A Fistful of Dust Read Online Free PDF Page A

for some time now. Possibly since you were small.”
    “I know.” Elizabeth’s sounded quite young and girlish. “I had quite forgotten how. It is amazing how quickly it comes back to me, with the right encouragement.”
    Annabelle carefully schooled her face to innocence.
    The tea arrived just then and once served Highmore began.
    2.
    “FORGIVE ME, BUT you say you purchased land on a…rock in space? Land you had not seen or knew anything of?” Annabelle’s note of incredulity possibly echoed the thoughts of everyone in the room. Being of the feminine persuasion often allowed her to get away with certain…audacities. She could make outspoken questions sound as if they were asked in all innocence. If George were here, he would have struggled not to grin, being perfectly aware of what she was about. The fact that he would realise was one of the things that endeared him to her.
    “In fact, I won it.” Highmore had the sense to look embarrassed, although he wouldn’t be the first “gentleman,” or the last, to indulge in such dubious pursuits. That didn’t mean Annabelle was in a mood to be understanding.
    “Gambling?” She made sure she spoke with the air of a parson’s daughter.
    “Quite.” Highmore dipped his head as if the gesture sufficed as an apology. “Men are often…weaker than the fairer sex in such things.”
    Although he probably spoke in jest, Annabelle sniffed as if she understood this and did not need his telling. With luck, the sniff would also tell him he had not earned her approval. He had done much to damage her approbation the moment he had stepped aboard and continued to sabotage his own integrity by the minute. “Even so, to win a moon and such a small one…why would one want such a thing?”
    Highmore’s gaze slid away. His right hand fiddled with the head of his cane as seemed to be his habit when he felt uncomfortable. “Well, it’s not the whole moon, just part of it…and the deeds are likely meaningless.”
    “A con?” Arnaud lounged against the wall closest to where Nathaniel sat, beside a planter from which a vine grew up and wound around nearby pipes. For the first time, Highmore acknowledged his presence, although he seemed to find the plant more interesting to look at.
    “It would seem so. From what I could glean from my friend’s apparent movements, he would have reached the same conclusion, which leaves more questions than it answers. But I will get to that.
    “As for the bet, I was at odds with the man who wagered the stake. I wasn’t interested in the…spoils, just the act of winning. The only consolation is the idiot believed his purchase totally, and sincerely thought he was losing something of great worth. I had thought something might be salvaged, excavated, but after consideration decided to drop the matter. Henry disagreed and, well, I naturally assumed Routledge would talk him out of it or aid him. Indubitably, if I had known it would result in a good friend going missing…” He let the sentence hang.
    Annabelle mentally kicked herself. Yes, they shouldn’t forget that a man’s life might be in jeopardy or have even ended.
    “If you weren’t overly interested in the moon, why did your friend set out to investigate?” Folkard asked.
    A hint of a smile flickered across Highmore’s face. It transformed his hereto-stoic expression. “Henry has an explorer’s heart. It is one of the reasons I almost didn’t approve of his engagement to my sister.” One glance at Elizabeth said this was not fresh news. “You see, in the absence of our parents who died two years ago, her future happiness falls to me.”
    Annabelle sat up straighter although the curve of her spine protested vertical adjustment. Although curiosity prodded her, she refused to question Highmore on how he had lost his parents, she understood the pain too well.
    “Alas, the reasoning behind my…reluctance was equal to why I should allow the marriage to go ahead. I could wish for no