Page 41 of Highland Spy

Once more, she was magnificent, like she’d been at the card tables months ago. The men leaned toward her, like budding plants stretching toward the heat of the morning sun. But despite their eagerness, she kept herself at a distance with flirtatious reprimands and witty somethings that left the table all laughing at one red-faced man.

A mug of ale settled before Connor. He tore his gaze from Ariana and found a barmaid standing beside him, her breasts sagging in her half-laced bodice like a tired sigh.

“The barkeep thought ye’d want something to wash yer food down with.”

Connor nodded his thanks and turned back to the table, mug halfway to his mouth.

He stopped short of putting it to his lips, and his heart punched down into his stomach.

One of the men from the table was missing, and so was Ariana.

Chapter 10

Ariana had never followed a man to his room before.

The stocky form in front of her stumbled his way up the narrow flight of stairs to the row of rooms above. Already he swayed on his feet.

Percy’s vial had worked quickly.

“Are you well, Cuthbert?” Ariana asked innocently.

He straightened. “Ach, aye.” His brows furrowed with a concentration his eyes could not seem to match.

Perhaps she had given him too much from the slender vial. Percy hadn’t specified an amount.

If nothing else, Ariana hoped he’d make it to the room and she wouldn’t have to guess which was his.

He staggered toward a door with heavy feet and managed to unlock it in a series of bumps and scraping shuffles. She followed him inside and the odor of stale rushes filled her nose. Still, it was a reprieve from the overwhelming stench of too many bodies below.

Cuthbert hiccupped. “Join me on the bed.” His words were so slurred, Ariana had to pause a moment to even decipher them.

She made a humming, acquiescent sound and closed the door.

The thud of his body upon the small bed was followed by a deep, even snoring. She let the breath she’d been holding whoosh out. Perfect timing.

Quick as she dared, she made her way to the simple table by the window and opened the shutter to allow the moonlight to cast its glow upon the papers there.

A gust of wind swept in and she found herself gulping down a lungful of pure, delicious air. The rush of desperation racing through her veins calmed and she was once more able to focus.

A snort from the bed lanced through the serenity and set Ariana’s heart pounding once more.

She froze and looked back at him.

He did not move.

She fingered the outline of the round bottle in her skirt pocket, reassuring herself of its presence, even if she was not much inclined to put it to use.

A sharp breeze swept in and brushed several papers to the floor. Ariana scooped them up and leaned over the desk, ever mindful to listen for a break in the even, sawing snores behind her.

The heavy sensation in her eyes had not bothered her downstairs once she’d grown accustomed to the light. Now though, no matter how hard she squinted or craned her neck over the page, the slanting words blurred.

She held the parchment farther away and could make out the larger of the letters.

Land was evident on one, a name she did not recognize on another, marriage on yet another.

Her heart beat a little faster.

This was why she’d followed him up. The scribe snoring in the bed had bragged about drafting a marriage contract for the girl in the nunnery.