Through the veil of smoke and screaming men, he watched as the brigade was cut to shreds by the French guns.
    A handful of intrepid souls scrambled across the trenches dug on either side of the breach where two twenty-four-pounders hurled grape at the attackers. After two more shattering rounds, the big guns fell silent. With only their bayonets, the stubborn men of the 88th must have dispatched the gunners. It was time to move. At Picton’s signal, James waved his men forward onto the ramparts.
    â€œGo!” he shouted as they ran past.
    And then the earth exploded beneath him.
    Balls of fire fell at his feet, and a heavy, sizzling mass knocked him to the ground. Pain in his left leg shot all the way up his shoulder and down again. Flames erupted all around him, catching everything combustible and sending off smaller explosions every few seconds. Two burning figures ran toward him, completely engulfed. Was one of them Hughes, his sergeant?
    He had to help them.
    The smell of burning flesh assaulted his nose and he thought he was going to be sick. But there was no time for