Foul Tide's Turning Read Online Free PDF Page B

the ugly red scar across the side of his face, as though someone had once tried to split the noxious servant in half. Unfortunately for her, they had failed. ‘Mistress?’
    ‘Miss Landor is to be confined to her bedroom for the rest of the day. I fear she is overwhelmed by the demands of her reduced circumstances in the household.’
    Willow snorted. ‘Why don’t you just let me go and make my own way in the world? We’ll both be happy.’
    ‘I don’t think you understand what it takes to make me happy,’ said Holten. ‘Off with her, Nocks. And make sure the gatehouse staff are informed that she’s not to ride into Northhaven without my explicit permission. Anyone who disregards that order will be searching for new employment in this prefecture, a territory where very few people will be willing to open their doors to them.’
    She had that much right. Willow hated the way that respect for the house was slowly turning to fear. Holten swanned off down the corridor. Nocks pushed Willow towards the upper storey, two banks of stairs sweeping up either side of the hall. He placed his slab of hand against the back of her leg, letting it linger there for far too long before she slapped it away. ‘You know, you should learn to get along with people, girl. It’s a useful skill to have in this world.’
    ‘I’ve had all the advice I can stomach for the day,’ hissed Willow. ‘And possess all the friends I need.’
    ‘That’s your problem, there,’ laughed Nocks. ‘None of them are under this roof, as far as I can tell. Now, upstairs with you. It wouldn’t look dignified if I slung you over my shoulder and carried you back to your room.’
    He shoved Willow towards the higher floor and she glowered at him. ‘Where the hell did she scrape you up from, Nocks? Begging for coins around the back of the theatre when she took pity on you?’
    The manservant guffawed, as though this was all playful fun. Maybe it was for him. ‘In the capital, sure. The mistress has a way about her. She makes friends easily. I was introduced by one such gent, a mutual acquaintance.’
    Willow reached her bedroom’s door and unlocked it. ‘Oh, I bet she had many admirers.’
    ‘The mistress knows how to keep bees buzzing around the honey. I bet you could learn that too, if you tried.’ He reached out to brush her cheek and she recoiled, pushing him back out through the doorway. ‘Don’t be like that, willowy Willow.’
    ‘I’ll order you flogged.’
    ‘You won’t find any under this roof willing to raise a whip to me,’ laughed Nocks. ‘And it wouldn’t make much of a difference if you did. He tapped the wounded side of his skull. ‘Had myself a little accident a while back. Fell against something sharp. It went into my head, straight through the bit of the brain that controls pain. Everything feels the same now, like a dull throb. You could cut my arm off and I wouldn’t even whimper. A whipping or a kiss, it all feels the same to me.’ He ran his finger down the red weal down his face. ‘I thought you might like scars. I see your pretty boy, the pastor’s son, has one down his face too. Not as good as mine. Just a scratch in comparison. Overseer’s whip, I’d guess, from his time in foreign climes.’
    ‘Carter. You’ve seen him? When ?’
    ‘No different to you, girly. We don’t let trash onto the estate anymore,’ said Nocks. ‘Not the beggars who trudge in from the east. Not the ill-mannered plebs from the town, either.’
    ‘You’ve turned him away! Is that why Carter hasn’t been visiting?’
    ‘What makes your buck so precious, eh? His churchman pa and all the others from the town, heading off into the far-called on a wild goose chase to get him back. And get you , of course. But not your poor brother. Never mind, petal, you came back with your young buck, didn’t you? I bet he kept you safe when you were a slave. The men must have been queuing up to do that. Did you give him a little taste? Is that why