Read To Dwell in Darkness for Free Online Page A

that what she would really like was a nice glass of wine, feet up, and the telly on.
    She let Toby and Charlotte lead her to the study, then very gently nudged them back and eased herself in the door.
    â€œHey,” Bryony said softly, smiling up at Gemma from where she knelt on the study floor. Her deep auburn hair gleamed in the light from the shaded desk lamp. Beside her, tucked partway under the desk, was a large pasteboard box.
    â€œHey, yourself.” Gemma knelt beside her. Bryony was not only their veterinarian but a good friend. “What have I got myself into?” She looked into the box, then breathed, “Oh. My.”
    The cat was a brown tabby. A white blaze ran down one side of her nose and splashed onto her chest and belly. All four paws were white as well. She lay on her side, looking contentedly up at Gemma and Bryony with gold eyes. Four tiny kittens were lined up to her belly, nursing, like a row of little mice.
    â€œShe’s so thin,” Gemma whispered. “And the kittens are so young.”
    â€œI’d say they’re not more than a couple of days old. And that mum here was close to starving. The boys did a good thing. I’m not sure she’d have lasted the night.”
    â€œShe just let you pick her up?”
    Bryony nodded. “I took a carrier and put the kittens in first. She’s very tame. She must have been someone’s pet.”
    â€œWell, she got around a bit, didn’t she?” said Gemma, examining the kittens more closely. One was a tabby, like its mother. One was black and white, one as black as Sid, and the fourth was calico. “Maybe Toby wasn’t too far off with the name. Warrior princess, indeed.”
    Gemma contemplated the logistics of making sure the smaller children didn’t let Sid or the dogs into the room. “We need an airlock.”
    There was a scratching noise at the door. “Mummy,” came Toby’s plaintive voice. “Mummy, when are you coming out? Your tea’s ready. I want to see the kittens.”
    â€œTea?” said Bryony, stretching and standing.
    â€œNot much repayment for this,” Gemma told her. With a last brush of a fingertip on the first kitten’s head, she stood as well.
    â€œNot at all.” Bryony grinned. “It got me out of giving injections to Mrs. Scherzer’s bulldog, which looks like Winston Churchill and has the disposition—and the gas—to match. Oh, Gemma, one more thing,” Bryony added as they reached the door. “As I said, she’s very tame. Before the children get too attached to her, we’ll need to make sure she’s not microchipped.”
    Gemma stopped with her hand on the doorknob. “Chipped? Oh, damn, I hadn’t thought of that.”
    â€œIf she is someone’s pet, they may be looking for her. You’ll have to reunite her with her owners.”
    In that instant, Gemma went from wondering how she was going to manage a stray cat, with kittens, to contemplating the horrifying prospect of telling the children the cat belonged to someone else. “Bugger. That’s a good thing, I suppose,” she said, but without conviction.
    Bryony clapped her on the shoulder. “All’s well that ends well. In the meantime, your boys have saved her and her kittens from freezing to death.”
    In the kitchen, Gemma gathered Kit and Toby to her in one-armed hugs, all they would tolerate. “You two are very kind and very resourceful. Bryony says you probably saved the kitties’ lives.”
    Toby puffed up like a little blond penguin. “But,” Gemma went on before Toby had a chance to brag. “Don’t make a habit of breaking and entering, all right? I might have to arrest you. Next time you hear something crying, you call me first. And as it is, I’ll have to have a word with the communal garden committee about the damage to the shed.” She gave them another squeeze and let them go.