Jimmy the Hand Read Online Free PDF Page B

commission; just sign at the bottom of the page, and the
next page as well and then we’ll send you home.’ He
lifted the pen from the inkwell and proffered it to Leighton with a
slight smile. ‘Your older brother wouldn’t be the first
nobleman who had to find a second career for a younger brother; much
less a problem than shaming the family name.’
    ‘That is
all?’ the Captain asked, taking the pen hesitantly.
    Del Garza
nodded. ‘We will take care of everything else. All the
arrangements,’ he clarified. He pointed to the bottom of the
page. ‘If you would,’ he invited.
    As one
hypnotized, Leighton signed. Del Garza lifted the corner of the page
to expose the one beneath.
    ‘Sign here
as well, if you would be so kind.’
    With a shaky
hand the Captain signed the bottom page as well and the acting
governor drew them back, sanded the signatures and shook them dry.
    ‘Very
good,’ he said. ‘But for one minor detail that concludes
our business.’
    Leighton mopped
his brow with a handkerchief. ‘What is that?’ he asked.
    At del Garza’s
nod the three guards stepped forward; two caught hold of the
captain’s arms while the third whipped a garrotte around his
neck. The stool went over with a crash, and Leighton’s legs
became caught up in it so that he couldn’t get his feet under
him. Del Garza cocked his head, watching the consciousness of
imminent death and agony flood into the man’s eyes. Soon his
heels beat a brief tattoo on the floor and after a very few moments
he was dead.
    The Baron neatly
folded and sealed the two sheets of paper.
    ‘Poor
fellow,’ del Garza said to the guards. ‘Carry him to his
quarters and arrange things there. Make sure the bracket he hangs
himself from is stout; he was a fleshy sort.’ He handed the
papers to the chief guard. ‘Don’t forget to leave his
resignation and most important, his confession, where they’ll
be easily found.’
    The guard smiled
as he took the papers. ‘That was neatly done, sir,’ he
said. ‘Makes me feel like we’re getting a bit of our own
back.’
    Del Garza looked
at him for long enough that the man knew the Baron wasn’t
amenable to flattery, then dismissed him.
    Alone, del Garza
considered his choices. Leighton had to die; there was no other
option. Had he remained alive, word of the Duke’s vulnerability
would eventually spread. Loyalty to the Prince or avarice for
Mockers’ gold, the reason for Leighton’s treason didn’t
matter. What mattered was who would be looked at when Duke Guy
returned from dealing with the Keshians in the Vale of Dreams.
    Del Garza could
put a fair amount of responsibility on Radburn’s shoulders,
with justification. His iron grip on the city had bred discontent,
and the way in which he ran roughshod over the Prince’s own
guards and the city’s constables would be certain to drive some
firmly into the Prince’s camp.
    The handwriting
was on the wall, as they say; Erland was dying, no matter what the
healing priests and chirurgeons did to hold death at bay. With no son
to inherit, Anita would be a prize for any ambitious man. And with
the King having no heirs, her husband was but one step from the
throne in Rillanon. So, Guy would marry Anita, and some day, sooner
rather than later, del Garza judged, Guy du Bas-Tyra would become
King Guy the First.
    Del Garza tapped
his chin with a forefinger as he wondered where he might come out in
all this. He was not by nature an ambitious man, but circumstances
seemed to dictate that his choice was to rise or fall; there was no
standing still. Hence, he would choose to rise. Who knew? An earldom
in the east, perhaps near Rodez?
    But to rise, he
had to avoid falling, and to do that, he had to survive Guy’s
wrath when he returned and found the girl missing. He hoped Radburn
would return soon with the girl in tow, or not return at all. If
Jocko had the good grace to get himself killed in the attempt,
everything would be his fault by the time del Garza got