Stolen Petals Read Online Free PDF Page A

bad for you, I like to leave ladies wanting. It keeps things interesting."
    "Unless you'd prefer I keep my conception of you as a nameless scoundrel, I'd recommend some disclosure." She blew steam off her cup and attempted the first sip of scorching liquid. Crisp and clear, the way a good cuppa should be.
    "Touche, dear madam."
    She honed in on the ring he wore, remembering where she'd seen it before. "Perhaps start with what you had to do with the British military?" He coughed into his hand, but Viola didn't miss the way his eyes widened.
    "Perceptive. So perceptive," he purred. Letting out a staged sigh, he continued, "You've caught me. I was a part of a mission that went afoul. We were supposed to protect a box, treasured by the crown. A crew of airship pirates stole our merchandise and the crown retired the survivors in secret for our shame."
    Viola listened intently. She'd never heard any word of those events, however, his background explained his countenance. Why, despite his ragged stage of dress, he could still employ proper manners when he wanted to.
    "I'm wondering how, if you were raised on military decorum, you can justify stealing others' bounties the way you do." She savored the sweetness of the honeyed earl grey as it warmed her stomach.
    "When honor and glory get your squad killed and your brothers-in-arms shoved under the rug, you stop believing in the terms." His voice grew a notch deeper, which surprised her. For a slip of a second she glimpsed the real man behind his flippancy, the one who cared too much and who'd earned his scars. That, she could understand.
    "But dear lady," he continued, "a trade is only fair. I've divulged and now it's your turn. What's the real reason you live in the Shanty district? Not the tripe about convenience you fed me last night."
    She bit her lip. Her past held too many memories unsafe to let out of the tight box she'd stuffed them into. But he wasn't asking about her time at the Green Fairy's Den, a place that birthed haunted gazes and false faces. The scent of roses still made her gag after the clouds of perfume permeating the rooms there. Nor had he asked how she'd ended up on the streets. No need to delve deeper.
    "I grew up in the Shanty district. I could afford to get out and really, I should," she said, her voice a shade quieter. "However, some part of me is still stuck there, refusing to leave. As if by staying I'm proving Shantytown can't dominate me." Her cheeks heated with embarrassment since she didn't want to look up and witness the disapproval or disdain sure to be in his eyes. Or worse, sympathy for the plight of poor Viola Embrees whose mother had been a whore.
    "I thought there was more to you than some fawning lady. I'm glad to see I was right."
    Her head jerked up in surprise at his words. A smile graced his lips and he gazed back at her with respect, something she'd never expected from the likes of him. Viola tucked a strand of hair behind her ear, feeling the heat rise to her cheeks again. This time not from shame.
    "Well, this fawning lady prefers her etiquette. There's something comforting about the structure and order." Her palms pressed against the warm ceramic of her mug.
    "Deadening you mean," he shot back. "A way to hide behind falsities and not deal with anything real or true. I've lived an ordered life, but I have to say I much prefer the chaos."
    "Try coming from the slums. When you're born amongst chaos, it loses the appeal." She didn't meet his eyes, her temper rising. Instead, she drained the rest of her earl grey. If anything, this man knew each and every topic that struck a nerve.
    Both sat in tense silence. Maude cleaned glasses from behind the bar and ignored them. Viola sucked in a deep breath.
    "My apologies." Edward's voice broke through the quiet. "I don't presume to know what you've been through, so to pass judgment would be unfair."
    Viola tilted her head to the side. An actual apology from the Fox?
    "No matter. I expected such