Raine looked hopeful. “So you're not used goods?”
“Oh, I'm as pure as snowfall on a crisp winter morning, I'm sure.” Lyneah was rolling her eyes as she turned away from Raine. She knew nothing about Kitt, but as long as she was pretending to be her, she didn't want to alter anyone's good opinion of the girl.
“Good. I hope you're telling the truth. Your father would be so disappointed if you'd gone and soiled yourself while he was away.” When Raine rubbed the palms of her hands together, she looked menacing, as if she was already picturing the rich lord who would one day be her stepdaughter's husband. Lyneah knew it was a foolish thing to hope for, since a girl from the slums was hardly a rich man's preference. At best, Kitt would only ever be a rich man's mistress. “And speaking of your father, he returned while you were away. He only stayed for a day, so I never told him your were missing. I didn't want to worry him, of course. And now he's away on business again, but I'm sure he wanted to see you.”
“Aw, that's a shame. I miss him.” Lyneah said with a smirk. Tricking Tobias made her feel guilty, but tricking Raine filled her with an odd sense of satisfaction.
“He misses you too. And, of course, he sends his love and all that.” When Raine's gaze dropped to her stepdaughter's collar, she gasped. All of a sudden, she leapt from her chair and rushed toward Lyneah. “What's this?”
“What's what?”
“This!” Raine's attention was focused on the ruby teardrop necklace that Lyneah wore. She slipped her hand under the gem and raised it to her face. “This is fantastic! You could sell this! I don't know where you got it, but it could be worth a pretty penny.”
“No,” Lyneah's voice was firm. The teardrop necklace was a gift from Roderick, and she would never let anyone sell it, let alone, touch it.
“Don't be ridiculous! Even if it has sentimental value... just imagine the money we could get if we sold it!” Raine suddenly grabbed the ruby and ripped it from Lyneah's neck. She was so determined to seize it that she broke the chain.
“No,” Lyneah sounded even more forceful. “Give it back!”
Raine was shaking her head as she absconded with the gem. “No, dear. Really, this is best for us both!”
“Give it back!” Lyneah ordered her. “Give it back right now, or I swear to god...”
“Kitt, if you really think I'm going to give it back, then you're not--”
Lyneah ripped her gun from its holster before Raine could utter another word. She pressed the cold barrel against the stepmother's head, and she even pulled back on the hammer, simply because she liked to hear the click. In a low voice, she demanded, “Hand it back to me right now, Raine. Don't test me.”
“Ah... ah ah ah... alright.” Raine's fingers were trembling as she relinquished the necklace to her stepdaughter's extended hand. “You can have it back! Good god, what is wrong with you, Kitt? Goodness, please lower that thing! You're making me shiver!”
Lyneah lowered the gun and slipped the broken necklace into her pocket. “Do not take anything from me ever again. Do you understand?”
Raine nodded solemnly. “I-I-I-I understand!” She was suddenly stuttering worse than Tobias. “I won't take anything!”
“You can't treat me like this, do you understand? What's mine is mine and what's yours is yours. I wouldn't take anything that belonged to you, so don't you dare try to claim what's mine!”
As Raine continued to nod, the fear never left her eyes. “You... you can have your shoes back too!” Raine stepped out of her slippers and kicked them to her stepdaughter. “I don't need them anymore, actually. So... you can have them.”
When Lyneah looked down at the gray, dusty slippers, her nose wrinkled with disgust. “Why on earth would I want these?” she asked with a snort. “These are easily the most hideous shoes I have ever seen in my life!”
And with that, Lyneah spun on her heel and left the room. As she reflected on her minor victory, a satisfied smirk slowly spread across her lips.
3
“Breakfast!” Raine exclaimed as she flitted into her stepdaughter's bedroom. “I made breakfast for you, Kitt. Since I haven't made breakfast in ages, it should tell you something about how very, very sorry I am. Consider it my apology for yesterday. I acted horribly. And making breakfast is my way of showing you how happy I am to have you back!”
Lyneah, who was still in bed, sat up, rubbed her eyes, and checked the clock. She rarely woke before noon, but it was just after ten o'clock. Yawning, Lyneah grabbed the plate and dragged it toward her. It looked like slop: runny eggs, dry ham, semi-charred potatoes, and a very curious-looking sausage. “Um... thanks.” Her gratitude was uncertain. Still, she'd had worse while traveling around the country and staying at dingy inns. With a shrug, Lyneah bravely grabbed her fork and tackled the dubious meal.
“Is it to your liking?” Raine asked.
“It's... passable.” It was the best compliment Lyneah could muster.
“Passable is better than terrible, I suppose. Let me know if you want seconds, dear. I have many many more potatoes at the ready.”
“I'm alright, thanks.” As she brought the curious sausage to her mouth, Lyneah's lips were reluctant to part. Her brain was rebelling against the idea of ingesting the greasy mystery meat. When she finally shoved it into her mouth, she was pleasantly surprised. It actually wasn't inedible.
“If you need anything, let me know!” Raine sounded strangely jovial as she bounded toward the door. “From this day onward, our relationship begins anew.”
“Uh huh,” Lyneah half-heartedly agreed.
“I'll leave you alone, now. Enjoy your breakfast.”
Lyneah was shaking her head as she glanced down at the mess on her plate. Enjoy? It was a laughably inappropriate, inaccurate word. But she would have to tolerate the food as long as her culinary options were limited.
When Raine was gone, Lyneah's eyes darted around the room. Of course, calling it a “room” seemed like an overstatement. It was tiny, smaller than the closets in Lyneah's castle. Nevertheless, Kitt was probably lucky to have her own space in a house that was so compact.
Lyneah tried to eat as much of the breakfast as she could, but when she finally had enough, she shoved the plate away and went to Kitt's wardrobe. It was such a ramshackle piece of furniture that the door nearly fell off its hinges when Lyneah opened it. To her surprise, Kitt's wardrobe consisted solely of breeches and men's shirts. There wasn't a single dress to be found. Lyneah's eyebrow was raised as she pulled out a pair of tan trousers. It was a bit unorthodox, but at least the clothes looked comfortable.
Lyneah had barely hopped into the breeches before she heard a knock on the front door of the house. And the knocking persisted as she continued to dress—apparently, Raine had no interest in answering the door. Lyneah gathered her hair into a sloppy ponytail before she went to greet their guest. She was happy to see a familiar face on the other side of the door.
“Tobias!” Lyneah exclaimed, capturing him in a hug. “It's so good to see you again!”
“You're awfully affectionate today!” Tobias said with a chuckle. “You rarely ever greet me with a hug! W-well... apart from yesterday...”
“I'm just happy to see you. And I've missed you! You have such a sweet face, I just want to throw my arms around you and cuddle you and squeeze you for ages!”
“Uhh...” Tobias was momentarily stunned by his friend's enthusiasm. “If you wanted to do that, I wouldn't o-ob-object.”
“Alright then!” Lyneah gave him another hug, even tighter than the first one. When she felt Tobias' arms wrapping around her body, she heaved a contented sigh. After many days of loneliness, she enjoyed being held.
“That was u-u-un-unexpected.” Tobias' cheeks were flaming red when he finally let go of her. “But I enjoyed it.”
“You're very cute, Tobias.” Lyneah's smile spanned from ear-to-ear. “We should cuddle more often. I mean it.”
“Uhh... I-I would like that.” Even his ears had gone scarlet. H
is brain was so muddled by their long embrace that he nearly forgot his reason for coming. “O-oh! I was wondering if you were coming with me to Lucky's today. I'm sure he'd like to see you.”
Lucky's? Lyneah's confusion only lasted a moment. She had passed that particular pub a few times as she traveled all over Lundun. “Sure. Why not?” she answered with a shrug. Since she still needed to gather information, a pub was the perfect place to be.
“He knows you're back. I told him last night. I think he's going to let you k-keep your job, but I'm really not sure.”
“How generous of him.”
“It really is!” Tobias adamantly protested her sarcasm. “It's L-Lucky we're talking about! And you disappeared for days. If he gives you your job back, it would be surprisingly lenient of him.”
Tobias led her past the streetlamp where he usually met Kitt, and then onward to the train station. The whistle howled as the train prepared to depart, and with little time to spare, Tobias took Lyneah's hand and raced toward their platform. The train had already started to chug forward when they arrived, which meant they both had to leap onto a moving train.
“That was c-close,” Tobias panted. “I wasn't sure we were going to make it. If I was late, I doubt Lucky would be so le-lenient with me. He likes his girls much better.”
Lyneah quietly followed him through train in search of an empty seat. The train was crowded, but they finally found a compartment in the back of the caboose.
“Tobey?” Lyneah wanted to test the nickname on him. If he thought it was odd, she'd go back to calling him Tobias.
But he didn't flinch. “Y-Yes?”
Lyneah sat across from him with a smile. “I just wanted to say, I really enjoy your company. I think you're very sweet.”
“O-oh...” He looked surprised, and perhaps a bit confused. “I-I-I think the same of you, of course.”
“I'm sorry I disappeared,” Lyneah said. “I'm sure I had a good reason.”
Tobias idly wiped his finger on the window, carving a streak across the filthy pane. When he saw how disgusting his finger looked, he wiped it on his breeches and said, “And yet you don't sound sure of that.”
“Well, I really don't know.” Lyneah closed her eyes and thought of Roderick, and how disappointed he must have been by her prolonged absence. “Sometimes you just need to get away... for your own safety... or... to accomplish something important.”
“And what were you trying to accomplish?” Tobias asked.
“I don't know.” Lyneah knew what she was trying to accomplish, but she couldn't speak for Kitt. “I really don't know.”
After a short journey by train, Lyneah followed Tobias to a dodgy-looking pub, where Lucky was waiting for them at the door.
“Kitt!” Lucky, a towering hulk of a man, came toward her with open arms. For a moment, she braced herself for a crushing hug and the inevitable awkwardness of it. To her relief, his arms lowered before he reached her. “It's good to see you again, love. It's real damn good! How've you been?”
“I've been... well enough,” Lyneah's reply was quiet. She wasn't easily intimidated, but the man standing in front of her was huge. “I'm sorry I was gone so long.”
“Well, yer back now'n that's all that matters, girl. And I won't ask you where you was cuz it's none of my business, really. If you want yer job back, it's yours.”
“See?” Tobias whispered in her ear. “I told you. He likes his girls.”
“Thanks,” Lyneah said to Lucky as she entered the pub. She wasn't sure what to do next, so she hovered at Tobias' side, hoping he would give her a clue. She followed him behind the bar, where he started gathering different ingredients for mixing drinks.
Lyneah glanced around the pub. To her relief, there were only a few patrons. If she was going to learn a new job, at least she could learn it slowly. “Um... Tobias?” She lightly tugged on his sleeve. “What should I do?”
“Ask the customers what you can get for them,” Tobias suggested. “And if they've already been served, ask if they want something else. Same as always.”
“Al...right.” Lyneah's footsteps were timid as she made her way to the first customer. She wasn't a shy girl, but she hadn't worked a day in her life. It was guaranteed to be an enlightening and fresh experience.
First, she approached an old couple sitting in the corner of the room. “Hello,” she greeted them with an exaggerated smile. “Can I get anything for either of you?”
“A chicken sandwich,” the old woman said. “And some tea.”
Lyneah turned her attention to the man. “And for you, sir?”
“The same.”
“Very good!” Lyneah exclaimed. She was secretly pleased with herself. Taking orders was much easier than she anticipated. “Oh, and by the way, do either of you happen to know where I might find a man named Rory McCray?”
The man and woman simultaneously shook their heads, but it was the wife who replied. “No, love. Sorry. I don't know who that is.”
“Alright...” Lyneah turned away with a sigh, then she headed back to the bar and back to Tobias, to whom she dutifully reported, “Tobey, they want chicken sandwiches and tea!”
“Can you make the sandwiches while I make the tea?”
“Er...” Lyneah's teeth clenched at the prospect. To her utter shame, she never made tea or a sandwich in her life. “Do you think you could do it? Please? Pretty please? I, um... I need to wait on the other customers.”
“Oh, alright,” her friend conceded. “Talk to the man in the back of the bar, then. He's looking a little irritated. Maybe he's been here for awhile already.”
Lyneah spun around and sprinted to the back of the bar before Tobias changed his mind. She didn't want to get stuck on sandwich duty and make a mess of it. Pasting on her fake smile again, she approached the man in the back of the room and asked, “Can I get anything for you, sir?”
“Another shot of whiskey would be great.”
“Sure. Can I get you something else?”
The man turned his cold, ice blue eyes on her and snorted. “If I wanted something else, I would've asked for something else, wouldn't I have?”
Lyneah gasped. “You don't have to be rude!”
“And I shouldn't have to listen to bratty barmaids telling me I'm rude, should I?”
“Honestly!” Lyneah's tongue tutted in exasperation. “Would it kill you to be a bit nicer?”
“I'm not paid to be nice, lady.” The man leaned back in his chair and scratched his close-cropped beard. “You are.”
“What a lout!” Lyneah hissed to herself as she stormed away from him. “A lout and a boor and what a complete and utter lack of manners!” By the time she reached Tobias, she had calmed herself a bit. “Tobey, that man wants whiskey.”
“Here.” Tobias slid a bottle of whiskey her way. “Give him a refill. I should have the tea ready by the time you get back. And... oh! Mr. Dobbs is back and he's b-babbling to himself in the corner again, so you might want to deal with that sooner than later.”
“Mr... Dobbs?” It didn't take Lyneah long to figure out who Tobias was talking about. In a distant corner of the room, she saw a man in soiled knickers with his face pressed against the wall. “Good lord...”
“My thought exactly,” Tobias said with a sigh. “I hate to sound ru-rude, but Lucky should just ban him from the pub. He makes the other customers uncomfortable. He's affecting business.”
“I'll deal with him,” Lyneah said, then she set off on her assigned tasks. First, she took whiskey to the man with the ice blue eyes. He looked happy to see her return, but disappointed that she was no longer trading barbs with him. With her first customer taken care of, she approached Mr. Dobbs and took a moment to listen to his babble.
“Demmed wife. Only wanted money from old Dobbs she did. Ran around Lundun looking for more and it was never enuff for her, was it? She'd rot my cock if it'd get 'er a penny. Stupid, gold-digging wench. And they're all the same, ain't they?”
“Mr. Dobbs?�
� Lyneah grabbed his arm and dragged him away from the corner. “I think it's time to go, isn't it?”
“Oi!” When Dobbs whirled in her direction, there was panic in his eyes. “Oh, it's the nice lady. Where are we going, nice lady? Are you going to get something for old Dobbs?”
“No, actually, I'm afraid I'm going to have to ask you to leave.” Lyneah steered him to the pub's entrance and gave him a gentle push through the door. “Have a wonderful day!”
The senile old man looked confused for a moment, but he ultimately turned away from the pub and toddled down the crowded street.
When she returned to Tobias, he looked shocked. “Kitt!” He was carrying two plates in his hands as he rushed toward her. “Are my eyes deceiving me, or did you really just throw Mr. Dobbs out of the pub?”
“I did.” Lyneah answered with a firm nod. She wasn't even a little bit ashamed. “We can't have him ruining our business, right?”
“I... suppose.” The stunned expression lingered on Tobias' face as he passed the two sandwiches to her. “But you're usually so... ki-ki-kind to him.”
So Kitt was a more patient person than she was? If that was true, it was hardly a surprise to Lyneah, who wasn't exactly known for her restraint.
“Th-there's the teapot over there,” Tobias told her. “Do you think you could drop it off to the older couple?”
“Of course.” Lyneah was feeling rather accomplished as she loaded the tea and sandwiches onto a tarnished silver tray. After delivering the food, she finally turned her attention to the last customer in the room, who she had been intentionally avoiding due to his distinctly unfriendly appearance. He had wild black hair, a tattered bandana, a foot-long beard, and he was picking his teeth with a knife. Lyneah kept her hand close to her concealed gun when she made her way toward him. “Hello, sir,” she greeted him with as much politeness as she could muster.
“Hello, lovely.” He lowered his knife and gave her his full attention.
“Can I get something for you? A drink? Some food, perhaps?”
“You can give us a kiss.” He pointed at his dry, cracked lips. “Or if you don't want to kiss me mouth, that'd be alright too. I'd let you kiss me wherever you want, love.”
A Lost Princess (Belles & Bullets Book 2) Page 2
