Of Noble Birth Read Online Free Page B

speed of the Vengeance to Nathaniel’s estranged father, the very
nobleman they had just confounded.
    Nathaniel shook his head when Trenton
brought him a mug. “Nay, I’ll not ask for a throbbing head come
morning,” he laughed. “I’m sure the rest of you will drink enough
for me.”
    “Come on. ‘Tis only our third ship.
Certainly you’ve got a bit of celebrating left in you.”
    Nathaniel smiled and relented, taking the
proffered cup. “To future successes,” he said, and another cheer
burst from those who heard him.
    “To Mary. We owe what success we’ve had to
her,” Richard added.
    Lifting his cup high, Nathaniel took a long
sip of the warm brew, then reached out to stop Richard before he
could volunteer yet another toast. “Speaking of Mary,” he said to
the burly, redheaded Scotsman, “when do we learn the position of
our next target?”
    Richard’s freckled face took on a mournful
pout. “Ah, Mary. I’m afraid the lass is being a wee bit
stubborn.”
    “What do you mean?” Nathaniel asked in
alarm. “You said she’d do anything for money.”
    “Och, well.” Richard looked longingly into
his drink, as though reluctant to be sidetracked at this particular
juncture. “Now she claims the money does her little good. She can’t
spend it, or her father will know she’s up to something and give
her a thrashing.”
    “Why did you not mention this before?”
    “Because I think she’ll still help us. She
just wants something more than money, ye ken?”
    “Like what?”
    Richard exchanged a look with his brother
John, who had come to stand beside them, before turning back to
Nathaniel. “She wants to meet you.”
    “What, does she think I can simply ring the
front bell at Bridlewood and introduce myself?” Nathaniel
asked.
    Richard shook his head, apparently taking
Nathaniel’s words at face value. “I’d not ask you to do that. Just
come with me once. That’s all it would take.”
    “But why does she want to meet me?”
    “She’s heard rumblings among the older
servants about your mother, and you, and she says she wants to know
that you’re real.”
    “No doubt she wants to have something to
gossip about,” John put in. “She ain’t but seventeen or eighteen.
Her days get long in that big house with nothing to break them up
but a spot of tea and a juicy tidbit. What else could she want with
you? She’s in this as deep as we are. If the duke ever discovers
that she’s been stealing his controller’s books and schedules, and
letting us take a look, he’ll send her to Newgate right along with
us.” He grimaced at the reminder of prison. “Still I, for one,
understand if you think it’s an unnecessary risk.”
    Richard glanced at his brother. “I’d say
Mary’s made it necessary enough. Unless we find another way to get
the information we need, we’re out of a job. And nothing could be
more simple than what we got going—”
    “Of course Richard doesn’t want to lose
Mary. He likes what she gives him along with the information,” John
exclaimed.
    Richard laughed, but Nathaniel didn’t find
anything to do with his father amusing. “So what do you suggest?”
he asked Richard. He had visited the duke’s lavish Clifton estate
only once, when he was seven, but that day held enough painful
memories to last him a lifetime. He had no wish to probe the
wound.
    “Mary always meets me in the woods near the
pond. She can’t read so she brings the books with her. It takes me
a few minutes to find out what we need to know, then I pay her and
send her on her way... or I would if you
were with me,” Richard added with a devilish grin.
    Nathaniel thought for a moment. It wouldn’t
be easy to replace Mary. As one of the housemaids, she had access
to every room in Bridlewood Manor. And being uneducated, she
remained above suspicion. “Very well, when we put in at Bristol,
send her a message telling her I’ll come.”
    Turning and finding Trenton gone, Nathaniel
left Tiny and John