Secrets of the Night Special Edition Read Online Free PDF Page A

Such pride he'd taken in his profession, such beautiful pieces he'd created! Then one day, he found that the gems he'd bought were not real stones at all, but ones artificially created, not worth a fraction of what he'd paid for them, but so cleverly made they easily passed for the real stone. He recalled the day, as if it were yesterday. One of his customers had come to him, furious and threatening to sue. The woman had taken the ring he'd made to a gemstone expert, who told her the stone was not a real emerald, but a fake.
    Shortly after, he'd gone to see the same expert. Quench crackling, is what the man had told him. "Fools many jewelers," he'd gone on to explain. "Synthetic stones may be heated and then plunged into cold water. Makes cracks in them, so that they look more natural." The expert sighed. "Counterfeiting gems, happens all the time."
    Word spreads quickly in a small village, and within days, all his customers had sued him, for all the stones he'd bought had been from the same dealer, one who had made fake stones. Bankrupt and disgraced, he had to leave Uisnech like a thief in the middle of the night, coming here to Ros Creda, hoping no one here would know of his past. From then on, he'd vowed no one would take advantage of him, but that he would make his money however he could.  He'd married since then, his present wife needing a man after her husband's death. Since then, too, he'd established a partnership with Angus Kendall and built up a prosperous business here in Ros Creda
    And now, would his newfound wealth all be for nothing? Much good this gemstone would do him if Fianna were not found. For if that ungrateful girl remained missing, there would be no marriage between her and Angus Kendall. And, as Kendall had made plain, no marriage, no partnership. He clenched his hands and kicked a wastebasket, spilling its contents. Fianna must be found.
    He looked up to see his wife, Fianna's mother, standing in the doorway. "Yes, what?"
    Evelina came in the room and took the chair Angus had vacated. "You know what. My daughter! Where can she be? What has happened to her?" She twisted her hands in her lap, and tears brimmed her eyes.
    "That's what Kendall and I have been talking about.  My servant hasn't been able to find her. Angus intends to send his servants–spies—to different cities." He smirked. "He thinks she's in Moytura–"
    "That far away?" Her face held a look of doubt, but hope, too, as though he'd assured her that Moytura was where they would find Fianna.
    "That's what I told him." He smacked his hand on the desk, making Evelina jump. "Ungrateful girl, after all I've–we've–done for her. This is how she repays us."
    Evelina bowed her head. "Understandable, really, if she doesn't want to marry Angus." She took a deep breath. "We misjudged her, didn't realize how much she disliked Angus Kendall."
    He looked at her as if she'd grown another head. "A wealthy man like that? Powerful, too. She must be out of her mind." He stared out the window. But where was she? 
     
    * * *
     
    Slowly, Fianna came awake, then sat up with a start. Where was she? Ah, yes, inside the cave; the sharp protuberances beneath her back left no doubt of that.  She yawned and stretched as memories flooded her mind, of the tall-dark-haired man who had surprised her last night. She turned and stared toward the inner recesses of the cave, but only darkness greeted her. Had the man returned, and was he sleeping now? Strange that a man would choose to make a cave his home, even temporarily. She thought hard, trying to recall his name. Ah, yes, Gaderian Wade. Well, it was highly unlikely she'd ever see him again, so no point in remembering his name.
    She pushed herself to her feet and stretched again, twisting from side to side, relieving sore muscles. Time she was on her way to Moytura, there to seek employment. She reached into her satchel and rummaged around for her gray cotton frock, inhaling the sweet scent of lilacs that