I lunged, but before I could grab him by the throat, the old man, the carriage, and horses all vanished, leaving me standing alone in the alley with a dumbstruck expression.
Who the hell was Aveen’s coachman?
As soon as I collected her sister’s dress, I would have to find out.
* * *
A warm breeze fluttered the curtains on the other side of the manor home’s open windows as I passed. Not that I could feel it with this glamour choking the life out of me. It felt too restrictive, like squeezing into a pair of new breeches after eating too much dessert. But if I wanted this to work, I needed to look like one of the pock-marked teens watering horses and mucking stalls.
I headed for a large stable with at least ten stalls. Only four of them held horses. Surely an estate of this size should have more?
A boy came bounding out, ramming head-first into my chest.
He cursed, rubbing at his skull. “Can I help ye?” he asked through a wince, still scrubbing his mousy brown hair. The same color as my glamour.
“I was sent ‘ere fer work,” I said, mimicking his thick country accent. He sounded as if he’d been raised in a barn. Fitting, considering his current occupation. “Is there a man I can speak to?”
“They’re not hirin’.”
“Didn’t ask if they were, now, did I?”Insolent little whelp. I could have him speared with a pitchfork by his next feckin’ blink.
“The man yer lookin’ fer is called Padraig,” the other boy called from the stall. “He’s out with milady.”
“Does he live nearby?”
The boy nodded to the far side of the stable. “First cottage down that way.”
I thanked him and started down the trail, holding my glamour until I reached a shite little cottage. Finally able to stretch to my full height, I checked the door. Locked, of course. He was Danú. He’d know the rules. I strolled around the back to wait in a garden overgrown with weeds.
“Your secret is safe with me,” a familiar feminine voice whispered from within.
Aveen had come to the cottage as well. What a coincidence. I assumed that meant she knew who her coachman was. I couldn’t remember anyone powerful enough to be worth noting living around here. How long had this Padraig fellow been in Graystones? Maybe he’d come from one of the other islands.
“I know it is, milady,” the coachman said. “Will ye trust me with yers?”
I stepped closer, pressing my ear to the back wall.
Aveen said my name, then the old man shushed her.
Next thing I knew, everything went silent. The bastard must’ve created a feckin’ tost.I couldn’t hear a blasted word either of them said about me. How much did this Padraig know? He’d warn her against me, of that much I was sure. Would Aveen listen? What if he told her about the Queen? About my heart? Very few people knew about the second, but this man was a mystery to me, and there was no telling how much he knew.
After what felt like forever, I finally heard Aveen thank Padraig for whatever he’d said and offer to repay him. The front door opened and closed. Aveen’s skirts and curls flew behind her as she ran for the house. I caught the handle and dragged it open again before Padraig could lock it up tight and waste more of my time.
The old man fell back, catching himself on the edge of a shite chair that belonged in a fire. Come to think of it, the entire place should’ve been burned.
“You and I need to have a little chat, Padraig.”
He flicked his wrist, but I’d already warded the place against evanescing inorout, so he was stuck until he told me what I needed to know.
The old man spat at my boots. “Be gone, devil.”
“That’s not very hospitable, now, is it?” I shifted my own chair so I didn’t have to sit on either of these . . .things. “I know you’ve been chatting to your mistress about me.”
His eyes began to glow an icy blue. The firm set of his whiskered jaw told me he had no desire to answer. And that just wasn’t going to work for me. “You aren’t on my list of people to kill today, but if you don’t start talking, I’ll add you.”
His jaw unlocked. “I told her to stay clear of ye.”
I inhaled nice and slow, watching the emotions play on his face. Fear, yes. But mostly anger. “And what did Aveen say to that?”