Immortal Confessions Read Online Free

taken
down.
    “Good night, then,” she said, and walked
away.
    Not bad, for a first night. Of course, when I
got to my lover’s bed, she was livid. “Where have you been!” she
hissed at me. “I’ve waited for you for hours!”
    “Bringing you coin,” I said soothingly,
handing her a fifth of what I’d received for the animals. “I
thought it the least I could do, for your generosity. I set some
snares, and caught a few rabbits.”
    She looked at me grumpily, but I kissed her
in practiced motion. Before long, she was in a much better
mood.
    * * * *
    A week passed. I met with Anna every night.
She mastered the written word almost supernaturally fast. This was
partly because we’d only read one book of poetry, and the author of
that book tended to use the same words in all of his writings. But
on the whole, it was remarkable progress for a woman, even for a
smart one. I told her this in more flattering words, and it seemed
to please her.
    I found myself liking Anna. She was the
typical youngest daughter of a nobleman: haughty, but also good,
kind, and a little naughty from being ignored most of her life.
None of the things she related to me in whispers were very bad.
They were the kind of childish exploits that seem large to a young
girl and absurd to someone much older. Nevertheless, I was amused
to hear her tale of caring for an injured crow, the rumor she’d
started about a rival that had caused her not to leave her room for
days, and the story of setting the tapestry near the main fireplace
alight with a carelessly dropped brand.
    I also noticed that she seemed to like me.
That was expected, as I listened to her as no one else probably
did. Plus, I was very attractive, which was always a help.
    Finally, I found out from her what I wanted
to know. The treasure was due to arrive the next day in a large
caravan. Irritatingly, the real treasure was not in the caravan,
but in a purse the lead man was carrying. It was loose jewels,
principally sapphires and diamonds. That purse was worth ten times
what the rest was worth.
    Relieved, I made plans to get word to the
gypsies. That would mean sneaking out this very night, and trying
to find their headman after feeding. I’d need to go right now,
because even leaving immediately I’d be hard pressed to make it
back inside the walls before dawn...
    “I must go,” I said, getting up. “I must
hunt.”
    “Hunt what?”
    I hadn’t meant to make that slip. A blush
suffused my face, shocking me. I hadn’t blushed for a hundred
years, easily.
    “Devlin?”
    “I hunt for deer, to supplement my income,” I
said as convincingly as I could muster. “I have needed new boots
for a while now, Milady.”
    “I see,” she said, after a moment. “It’s true
yours are of an ancient style.”
    That was true. I didn’t want to wear the
newer style boots, with the short tops and higher heel. I’d always
preferred my full leg boots. They’d saved my legs from burning many
a time, when I’d woken up to find I’d rolled outside a shelter in
my sleep, and the lower part of me was laying in the dawn’s weak
light.
    “I’ll leave you, Lady. Good night.”
    “Here,” she said. “Take this, for your
assistance to me.” She handed me a heavy purse of gold cloth.
    I knew at once it easily contained enough
coin for some new boots, and I was unsure how to react. Part of me
told me to refuse it, because I had been bred better than to take
money from a woman. The practical side of me told me to take it,
because with it, there would be no more lugging deer back though
the forest for a few coins.
    I took the middle road. “Keep your money,
Anna. We are not done with your lessons. In another few days, we
will be, and if you are satisfied, you can give me the money
then.”
    She took her purse back, a measure of respect
in her eyes. “Agreed.”
    * * * *
    A few more days went by, and still the
caravan did not arrive. This was due to strong thunderstorms and
lightning, which turned