Everything I Ever Wanted by Jo Goodman Read Free Book Online Page A

suspected, she was availing herself of the medicinal properties of a dram or two of gin. He remembered the faint fragrance of alcohol wafting from the woman as she went about her business that evening. Whatever the exuse of her absence, it was just as well that it was so. Southerton had no real hope that the dresser would serve to aid his cause. For that he would require an accomplice possessing a more youthful countenance.
    South bided his time and was rewarded when a lad of some twelve years came hurrying down the corridor, carrying a pair of boots in each hand and another pair cradled close to his chest, secured by his crossed arms. South stopped him, laying a hand firmly on the boy's shoulder.
    The young prisoner chafed at his restriction. "Oh, no, m'lord. I dare not tarry. I 'ave these boots to polish." He tried to show them off, puffing out his thin chest so all three pairs would be highly visible and the importance of his work would not go unnoticed. "You'll find someone else, won't you, sir? There's plenty here what will do your bidding."
    South did not shift from his relaxed posture against the wall, nor did he loosen his grip on the boy's shoulder. He did permit himself a small smile. "How do you know what my bidding is, lad?"
    "Doobin," the lad said. "I'm called Doobin, though it ain't my proper name."
    "That would be Donald? Douglas?"
    "No, m'lord. No one knows my proper name, so I just be called Doobin."
    "I see. Enlightening."
    "It's good of you to say so, sir." Doobin took a single step forward and found himself immediately off balance because of the fingers that still clamped his bony shoulder.
    South permitted Doobin to get his feet under him again. "You haven't answered my question. How do you know what my bidding is?"
    Doobin shrugged. "I don't know. Not for certain. But it's likely the same as the others that waylay me here."
    "Oh?"
    Heaving a sigh, Doobin went on. "You want me to deliver your card to Miss Parr with a message that you would be pleased for her company at a late supper at Sarver's."
    It was somewhat humbling to have the whole of his plan pointed out by the bootblacking boy. South had not considered the number of men who had already attempted this approach, thus paving the way for his failure. "I was thinking of the Cumberland."
    "It doesn't matter."
    "Does Miss Parr prefer Sarver's?"
    "Miss Parr prefers to be left alone."
    "Why don't we let her decide? There's a shilling in it for you." He could see the boy was tempted, but South was late in realizing he had baited his hook too lightly. Doobin was savvy enough to know that a single shilling was little in the way of remuneration when weighed against the continued security of his employment. South tried another tack. "You like Miss Parr?"
    "I do indeed, m'lord. A fine lady, she is. And very good to me."
    "What if I told you she will be disappointed if you do not deliver my message?"
    Doobin shrewdly studied South's face for evidence of his sincerity or the lack of it. "I can't risk it," he said finally, reluctantly.
    South decided he had one last opportunity to plead his case. "If I'm wrong, I'll take you into my own employment at double your earnings." The boy's eyes practically bulged at the notion of this fortune being laid before him. It was left for Doobin to determine whether Southerton could be trusted to keep his word. "Perhaps if you heard the whole of my message," he said. He removed a card from the gold case he carried and showed it to the boy. "Here is my name." He turned it over. "And here is my message. Can you read?"
    "A little, m'lord. Miss Parr, she's teaching me my letters."
    "It says, 'You cannot expect I will always save you, Hortense.' "
    The boots bobbled in Doobin's arms and he almost lost his grip. He gaped up at Southerton. "That's you?"
    South's dark brows creased, uncertain what the boy meant. "That's my message."
    "But you're the one. From the other night. The one in the box who spoke the line."
    There was really no