Scoundrel for Hire (Velvet Lies, Book 1)

Scoundrel for Hire (Velvet Lies, Book 1) Read Online Free PDF Page A

Book: Scoundrel for Hire (Velvet Lies, Book 1) Read Online Free PDF
Author: Adrienne deWolfe
me, why did I have to bludgeon him with the news? Now look at him. My dearest papa, and I've broken his heart—
    "Arsonist?" he interrupted her thoughts, still looking bemused.
    "Er, yes." She cleared her throat. "There was a church. In Kentucky. The preacher raised a public outcry about Celestia's fortune-telling. He called her a witch, and when the marshal tried to run her out of town—"
    Papa began laughing so hard that his mound of a belly actually jiggled.
    Silver's ears burned. "What's so funny?"
    "You, thinking Cellie would set fire to a church."
    "You mean you knew?"
    "Sure. Cellie told me weeks ago. She was all torn up about it, too. That church burning down was a terrible thing, but it wasn't Cellie's fault."
    "Papa! You can't possibly know that—"
    "Sure I can. I know Cellie." He grinned, a flash of pure impishness in his beard. "Well, gotta go, love. These packs aren't getting any lighter, if you know what I mean. Have a safe trip to Leadville. And hurry home so you can tell me all about it."
    "Papa, wait—"
    "Now, don't you worry, daughter. I won't let Cellie play with any dynamite." His chuckle floated back to her from the hall. "At least, not the kind of dynamite you're thinking of."
    The parlor doors slid closed behind him.
    "Ooh!" Silver stomped her foot. She wasn't sure which upset her more, the fact that her bomb had exploded and still missed its mark, or that her father had chosen Celestia's company over hers. Angry, humiliated, and close to tears, she thought about canceling her speech to spite Celestia. After all, the woman had torched a church. Maybe she was dangerous, really dangerous, not just eccentric and conniving.
    Silver, don't be a goose ,Common Sense counseled sternly. Go to Leadville. The better you get at managing your father's affairs, the more he'll value you over someone as useless to him as Celestia.
    Besides, Papa's safe. Even with all those lanterns, fuses, and sticks of dynamite gathered outside the shaft, Celestia won't harm him. He wouldn't be any good to her if he's dead .
    No, of course he wouldn't be, Silver thought grimly. First, he'd have to marry her. Then he'd have to add her name to his will....
    She caught her breath. Fear slammed into her gut so hard and fast that she felt nauseous. Gripping the table edge, she tried desperately to ward off dread. But it wasn't any use. The seed of suspicion had already been sown.
    Dear God, I have to stop that wedding. More than ever, I have to find a way.

 
     
     
    Chapter 2

     
    Rafe wanted to leave this high-society shindig.
    In fact, he thought, gazing irritably around him at the Grand Hotel's assemblage of tuxedoed tenderfoots, he wanted to leave Leadville. Only three summers had passed since his last visit here, and already "Cloud City" had lost all resemblance to its wilderness heritage.
    The lawless mining town he'd watched spring up beside his beloved Mt. Massive was now a provincial little city. Civilization had taken such firm root here that a huckster could hardly ply his trade anymore without some damned policeman blowing the whistle. Temperance was even becoming fashionable, thanks to the hoity-toity petticoats they'd imported from back east. Rafe couldn't remember being stuck in a more demoralizing place—except, perhaps, for his hometown of Blue Thunder.
    He grimaced into his fake gray mustache and beard.
    Now where had that ugly memory come from? Blue Thunder, Kentucky, more than any other Christian paradise, was the embodiment of hell to him. Only an imbecile would have wasted enough brain space to hold on to the memory. He couldn't imagine why he had, much less why he'd let it surface to plague him now, when he needed all his mental faculties to pull off this con—unless, of course, the reason had something to do with Fred and Fiona.
    He made another face. Unfortunately, the bloated windbag who'd been bending his ear didn't take the cue to scurry off.
    After ten blissful years of calling the shots in his cons,
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