Anne Stuart's Out-of-Print Gems Read Online Free PDF Page B

purse.
    â€œThat’s the ticket. You’ll like your new room. There’s a nice view of this godforsaken countryside. That is, when it isn’t dark outside and raining.”
    â€œI’d rather have a view of Chicago. When do I get to see him?”
    â€œWhen he says so. And not a moment sooner. I wouldn’t be in any great rush if I were you.” He started out the door, confident she’d follow. Which, indeed, she did, too nervous to remain behind. “Haven’t you heard what the townspeople say about him?”
    â€œWhy should I have talked with anyone in the town?” she countered.
    â€œYou stopped for gas at Ferdy’s place. I don’t imagine that old reprobate would let you go without filling you full of stories.”
    â€œHow did you know I stopped?”
    Salvatore didn’t bother to turn around, and she had no choice but to keep up with him. “I have my ways. Bet he told you the one about Mrs. MacInerny going mad when she saw Ethan. And did he tell you about the cows? What few cows were left in the area dried up when Ethan came back here. Or what about the children?”
    â€œThe children?” she asked, her voice shaky. I won’t believe this, she thought. He’s only trying to frighten me.
    â€œThere’ve been any number of young people who’ve come out here and never been seen again.”
    â€œYou’re making this up.” She told herself she was breathless from all the twisting stairs they’d been climbing, even though she could run six miles without getting winded.
    â€œThat’s the sort of story that people like Ferdy tell. And they believe it and worse.”
    â€œIt sounds like something out of the Middle Ages. Why haven’t they burned him at the stake?”
    â€œOh, they’d like to, missy. They would surely like to. They just can’t catch him. He’s like a phantom. No one sees him and lives to tell the tale.”
    â€œStop it! You’re making this up.”
    Salvatore chuckled, a reassuringly normal sound. “Most of it. Either me or them. One part of it’s true, though.” They had stopped outside another door, this one made of a different heavy wood, with different hardware. She didn’t know how far they’d come; she’d again lost track of the staircases and the sloping passageways.
    â€œWhat’s that?”
    He opened the door, illuminating the inky darkness beyond with his candle. “The children really do disappear.”
    If the other room had been a medieval dungeon, this was more like a castle. The huge bed in the center of the room was on a raised platform, and it dominated even the lofty proportions of the place. The casement windows were set lower in the stone walls, and this time, there were no bars on them. A tapestry chair and carved chest stood in one corner, and the bed hangings were sumptuous gold and crimson.
    She cast a suspicious look at Salvatore as he moved about the room lighting the candelabra that stood at either end. “Are you certain you brought me to the right place?”
    â€œEthan’s orders. He thought you deserved better treatment. That’s because he hasn’t met you yet. Once you start in on him, you’ll be back in the dungeon.” Salvatore chuckled, stepping back. “Bathroom’s through there, basically the same as the other one. I’ve ordered you some clothes, but they won’t arrive until tomorrow. In the meantime, there are some things in the chest that should help.”
    â€œYou ordered me some clothes? How? This place doesn’t come equipped with a telephone, does it? And why should you bother? I’m only staying until my car can be pulled out.”
    â€œYou’re staying as long as Ethan says you are. And we have a dedicated fax machine. Federal Express will make the delivery.”
    â€œThen I can get a ride back with them….”
    â€œBring it up with