Page 99 of A Devious Secret

Haddington gave him a pointed look. “I would be careful where you step,” he advised before he headed towards the door.

Before he had taken a step, Hawthorne said, “Let us do the talking.”

“I can handle myself,” Stephen asserted.

“Not here, not now,” Hawthorne remarked. “These are dangerous men and they do not take kindly to gentlemen.”

“Is that why you wear those clothes, to blend in?” Stephen asked.

Hawthorne tugged down on the tattered sleeves of his brown jacket. “Quite possibly.”

Stephen followed Hawthorne into the tavern and his steps faltered once he was inside. There were small, round tables spread throughout the tavern. The men that were sitting around these tables all had dirty faces and the smell that wafted off them was more poignant than what he had smelled outside.

Some of the men glanced his way and grunted. One man pushed back his chair and walked slowly towards him. He had a long scar that protruded from the side of his forehead to his jawline.

“What are you looking at?” the man demanded.

Stephen didn’t cower in front of the man, but challenged him, instead. “I was looking at no one in particular.”

The man stepped closer to him. “It almost seems that you came here looking for trouble.”

“I didn’t come here looking for trouble, but it would appear that it found me,” Stephen said.

As the man reared his arm back, Haddington grabbed the man’s fist and jerked his arm behind his back.

“Is that any way to treat a newcomer?” Haddington asked, his voice stern.

The man turned his head towards Haddington. “Do you know this man, Daventry?”

“I do, sadly,” Haddington replied as he released the man’s arm. “He is with me.”

“Why didn’t you say so?” the man asked.

“Well, I would have thought it was obvious since he walked in with me,” Haddington replied with a smile.

The man rubbed the back of his neck with his hand. “Why are you friends with some fancy bloke?”

Haddington slapped the man on the back. “Because he is buying me drinks tonight.”

“If that is the case, I want to be friends with him, too,” the man joked.

With a chuckle, Haddington asked, “Is there a meeting in the back?”

All humor was stripped from the man’s face. “You don’t mean to take that bloke in there with you, do you?”

“I was thinking about it,” Haddington said.

The man shook his head vehemently. “Peter would never allow it,” he declared. “It would be best if you just had a drink and be on your way.”

Haddington removed his hand from the man’s shoulder. “That sounds like a fine idea.” He held his hand up to get a serving wench’s attention. “I think I will start now.”

With a parting glare at Stephen, the man walked back over to the table and slumped down onto his seat.

Haddington leaned closer to him and warned, “Do not make eye contact with any of these men. They would sooner kill you than befriend you.”

“Understood,” Stephen said.

They walked over to an empty table and pulled out the rickety chairs. It was a far cry from what he was used to at White’s.