The Elusive Bride by Stephanie Laurens Read Free Book Online Page B

shortest possible time.”
    Watson grimaced. “That’ll cost a pretty penny.”
    “Money we have,” Gareth returned. “Our safety is my primary concern.”
    Watson nodded. “Whenever you’re ready.”
    “We need supplies.” Emily waited until Gareth looked her way. Raising her hand, she ticked off on her fingers, “We need flour, lentils, rice, tea, sugar, and all the other things we didn’t have on the barge.”
    They’d learned that although their households could happily share the same foods, Indian or English, a steady diet of fish and only fish suited none of them.
    Beside Emily, both Arnia and Dorcas were nodding, as were Bister and Jimmy.
    Gareth opened his mouth, then shut it as realization dawned.
    Emily gave him a thin-lipped smile. “Indeed—if you find a barge to take us straight on, as we all hope, then given the hour we’ll need to go to the souk now. We can’t afford to wait until you get back.”
    He stared at her. She could all but see his instinctive refusal to let her go outside forming on his tongue. She pointed to Bister. “If Bister will come with me, and Mullins, too, we can leave Jimmy with Arnia and Dorcas to guard the luggage.”
    It was a reasonable division of labor and guards. Her gaze steady on his face, she waited to see if he would accept. If he had it in him to be reasonable.
    His lips thinned, but slowly he nodded—forced himself to nod. “All right.” He looked at Bister and Mullins. “But take all care. So far we’ve managed to avoid the cultists. If at all possible, we don’t want to be seen.”
     
    The souk was a bustling hive of humanity, located within a quarter of narrow winding streets. Both traders and customers hailed from many different nations, and all were talking loudly in many different tongues. Luckily, with the expansion of French and British influence, most traders spoke a smattering of pidgin English at least, and some spoke passable French, enough for Emily to get by.
    She was firmly determined not to feel cowed by having to deal with such foreign foreigners. And, indeed, she discovered that if she approached with confidence, the traders treated her with deference and politeness, and after her months in Bombay, bargaining was second nature.
    They got through their list of required purchases with commendable speed. She was completing the last transaction—for chickpeas—when Gareth and Mooktu joined them.
    She smiled and handed Gareth the peas. “Here—you may as well make yourself useful…” Looking into his face, she saw his expression, saw the way his eyes scanned the crowd. “What?”
    Without glancing down at her, he quietly said, “As we suspected, there are cultists in town. We saw them, but thus far I don’t think they’ve seen us. If at all possible, I’d like to keep it that way.”
    Emily glanced swiftly around. She made no protest when Gareth’s hard fingers closed about her elbow, and with a terse nod to the stall owner, he turned her away, back toward the tavern.
    They had to backtrack across the souk to reach the tavern.As they walked, keeping their pace no different to those around them, she murmued, “Did you find a schooner?”
    “Yes. We were lucky—we’ll be able to leave this evening.” Eyes constantly surveying the crowd, ready to take evasive action if he spotted any cultist, Gareth registered her nod, but again didn’t glance her way.
    He was feeling exceedingly exposed, and not a little vulnerable. Mooktu, in his tribal robes, merged easily into the crowd, but there were few Europeans about, and he, Emily, Bister, and Mullins stood out.
    Without warning, Emily halted.
    Already frowning, his grip on her elbow tightening, he turned to urge her on. And saw she was staring down an alley of stalls.
    She looked up at him, eyes bright. “Disguises.”
    He looked again, and saw that the stalls were selling robes and other items of local clothing.
    “We can’t merge with the crowds as we are, but if we buy some