The Chocolatier's Wife (18 page)

Dear
Tasmin,

Forgiv
e
th
e
shortnes
s
o
f
thi
s
reply
,
I
a
m
holdin
g
u
p
a
merchantma
n
headin
g
fo
r
you
r
clime
s
specificall
y
fo
r
thi
s
note. Yo
u
wil
l
hear
,
o
r
hav
e
heard
,
o
f
a
grea
t
battl
e
of
f
th
e
strait
o
f
Gallis
.
Despit
e
takin
g
grea
t
damag
e
ou
r
shi
p
ha
s
no
t
only survived
,
bu
t
take
n
th
e
lea
d
pirat
e
ship
,
th
e
Sylphie
.
Th
e
pirates wer
e
no
t
intereste
d
i
n
you
r
previou
s
claims
,
an
d
hav
e
wounde
d
me
,
bu
t
no
t
grievously—
I
shal
l
b
e
walkin
g
wit
h
a
crutc
h
fo
r
a
fe
w
days
,
n
o
worse
.

I
just wished you
to know,
since
you
have
been
so kind as
to concern
yourself
for my
safety.

Yours,

William

P.S. I am most deeply gratified
that you liked the necklace.

Andrew’s
limp
had
worsened,
which
meant
he must have walked a great deal that day. William smiled at his brother and returned the bow that Andrew proffered.

Andrew
sat
down,
a
basket
in
his
lap.
“Mum’s
still
not
cooking
for you,
but
Bonny’s
cook
doesn’t
do
stew
badly,”
he
said
by
way
of
greeting
as William
pulled his seat closer to the bars.

“Tasmin
Bey
will
be
joining
us
,”
William
said, as
if
this
was
a
common thing
.
“Fo
r
give me,
but will you please bring
her a
stool?”

Andrew
frowned,
but
did
so.
“That
name
is
awfully
familiar.
Have
I
met her?
Shall I
call for
another fork
and
bowl?”

“That
will
not
be
needed,”
Tasmin said
as
she
arrived. She
looked better,
more
rested,
than
she
had
earlier.
She
was
not
classically
beautiful, but
he
thought
in
time
his
eyes
might
think so.
She
had
a
slight
sternness to
her
that
her
large
brown eyes,
which
should
have
made
her
look
rather innocent
and
gentle,
could
not
possibly
so
f
ten,
but
despite
that, William thought her quite pleasing.

“But, surely
you
should
like
to
partake
in
the
stew
with
us?”
Andrew said,
looking
a
bit lost.

She
placed
a
basket
on
the
floor
and
took
a
seat
on
the
stool.
“I
can
use
one of my own,
or
share William’s,
if he wishes.”

Andrew blinked.
“Good Lord.
That’s
where I
know
you from.
Oh,
Good Lord.
Why
are
you
here,
now?
Mother
will
have
a
fit that
she’s
not
been warned.
I
mean,
told, so she could prepare a
proper place.”

William
felt
his
face
heat
a
bit,
and
drawled,
“Don’t
worry,
Tasmin,
they like you much more
than
they like me at this point.”

“Considering
that
you
are
under
arrest
for
murder,
I
find slim,
if
any, comfort
in
that
statement,”
she
said,
sitting
ramrod straight
and
looking completely
unfazed.
She
turned
to
Andrew. “As
for
why
I
am
here,
I
am here
to
support
my
intended
hu
s
band,
which
I
think
is
a
fit
and
proper thing
for
any
woman to
do,
no
matter
where
she
comes
from,
would
you not
agree?”
she
looked
back
at
William and
gestured
t
o
ward
Andrew. She knew
who
he
was,
of
course,
but
if
he
was
going
to
act
prim, she
would
as well,
and
force
an
introduction. Without
a
proper
introduction
she
could not speak to him
on
the street.

“Ah,
forgive me.
This
is my brother Andrew.”

She
stared
at
him
for
a
long
moment
before
offering
her
hand, and William
found himself trying to measure
his brother through
her eyes. His hair
was
a
tad
lighter
than
William’s
and
thinning,
which,
like
his
limp
and his
perpetually
drooping
shoulders,
were
more
a
legacy
from
a
childhood
illness than from their parents. If one would have had to guess which was
the
elder,
one
would
not
have
picked
William.
He
did
not
think,
for
all
that, that
his
brother
was
unattractive,
really. Andrew
took
Tasmin’s
hand, and bowed over
it with quick,
shy movements.

“Ah.
Yes,
your
brother
has
told
me
much
about
you,
Andrew. Please, relax
and
a
l
low
me
to
serve
the
food,
before
it
gets
cold.”
She
went
about it
with
brisk
efficiency.
Tasmin
did
not
allow
the
ideas
of
grace
or
elegance to
hamper
her
movements
as
she
opened
the
basket.
The
top
of
the
basket acted
to
hold
the
bread,
while
below
was
a
section
for
two
bowls
and
spoons, and
below
that
a
metal
lid,
which
she
pulled
off
to
reveal
the
meal.
First
she handed
Andrew
a
bowl,
as
she
would
have
had
they
been
gathered
around the
table
in
their
own
home, and
then
served
him.
Two
of
the
bars
were bent
so
that
a
bowl
could
be
handed
through,
and
William
propped
the bowl there as she took
a
spoon from
her own basket.