Bloody Lessons Read Online Free

bruises, but Kathleen who attended her at her bath reported that she didn’t see any cuts or swelling.”
    He put his other hand over hers, its warmth providing a small comfort. He took a deep breath and said, “Good, good. And this happened in the back alley? When?”
    “Yes , Nate. I told you. Laura and Jamie were coming back from school a little before five.”
    Nate thought about the thick fog he had waded through this evening on his way from his law offices to Annie’s house. How dark it had seemed walking the half a block up from where he got off the horsecar at Taylor. The alley would have been pitch black. He imagined how frightening it would be for his sister to have a man lunge out of the darkness at her.
    He felt a new spurt of anger. “It would have been dark by then; why the devil did they come the back way?”
    “Since he doesn’t have a front door key, Jamie is used to going that way when he comes home. Honestly, I would never have considered the alley dangerous before. Kathleen takes that route all the time when she leaves the house, and I do when I am planning on going south to Market Street.”
    “In the dark?” Nate realized how sharp he sounded, and he tempered his tone. “I mean, what kind of lighting is back there?” He knew questioning Annie’s judgment on safety issues would just get him into trouble, given their past history. But hang it all, this was his precious little sister!
    Annie stirred and pulled her hands away, fiddling with the small brooch at her neck. “The houses on each side of the alley do provide some illumination. However, I see your point. With night coming on, in the fog, I would probably not have chosen to go that way, and Kathleen is usually being escorted by Patrick when she comes home that way at night.”
    Nate sighed. “I suppose Laura wouldn’t have thought anything about going down a dark alley , since that is the condition of most country roads. Even San Jose isn’t that well lit, not like San Francisco.”
    “Jamie was very upset. Not just that it was his idea to go that way but that he ran ahead to the house, leaving Laura alone in the alley for a moment. He felt he’d failed to act the ‘gentleman!’ Sweet boy. Frankly, if he hadn’t gone right back to the alley, and Dandy hadn’t made a racket attacking the man, I am not sure the outcome would have been as benign.”
    The memory of Annie struggling last fall with an unknown assailant filled Nate’s mind, and he blurted out, “Do you think this had anything to do with the Framptons and what happened in October? Could the man have been after you?”
    Annie shook her head slowly. “I hadn’t thought of that. I don’t see why it would. Laura is taller than I am, and her hair is much darker, although in the fog that might not be obvious. Oh Nate, I would feel awful if she had a fright because of me! What are we going to tell your parents? I promised so faithfully she would be safe with me!”
    Nate pulled her into his arms and said, “Now, Annie. We don’t know that you were the target. I just can’t think why Laura would be. It was probably just some ruffian looking for a few coins. I imagine Laura is going to have something to say about whether we can tell my parents about this. She didn’t have any idea who the man was?”
    “No, she said she couldn’t see him because he grabbed her from behind, so she had no idea what he looked like or who he was. But…”
    Nate looked down at Annie, who was fingering one of his lapels, a mannerism he had come to associate with her when she was worried. When she didn’t go on, he said sharply, “What is it? Do you think she knew who he was?”
    Annie shrugged. “I don’t think so. I just felt there was something odd about her reaction. Of course she was shaken up, but I expected her to be more outraged. I guess I had built up this image from all you had told me about her, that she was fearless…”
    Nate chuckled softly, pulling her tighter.