Read A Rose in Winter for Free Online Page B

disrupt the whole affair, as if he had not done enough harm to the Fleming family.
    "Damn!" Avery struck his fist into his palm, then sought a strong draught to assuage the pain of both hand and spirit. Restlessly he began to roam the room again, cursing his luck. "Hell and damnation!"
    He had been well on his way in His Majesty's service when he had inadvertently saved one Baron Rothsman from certain capture during a confrontation with Irish rebels. The baron had proved effusive in his gratitude and urged the aging captain to retire and join his entourage in the London Court. Sheltered by the influence of the baron, he had progressed rapidly through several levels of the politico.
    Avery's eyes grew distant, and he sampled a second share of the fiery brew.
    It was a blissful time in his memory, an endless whirl of high-minded conferences and meetings and, in the evenings, the balls and social affairs. There had come into it all a pale-haired, newly widowed beauty of exceptional breeding, and though her eyes were always sad, she had not rejected the attention of the slightly graying Fleming. Avery discovered that her first husband had been an Irish rebel and that his final act had been to test a length of rope on one of His Majesty's prison barges shortly after the wedding. By then, Avery was well infatuated and cared naught that she had loved such a hated foe, but pressed her into marriage with him.
    A child was born, a girl with locks as dark as her mother was fair, then two years later a son of the same mouse-brown hair and ruddy complexion as his father. A year after the boy arrived, Avery Fleming was elevated in position again. This one carried responsibilities far beyond his level of competence, but it introduced Avery to the private clubs of the London elite and to the high-stakes games of chance that flourished within the velvet walls. An awestruck Fleming took to the latter like a duck is gorged for the roasting platter, oblivious of the end that awaited him. Despite the worried warnings of his wife, he wagered heavily and even invested in a horse that seemed addicted to the sight of many other horses clearing the way well ahead of him.
    His debauchery at play and ineptitude at work caused so much embarrassment for Rothsman that the baron soon refused to accept his calls. Angela Fleming suffered in her own way. She had to watch her personal fortune dwindle until the only dowry she could give her daughter was one which could never be taken from her, an education and as much preparation as possible for life as a wife on whatever level the girl would seek.
    "Damn 'at foolishness!" Avery growled. "With the coin 'at woman wasted on 'at simple twit... Why, I could've still been livin' in London."
    Dismissed from his position in that city a thrice of years ago, he had been banished to the North of England, where he was appointed mayor of Mawbry and carefully directed through his simple and limited duties by Lord Talbot. On leaving London he had left his debts unpaid, seeing no need to worry about debtors' prison, for in the northern climes he would be reasonably safe from discovery. It was a chance to start over again with a clean slate and prove himself to be a man of high intelligence.
    Then Angela died, and he went through a brief period of mourning. A lively game of cards seemed to help him over his loss, and shortly thereafter it became his habit to take weekend jaunts with Farrell to Wirkinton or meet with the cronies at the Mawbry Inn for a game or two during the week. In his unquenchable quest for games of chance he often visited the waterfront, where he could be assured of finding a fresh face and a full purse. A few tars might have suspected that his skill with cards was more through the dexterity of his fingers than with luck, but a common seaman dared not speak out against an official. As it was, he had enlisted his talents only when the stakes were high or when he needed the purse. He was not so selfish that he