Read Malia Martin for Free Online Page B

Pru glanced toward the heavens. The clouds had gone very white against the darkening sky, and she could no longer see very far down the lane. It was getting late. She had to hurry.
    To hide the jar of sleeping potion, Pru shifted it behind her when she entered the back of the busy pub. She saw Captain Ashley immediately. Through the hazy smoke, she could see the back of his dark head and wide shoulders.
    Of course, his height and breadth were not the only reasons she found him so quickly. There was the … thing she had spoken of with Leslie. There was something about the man that just drew her attention, probably the same something that had her standing on legs that felt no stronger than a newborn colt’s. She let herself stare at the man’s wide back for a long, lovely moment, then straightened and forced her mind to concentrate on her objective to get the man foxed.
    She sidled around the bar, shaking her head quickly when anyone looked as if they would call to her. Pru reached Josh Harker, finally, and caught his attention. “What’s he drinking?” she asked.
    Josh knew of whom she spoke without asking. “Havin’ a pint with the officers.”
    “Put a pinch of this in with his next.” She passed over the jar. “Just a bit, mind.”
    Josh held the jar up and peered through the glass. “What is it?”
    Pru quickly pulled Josh’s arm down. “It’s sleeping potion from Leslie.”
    “Ah.” The man nodded sagely. “Good idea, Lady Pru!”
    Pru smiled, not a little proud. It had taken a while for the people to accept her in the baron’s place. But they had, and it always felt good when they praised her. “Thank you, Josh.” She grinned.
    “Not to worry.” Josh pushed the jar beneath the counter. “I’ll make sure this bloke’ll be goin’ nowhere this eve.” He cocked his head toward the back door. “Should probably be goin’ now, Lady Pru. It’s getting late.”
    Pru glanced once more at the captain. “Just a bit will do him, Josh,” she said again. “Don’t hurt him.”
    “Of course not, milady. Us here at Gravesly, we wouldn’t hurt a fly.”
    Pru patted the hairy arm that protruded from the man’s rolled-up sleeve. “And we’re going to keep it that way,” she said, and slipped out the back without ever being seen by the great captain.
    “Josh Harker, you killed him!”
    Harker looked up from cleaning glasses behind the bar, his face going ashen behind his dark whiskers. “He’s dead, then?”
    Pru shook her head quickly. “No, but he’s not awake yet.”
    Harker glanced out the mullioned windows of the pub. It was past noon, the sun was already dipping toward the horizon. Pru sighed and climbed onto one of the stools between Paul, the butcher’s son, and Mrs. Witherspoon.
    “Afternoon, Lady Farnsworth,” Mrs. Witherspoon said between sips of her ale. The woman was the oldest resident of Gravesly and made sure she stopped into Harker’s every afternoon for her daily pint. “The good captain isn’t farin’ well, then?”
    “No, Mrs. Witherspoon.” Pru narrowed her gaze on Josh Harker. “How much of that sleeping potion did you give the man?”
    “Well, seein’ as the captain is such a big fella and all …”
    “Oh, dear, Harker, I told you to give him just a pinch.”
    The pub owner rubbed his beard. “He’s still breathin’, though, right?”
    Pru felt like groaning. The men had carried the captain home last night before going out to meet the schooner, and he had been snoring away ever since. She had waited for him to wake up all morning, and now she just couldn’t contain her fear. “He hasn’t moved, Harker. Leslie said that he should have wakened this morning.”
    “Well, he had a couple pints with the stuff, maybe he’ll come to later this evening.”
    “I hope so. We’ll have to figure out some other way to deal with the captain, because I absolutely refuse to use that potion ever again, on anybody.” Pru held out her hand. “Give it over, Harker, I’m