A Man Betrayed by J. V. Jones Read Free Book Online

brought it into the light. He whistled in
appreciation. The girl in the painting was quite a beauty: golden hair, blue
eyes, lips as soft as freshly hung tripe. The dark man with the muscles had a
fine taste in ladies, if not food. Flipping the miniature over revealed writing
on the other side. Nabber was no scholar, so the text remained unread, but he
could recognize crosses that marked kisses as quick as the next man. With a
shrug, he pocketed the portrait and turned his eyes to the pie.
    Nabber finished it
off and wondered what his next move should be. He had need of more money, as
his contingency had been sadly depleted due to his stay in Rainhill. Dicing had
ever been his downfall, that together with his tendency to order extravagant
meals at even more extravagant inns, had rendered him penniless. He'd even had
to sell his pony. Though, granted that wasn't a great sacrifice. Never had
there been a more mutually agreeable parting than the one between Nabber and
his horse.
    So, he needed
coinage. And a few well-worn silvers just weren't enough for a boy with
expensive tastes like himself. He also needed to find the knight.
    Tawl was somewhere
in the city, he was almost certain of it. The guard at the gate had merely
confirmed his suspicions. Nabber had followed the knight's trail for over three
weeks now, visiting villages that Tawl had passed through, following paths that
Tawl had ridden on. Nabber had talked to countless strangers about the knight,
and if they'd seen him pass they remembered a man with golden hair and
dangerously blank eyes.
    Tawl needed him.
It wasn't in the boy's nature to ask too many questions, so he didn't dwell on
the reason why. He just knew that the knight was in trouble and required
rescuing. Nabber was the one who would step in and do the job. He knew that
Tawl had been on some heroic quest, the sort that knights were always on, and
he feared that his friend might have given up his duty. Nabber considered it
his responsibility to put the knight back on track. It was different for him:
once a lowlife, always a lowlife. He had no desire to be anything other than a
pocket, unless of course it was to be a rich pocket. But Tawl, well, he was
noble and honorable, and it just wasn't right that he should go astray. Who
could tell? By helping his friend, he might be helping himself. Quests were
notorious money spinners.
    He looked up past
the darkened buildings to the sky above. It was already past midday; time to
get a move on. In his experience, it was at about this time that merchants,
with a full morning of trading behind them and before they'd had a chance to
spend their profits in the taverns, had the fullest pockets. Nabber struck a path
toward the northeast gate, where, if memory served him, the traders' market was
held. Opportunity beckoned and he was never one to ignore the call.
    "I'm just
going out for a minute. I need to stretch my legs." Jack knew Melli would
protest.
    "But the blizzard's
still raging. You'll catch your death," she said. "Can't you wait and
see if it clears up a little first?" She was worried about him, he could
tell from the set of her mouth: soft lips drawn to a hard line. Well, she would
just have to worry; he needed some air. Four days holed up in a chicken coop
had taken their toll. He had to be outside, see the expanse of the land rather
than the enclosure of the walls. He needed to be by himself.
    He didn't want to
hurt Melli by telling her that, so he said, "Nature calls."
    A flush came to
her cheeks, but even her embarrassment at the mention of such an indelicate
subject was not enough to forestall a warning. "Don't venture far."
    Jack couldn't help
but smile-a man could love a woman like that. "Don't worry," he said,
"I won't be gone long." Their eyes met and, as if something in her
gaze compelled him, he stretched out his hand. It hung in the air between them
until her hand stretched out to meet it. Her fingers were cool and her touch
light, but it was enough for