Page 69 of Hawk & Sparrow

Vesper pinched the bridge of her nose. “Well, straighten up. Now that that barmaid has seen the brooch, she’ll no doubt send someone our way.”

“Excuse me.”

Vesper and Maximilian both looked up. A dark-skinned man with thick salt-and-pepper hair had appeared before them. He was well-dressed, wearing a crisp white shirt, black pants, and a vest. Flanking him were two muscular men. He smiled, and Vesper noted that one of his canines was pure gold.

Well, she thought, that was fast.

“May I join you?” the man asked in a low, melodic voice.

Vesper only had time to exchange a look with Maximilian before the man sat down. The other two men remained standing.

“My name is Richard,” the well-dressed man said pleasantly. “I’m told you’ve come to this establishment with something interesting. But I’ve never seen you before.”

“We were lucky enough to be in the neighborhood,” Vesper replied.

Richard nodded. “Lucky indeed. My barmaid mentioned you might have something … sweet for me?”

Vesper tried to remain calm as she pulled her coat back, unclasped the brooch, then placed it on the table. Richard’s dark eyes lit up briefly, but just as quickly his expression returned to neutral. He looked up at her.

“May I?”

“Of course.”

He picked up the brooch and examined it for a few seconds before weighing it in his palm. His eyes flicked to Vesper. “Where did you get this?”

“My employer is a very rich old widow in Stonehaven,” said Vesper. “But her memory isn’t what it used to be. She’s constantly misplacing things these days.” Vesper flashed a smile. “Luckily, she has me to lend a hand.”

Richard nodded, then examined the brooch again. “What is this, four carats?”

“Five,” Maximilian cut in.

Richard frowned, then looked to Vesper. “Who’s he?”

“My business partner,” she said.

“Hmm.” Richard placed the brooch on the table again. “How much are you wanting for it?”

Straight to the point. Good. Vesper had prepared for this. “At five carats, it’s worth at least fifteen thousand gild.”

Richard laughed. It was a surprisingly musical sound. He folded his hands and leaned forward. “Maybe in a jewelry shop in Rockbriar you’d get that much, but you’re in Thally’s Pub, love.” He shook his head. “You’ll have to do better than that.”

Vesper pretended to look affronted. She steepled her fingers and looked considerate for a moment. Then:

“How about this: I’ll give you the brooch for seventy-five hundred gild, half my original asking price, if you give me some information.”

Richard tensed. “What kind of information?”

Vesper braced herself. This was what she’d been leading up to from the moment they’d entered Shalescreek. She took a deep breath before speaking. “I want to know about a man called Frankie, sometimes Francis Gladwell.”

The men standing behind Richard exchanged a look that Vesper didn’t miss. For his part, Richard frowned. “What’s Frankie to you?”

Vesper fluttered her eyelashes. “Now, Mr. Richard, you know a good girl never kisses and tells. Let’s just say he and I have … unfinished business that I’m trying to sort out.”

Richard chuckled. “I’ll bet you do.” He cocked his head. “Excuse me a moment.” He stood, then turned to talk to the men behind him in a huddle. Less than a minute passed before he sat back down again.

“Your offer is a good one,” he said, “but I’m afraid I’m going to have to decline.”

Vesper tried to keep the surprise from her voice. “Why?”