Rebel Dreams Read Online Free

me. They’re
companies in various towns some miles from here.”
    “Can you get me a list?”
    “Yes, but it will take some time.” Evelyn shivered at the
precariousness of their situation. If the smuggler was anywhere about, he must
wonder at his shipment being unloaded early and at the command of the ship’s
owner. Their prolonged conversation might drive him to investigate.
    “Then we’ll need to meet again, preferably somewhere else.
Any suggestions?”
    “My uncle’s. I will see that you receive an invitation to
dinner. I’ll pass you the list when I can. No one could suspect us of colluding
on a social occasion.”
    “Your uncle might,” he argued. “It’s better if we claim no
prior acquaintance other than that necessary to unload the ship.”
    “That’s not a problem. My uncle will never know that I am
the one inviting you. Trust me.”
    Hampton placed his hat under his arm and made a curt bow. “I
will leave it to your discretion, then. It will take months to find out who
shipped it from my end. The receivers are our best hope.”
    “I understand. Good day, Mr. Hampton.” Evelyn said this in
full view of the front office as he opened the door to escort her out. Only her
brother and the clerk from another warehouse were in the room, but she felt the
need for formality.
    She breathed a sigh of relief as he departed. Finding the
smugglers was going to be easier than dealing with one Alexander Hampton. She
shivered at the thought of meeting him again. Was he always so angry?

Chapter 2
    “They say he owns half of Cranville Enterprises,” Cousin
Frances said in awe over her teacup, the day after Evelyn’s encounter with the
subject under discussion. “I cannot imagine such wealth, can you? Just the
contents of the one ship in port now must be worth tens of thousands, and he
must own dozens. Why, I saw bolts of silk from his stores that would make your
mouth water.”
    Evelyn set her saucer down and gestured toward the package
on the seat beside her cousin. “I really must be going. Mama insisted that I
bring you some of those candies Mr. Hampton gave Jacob. They are delicious,
though personally I find the man odious. Flaunting his wealth in front of
starving, unemployed sailors is the height of maliciousness.”
    Evelyn reached for her hat. Her cousin Frances leapt to her
feet in a flurry of silken skirts and laces and a cloud of scent. Generally her
cousin’s porcelain prettiness sported a pout of boredom when she was forced to
converse with her bourgeois relatives. At the moment, she was all sunshine and
roses, catching Evelyn’s arm gaily and attempting to delay her departure.
    “Faith, but you must not hurry so! We never have time for a
good girlish chat. Sit and tell me more about this odious gentleman. Is he old?
Is he ugly?”
    Evelyn donned her hat and began to tie the ribbons. “Quite
striking, actually. He has the longest eyelashes I’ve ever seen on a man. And
the meanest mouth.” She added that for her own personal satisfaction. It should
be amusing to see how the hateful man pried Frances’ claws loose from his
scalp. “Anyway, he is still unmarried, which shows that London women have much
more sense than I ever gave them credit for. I really must be going. I’ll see
you later.”
    She hummed to herself as she left the house. She really had
no idea of Hampton’s marital or financial state, as it was of no concern to
her, but it was all the information Frances required to set her on the prowl.
At twenty, her cousin was a year younger than Evelyn, but horrified at her
spinster role.
    Evelyn could have told her that the available young men of
town thought she was a spoiled, greedy Tory. Frances wasn’t quite that bad, but
she didn’t belong in Boston right now. She would be much better off back in
London, where she had been born.
    Of course, if Frances were not quite so thoughtless, she
would have offered her cousin the use of the carriage to take her down to the
wharf. But