A Girl in Black and White (Alyria 2)

He was silent for a moment, looking a little stunned that I would admit something like that. And then he sighed, resigned. “All right, missus. Come down from there. You haven’t harmed anything before, and that’s why we’ve let you off, but I can’t let you go knowing you’ve been going in their home.”

I laughed. “You couldn’t catch me if you tried. I saw you running in that king’s guards’ race. You were second to last; even Steady here was ahead of you, and he smokes like a chimney.”

“It’s true,” Steady said. “Those short, stocky legs of yours don’t do much for you in a race.”

“This is bloody ridiculous,” Tuko muttered, reaching for his long blade. “Come down here,” he ordered.

“No thank you.” I glanced at my fingernails. “They’re having beef tonight, and I am so tired of eating like a rabbit. Meat is an important staple in one’s diet.”

They both looked at me like I was simple-minded, so I only continued, “Though, that cook, Angelo, he’s a hit or miss, really. Seems to experiment too much with sauces. Upsets my stomach often, if it wouldn’t be improper to admit.”

Steady shook his head, slightly amused, and unfortunately not in a hurry to arrest me, but at least Tuko eyed the house, looking for a way up. He let his long blade slide back into the sheath on his hip.

My brows knitted. “Do they give swords to just anyone?”

That was the last straw for Tuko.

Testing a trellis with a frown about its stability, he started to climb.

“You been eating Angelo’s cooking too, Gregory?” I eyed the trellis with mock unease. “He does make those sauces heavy; makes sense you’d put on a little weight.”

He snorted but continued his dreadfully slow climb. And when Steady made no move to follow, I sighed. I knew Tuko would be an easy target; I’d have to up my game to get Steady to participate. Otherwise, I’d have to use harsher methods, and I didn’t want to hear about it later from someone a foot shorter than me.

“You ever heard of Belladonna?” I said, absently. “Some women use it as eye drops to make their pupils large and their eyes more radiant. Interestingly enough, Beatrice does this. Don’t know why, considering she never leaves the house, but to each their own, I suppose. Little do many know, a large quantity . . .” I pursed my lips regretfully, “let’s just say a mouthful, well, it can be a slow and painful death. Seems silly to have the stuff lying around for just anyone to accidentally spill into a wine glass . . . and with Beatrice’s heavy consumption . . .” I left off on a suggestive note.

Steady watched me with a blank gaze, before dropping his cheroot and stepping on it. “Damn it all to hell,” he muttered, moving toward the trellis.

He couldn’t ignore a direct threat to the magistrate’s wife, and he knew it, but apparently climbing trellises wasn’t what he wanted to do tonight as he let another curse fly.

Tuko reached the top, his face a little pale from his climb as he got to his feet.

I felt for the man a little. Not too long ago I’d been forced to cross a glass bridge and had been much closer to dying than I’d preferred. That moment was in the top ten on the list of all the reasons I hated a certain Titan. Yes, I’d made a list. It helped me analyze my feelings and arguments. Which were all logical, I might add. I’d thought of seventy-two reasons to hate Weston over the six months I’d been here, and hate him I did.

I tapped my lips in thought. “You know what I do when I’m scared of heights, Gregory?”

He raised a brow, taking a step toward me.

“I find a handsome man to hold onto. You should try it next time.”

He grunted.

Last time I offer him advice.

He was short for a man, but he was still stocky—the kind that even a tall man would take a second look at before agreeing to a scuffle. Once he caught me, our little fight would be over. He knew it—and was pretty cocky about it—with the way he walked toward me as if he were strolling down the street in Northie with a pocketful of coin and three women at his command.

“Pull that hood back,” he told me, “it’s about time I get a good look at ya. You’ve been terrorizing us long enough.”

“I’m only a girl. Surely, I’m not that much of a threat,” I replied, taking a step back to each of his forward.

“Girl,” he scoffed. “You’re an annoying wench that doesn’t know her place. Come quietly, and I’ll only tell them you tried to steal from me.”

I laughed. “And lose a hand? I think not.”

He raised a brow. “Your hand or your life? Your choice.”

Steady was now on the roof, walking around the other side of the courtyard to block me in.

“You’re trapped. Come on. I’ll try to talk them into just a finger,” Tuk said.