The Birth of Blue Satan Read Online Free Page B

black cape streaming after him like the wings of death, Tom rushed to kneel at his master’s side.
    “Go after him, Tom.” Gideon struggled to sit, clasping a pale, lean hand to his left shoulder. “Take my horse and ride after the devil. Take my sword.”
    “No, sir! You’re hurt!” Tom reached shaking fingers to feel a spot that was widening on Gideon’s sleeve.
    “Go after him, I said! The damned coward’s getting away!”
    “Aye, but there’s nothing can be done about that now. His lordship would eat me for dinner if I let you bleed in the street.”
    Ignoring Gideon’s swearing, Tom scooped him up and staggered towards the door. A warm, sticky liquid pooled in the palm of his hand, giving him strength. In a matter of seconds, he had crossed the courtyard and climbed the steps to the house.
    “Open up!” he shouted, kicking furiously at the door.
    “Curse you, put me down!”
    “Not on your life, my lord.” In the shock of the moment, Tom had forgotten to use his master’s proper address, but he was reminded to use it now.
    “Loose me, or I’ll be the one  to have your head on a platter!”
    The fact that Gideon had barely struggled in his arms told Tom that he was weaker than he would admit. But at least he could speak. He had not lost consciousness. Perhaps the wound was not as severe as Tom had feared.
    “Very well, my lord, but if you get dizzy, you must lean on me.”
    The door opened slowly at first, but once the liveried footman saw who was waiting outside, he threw it wide.
    “My Lord St. Mars!”
    “I am quite all right, Will,” Gideon said as Tom gently lowered him to his feet. “‘Tis nothing but a scratch.”
    A scratch that was making an ever-widening stain on his lordship’s upper sleeve, as both servants could see in the candlelight that spilled from the hall. Still, when Tom saw that his master’s torso had been spared, his chest filled with blessed relief.
    The housekeeper hurried forward from the servants’ hall. When she saw the blood on Gideon’s coat, she shrieked. “Oh, my lord!”
    “Have Philippe called to my chamber, if you please, Mrs. Dixon. I shall be requiring a change of clothes.”
    “And a surgeon, too.” Tom was ready to run into the street. “Shall I fetch the Watch, my lord?”
    “Yes.” As Gideon mounted the stairs, he turned. “No— wait. I do not wish to be bothered with either this evening. You may fetch them in the morning.”
    “But, my lord—”
    “No, Tom. I shall be fine, truly I shall. I do not wish to be questioned now. It would be a complete waste of time in any case, since they will never catch the scoundrel. And I must not miss Lord Eppington’s ball.”
    With that, he turned his back and continued to climb, leaving his three servants below, and speechless.
    “But—my lord!” Tom was the first to find his voice.
    He was given no further chance to use it, for Gideon ignored him as he disappeared at the bend in the stairs.
    “Now, there’s a queer start,” Will said, looking to Tom for enlightenment.
    Tom was so angry with his headstrong master, he could not stomach any remarks about him right now. “Mind your tongue!” he said sharply. “And don’t be speaking about the master in that impudent way. Get along with you, now!”
    The footman knew the privileged position Thomas Barnes held in my Lord St. Mars’s household. Thus, he held back the retort he might have made and, with a haughty look, retired to the back of the house to tell his fellow servants what he’d witnessed up front.
     
    Gideon slowly made his way up the last two steps, aware that to hurry would cause him to lose more blood. He could not afford to take that risk since his head had already begun to swim.
    In the hall, he was met by his anxious valet. “ Tiens!” Philippe exclaimed. “But Monseigneur is hurt! C’est grave ? ”
    “I think not,” Gideon said, leading Philippe back through his chamber, lit only by the embers of a dying fire, then