“You are mad.”
Roswell lowered his pistol to his side. “No, I’m not mad, but I have a vested interest in why this man wants this book.”
Taking a step back, the man asked, “Why should I help you?”
“I will double what the man was paying you.”
“Double?” The man perused the length of him. “That would be nearly twenty pounds. Do you have that kind of money?”
“I do.”
The man pursed his lips together as he considered the offer. Little did he know that he didn’t have much choice in the matter. “Fine, but I did warn you. I want to be paid before we go to the tavern.”
“I will pay you after we go to the tavern.”
“But you could be dead then and I won’t get paid.”
Reaching into his pocket, Roswell removed his coin purse and tossed it to the man. “Consider this a deposit.”
The man smiled as he weighed the coin purse in his hand. “You have a deal, sir.”
“When are you supposed to meet up?”
“I was supposed to go straight to the tavern once I secured the book,” the man informed him.
Roswell nodded his understanding. “I have a coach waiting out front,” he shared. “You go first and I will be right behind you.”
“Since we are going to work together, you can call me Samuel,” he said. “What can I call you?”
“Nothing, since you don’t need to know my name,” Roswell replied.
Samuel started walking down the path and Roswell followed him. They had struck up an agreement but that didn’t mean Roswell trusted the man. He had a feeling Samuel would just as easily double cross him as accept his money.
They arrived on the pavement and he saw Caleb pacing in front of the coach.
Caleb stopped and asked, “Where did you go?”
“I will explain inside the coach,” Roswell replied as he opened the door.
With a lifted brow, Caleb watched as Samuel stepped into the coach. “Who is that?” he asked in a hushed voice.
“Samuel,” Roswell replied.
Fortunately, Caleb didn’t ask any further questions before he headed into the coach. Roswell followed suit and sat next to his friend.
The coach moved forward and Caleb asked, “What in the blazes is going on?”
With a flick of his wrist, Roswell replied, “I caught Samuel breaking into your father’s study to retrieve a book.”
Caleb narrowed his eyes at Samuel. “Why aren’t we escorting him to Newgate, then?”
“Because we need to discover what is in that book,” Roswell explained. “We are going to meet up with the man that hired Samuel to bring him the book.”
“And we are just supposed to trust this man? A perfect stranger?” Caleb asked, his eyes not straying from Samuel.
“Samuel and I have come to an understanding,” Roswell replied. “Haven’t we?”
Bobbing his head, Samuel said, “It is far more preferable to the original arrangement.”
