Page 14 of The Swindler’s Daughter

“I’m just waiting for a friend,” I lied easily.

“Is that right?” He leaned closer to look in my basket, pulling one of my arrows free and twirling it in his hands. “This is a fine piece.”

“I know,” I said, keeping my voice steady and upbeat. “That’s why I purchased it.” I looked back behind me. “I see my friend, so I must be going now.” I held my hand out, trying to act as though there was no doubt that he would return the arrow to me, even though inside, I felt my chances were quite dim.

My hand remained hovering between us as he twirled the arrow once more. “What household do you work in, girl?”

“Sutton. I work for Sir James and Princess Marilee.”

The arrow stopped twirling. “Do you now?”

I gave a bright smile. “Yes. Are you familiar with the gentleman and lady of the house?”

His eyes narrowed. “Only by reputation.” He abruptly set the arrow on my palm then nodded toward the other end of the market. “Off with you.”

I didn’t need telling twice. I tucked the arrow next to the other one and set off at a brisk pace. Perhaps he’d never meant to take anything from me. Maybe he’d truly been admiring the arrow. But for what purpose? Objectively, the interaction had been entirely innocuous. But it didn’t feel that way. It felt like he’d intended to take the arrow for himself, but would a constable truly take something right out of a commoner’s basket? In broad daylight?

Audacious wasn’t a strong enough word for such behavior.

I shook my head and walked swiftly toward the road that would take me to Sutton Manor.

When I reached the turnoff to Bridgefield, I paused. I wanted to tell someone what I’d seen. Normally I would have run to Hunter, but ever since he’d married, I had tried to give him a little bit of space. He’d taken care of me for long enough. Now I wanted him to live his own life and focus on building a family.

My feet turned to head toward Bridgefield, but then I stopped, turning back to the road—only to stop again. I needed someone to listen to me. Johnny worked at Bridgefield, and he would listen. I hoped. He and I hadn’t really spoken since I’d returned the pouch to him and Rowan, but he’d been one of the first to call himself my friend when I’d come to work at Sutton, so despite our present argument, I knew he would listen to me.

Bridgefield was a sort of summer home for the ducal family. The house and its workings were a bit of a mystery to me. The servants kept it in good working order, and yet despite it being a supposed summer getaway, I’d never once heard of the duke’s family actually coming to stay in the year I’d lived at Sutton.

As I walked down the drive, I couldn’t help but gaze up at the imposing structure with its dark stone and high towers. I’d actually stayed inside Bridgefield once. It had only been for a few days. I’d been twelve years old and so sick that I’d barely made it to the back door where Emeline had found me. Hunter had been working at Bridgefield, and he’d had to hide me away and sneak food to me until we were able to find a position elsewhere for both of us. I remembered almost nothing about those days, lying feverish in Hunter’s room while he cared for me and slept on the floor.

Hunter had always taken care of me, and I was doing my best to prove that I could take care of myself so that he no longer had to worry.

As I circled Bridgefield, I found Johnny’s younger sister, Gretchen, hanging laundry, her face tense as though deep in thought.

“Hello, Gretchen,” I called.

Her gaze jerked in my direction, and it took a moment for her expression to relax, but eventually she smiled. “Morning, Miriam.”

“Do you know where Johnny is?”

“He’s round back, though I don’t know why you’re chasing after him when you’ve got Rowan.”

I choked a bit. “What?” I asked in shock. “I don’t have Rowan, and I’m not chasing after Johnny.”

She grinned. Cheeky twelve-year-old. “I know. Still, you could do worse than Rowan. He’s a charmer, he is.”

I narrowed my eyes playfully. “Aren’t you a bit young to be noticing a man’s charms?”

She gave an unconcerned shrug. “Good-looking is good-looking. You must have noticed after training with him.”

I chuckled. “Have you noticed Ansel’s charms? You’ve trained plenty with him.”

My question elicited the desired response. She scrunched up her face in disgust as she pulled a piece of clothing from the basket at her feet. “Ansel is like a brother.”

“Speaking of brothers, where did you say Johnny was?”

She looked over her left shoulder and lifted her chin in that direction. “He’s working on the shrubbery along the back of the house.”

“Thanks.”