by Anne Renwick
“Pfft. Have you not held a blade in two years?” She advanced, slashing at his stomach, forcing him to leap aside to avoid its tip.
“Not in swordplay.” Any knives he’d held had been short, sharp and used with great stealth. Escaping a Russian prison involved no duels of honor.
“Play?” Her eyebrows rose. She attacked again.
He parried and bound down with his dagger, pushing her blade away.
“Better,” she snapped, advancing upon him with increased speed. Blades clanged and scraped against each other as they circled about the courtyard. She was toying with him, else she’d have already drawn blood. If this was what she needed to release her anger so they could speak rationally, he would oblige.
But his heavy, thick-soled boots weren’t made for agility. They were better suited to hiking through mountains. His heel caught upon the edge of a stone, and he tripped. As his arse landed on hard-packed dirt, his dagger slipped, and the tip of Natalia’s rapier sliced through the skin of his forearm. He hissed in pain.
No sympathy was forthcoming. Instead, the sole of her shoe planted itself in the middle of his chest, forcing him to lie flat upon the ground. Lips pressed into a flat line, she leaned over his sprawled form, both triumphant and disgusted. “Never have you been so weak, moving like a slug.”
Insults. But such a relief to finally hear her voice again. He grunted. “It’s been a rough few years.”
Confusion twisted her face, and she bent closer. “Why are your eyes yellow?”
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A speeding train. A determined villain. A reconciliation of broken hearts.
Lady Alice Hemsworth wasn’t supposed to fall in love. It was her duty not to. Alas, she’d failed miserably. Mr. Benjamin Leighton—despite being turned away by her steam butler—can’t stop thinking about her. Alone, both are miserable—until a deadly encounter throws them together on the night train to London.
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Also by Anne Renwick
The Tin Rose
The Golden Spider
The Silver Skull
The Iron Fin
Venomous Secrets
A Trace of Copper
In Pursuit of Dragons
A Reflection of Shadows
A Snowflake at Midnight
Kraken and Canals
Rust and Steam
To all the scientists who worked countless hours to bring us the scientific triumph of today’s vaccines.
Thank you to…
My husband. Your help was above and beyond. From plotting and medical science to support and encouragement. Without you, this book would never have seen the light of day.
The Plotmonkeys—this one was a long time in the incubator.
Sandra Sookoo, my brilliant editor who mercilessly ferrets out weaknesses and sets my work on a better course.
My two boys and my newest nephew.
My mom and dad who made reading and science priorities.
Mr. Fox and his red pen.
About the Author
Anne Renwick writes steampunk romance, placing a new kind of biotech in the hands of mad scientists, proper young ladies and determined villains. Anne lives with her family in Maryland, but makes her online home at www.annerenwick.com.
You can connect with Anne on Facebook in her Facebook group: Department of Cryptobiology.
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Copyright © 2021 by Karen Pinco
All rights reserved.
No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.
www.annerenwick.com
Publisher’s Note: This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are a product of the author’s imagination. Locales and public names are sometimes used for atmospheric purposes. Any resemblance to actual people, living or dead, or to businesses, companies, events, institutions, or locales is completely coincidental.
Venomous Secrets/ Anne Renwick. — 1st ed.
ISBN 978-1-948359-31-3
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Cover design by James T. Egan of Bookfly Design.
Edited by Sandra Sookoo.
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