Almost a Lady Read Online Free PDF

the object of our present voyage is, Cosimo, but I assume Ana had something to do with it.” A faint question mark punctuated the statement.
    “Correct,” Cosimo responded.
    “And there’s some point in the resemblance between her and your accidental passenger?”
    “We use what clay comes to hand, David.”
    David was silent for a minute. He had traveled with Cosimo on and off for close to five years and counted him a friend. He knew what he was, although they never spoke of it, and Cosimo never confided details of his missions to anyone who sailed with him. But David, while more than happy to be kept in the dark, was under no illusions. His friend, in the service of his country, was a privateer, and when necessary, an assassin. But even knowing that, this glimpse into Cosimo’s cold pragmatism chilled him a little.
    He said finally, “You can’t use a complete stranger . . . a woman who accidentally drops into your path, just because it’s convenient, Cosimo.” It was the closest to remonstration either of them would allow.
    Cosimo opened his palms in a what-will-you gesture. “If the tool is willing and can be sharpened, give me one good reason why it shouldn’t be employed.”
    David shook his head. “You’re a cold bastard, Cosimo.”
    “I don’t dispute it.”
    “Do you know what happened to Ana?” David asked the question knowing that Cosimo would answer him or not as he considered proper.
    Cosimo’s face was shadowed and he turned abruptly back to the sea. “No, I don’t. And I don’t care to guess.” He added so softly David barely heard it, “But I can do nothing to help her now.”
    David winced at the implications. He could feel his friend’s distress as an almost palpable current. “Perhaps you’re not such a cold bastard after all,” he murmured.
    Cosimo turned sideways and gave him a mocking smile. “Don’t let that little secret out of the bag, my friend.”
    “Never,” David averred.
    Gus flapped his wings and seemed about to take flight over the motionless sea. Both men watched as he flew a few yards and landed on a halyard, where he sat preening himself.
    “Is he as intelligent as he seems, truly aware of which side his bread is buttered, or merely accustomed to captivity?” David mused.
    “Something of both,” Cosimo responded. “It comes to the same thing.”
    “Yes,” David agreed, pushing himself off the railing. “I wonder how the analogy would apply to Miss Barratt.” He walked off, exchanging a word with the helmsman before climbing down to the main deck.
    Cosimo thought for a minute and then followed the same path. Outside his cabin he paused before knocking. In truth he had no idea how to proceed with his passenger. Getting closer to her, making her more comfortable in his presence, was clearly the first step.
    He knocked with what he hoped was a discreet, friendly, but nevertheless assertive rap.
    Once again Meg’s heart jumped, but she called “Enter” with a creditably steady voice. She didn’t move from her seat beneath the window, merely closed her book over her finger and regarded her visitor with a cool, inquiring stare.
    Cosimo returned the scrutiny. “Not too bad a fit,” he remarked. “And the color definitely suits you.” He held the door open for Gus, who hopped delicately over the lintel and flew up to his perch, where, head on one side, he too considered Meg.
    Meg decided the comment was far too personal in the circumstances, so she ignored it, merely continuing to regard her visitor in silence.
    “It’s a beautiful afternoon.” Cosimo tried again. He closed the door but did not advance into the cabin. There was something forbidding in the green eyes fixed upon him. “It seems a waste to spend it immured in here.”
    “I am as content as it’s possible to be in these circumstances, sir,” Meg responded coldly.
    He leaned his shoulders against the door and gave her a rueful smile. “Come, Miss Barratt, can we not call a truce? I