My Favorite Thief Read Online Free PDF

off so I can give ye my soothing saline-and-vinegar wash,” Eunice told him. “ ’Tis good for inflammation of the brain, an aching tooth, an’ if ye drink a wee bit it rinses yer insides as clean as a—”
    â€œLaudanum.” The word was barely a whisper.
    Charlotte looked at Eunice uncertainly.
    â€œHe’s used it before or he wouldna be askin’ for it,” Eunice reflected. “His headaches must be a battle he’s fought and lost afore.”
    â€œBest ye give him some, Eunice,” said Oliver, frowning. “Must be a terrible pain to make a big lad like him shiver an’ shake like that.”
    â€œI’ll just go an’ fetch it.” Eunice picked up her skirts and bustled out the door.
    â€œI’m goin’ downstairs to clean up the mess we made as we came in from the rain,” Oliver decided. “Nae point in leavin’ tracks for the police to wonder about when they come.”
    â€œWe’ve got everythin’ you wanted,” declared Ruby, racing through the door.
    â€œIs this enough rags?” Violet appeared behind her carrying an armful of shredded linen and a basin of water.
    â€œIt’ll do.” Doreen wet a clean rag in the water and began to gently swab the Dark Shadow’s shoulder.
    â€œHere are some blankets!” Annie hurried into the room, her small frame all but hidden behind the mountain of cheap plaids and quilts she had stripped from the other beds.
    â€œRight then, Annie, ye and Miss Charlotte lay them over him nice an’ warm while I stitch up this shoulder of his,” directed Doreen.
    Charlotte took one side of the first blanket Annie offered and laid it carefully over the Dark Shadow, covering him from the waist down. More covers followed, but with his chest and bleeding shoulder exposed, it was impossible to get him warm. After a few minutes Eunice returned with a small brown bottle, from which she carefully dispensed a series of drops into a glass of water.
    â€œEasy now, lad, let’s have ye up a wee bit while I pour this down yer throat,” she clucked, wrapping one soft, fleshy arm beneath his neck.
    Harrison blindly opened his mouth, too overwhelmed with pain to care what the hell he was drinking. If these old Scottish ladies were trying to poison him, so much the better. At least in death there would be some escape from this excruciating torment. The moment the familiar taste of the laudanum hit his tongue, he nearly whimpered with relief. It would take time for the drug to work, but at least there was a reprieve somewhere in front of him, if only he could hang on. He drained the glass, then collapsed against the narrow little bed, wholly uninterested in the matter of his shoulder.
    â€œIt looks nasty at the moment,” Doreen told Harrison as she bandaged him, “but if ye keep it clean an’ change the linens several times a day, it should close up fine. Ye can take the stitches out in a few days—dinna leave them too long, or they’ll grow into yer flesh.” She knotted a final strip of linen around his arm, then nodded with satisfaction. “Now Ruby and me will fetch yer tea.”
    â€œI’m goin’ to take yer shirt and coat an’ see if there’s any hope of washin’ this blood out and mendin’ the tear,” added Eunice. “If not, dinna worry—we’ll find ye somethin’ else to wear when ye’re leavin’.”
    â€œThank you.” Harrison’s tongue felt thick in his mouth, making the words clumsy.
    â€œPolite, ain’t he?” observed Violet after Eunice and Doreen were gone. “Talks like a real swell, he does.”
    â€œThe Dark Shadow ain’t no swell,” objected Flynn, clearly interpreting this as an insult. “He’s one of us.”
    â€œHe may have started as one of us, but he talks too fine to be one of us anymore,” Annie argued.
    â€œHe’s a thief,