Iain scrambled to his hands and knees just as a shadow broke away from the group of cheering boys and circled behind Fielding. Iain launched himself across the filthy floor, managing to lay hands on the shadow’s foot as he raised it to kick John in the back. He yanked with all his strength and the man lost his balance and hit the floor, taking Iain down with him.
John turned at the sound and flicked at glance down at Iain, his face a terrifying mask of hatred and rage. His huge fists made fast work of his aggressors and their own cowardice took care of the rest, until Fielding was left standing alone.
Iain flailed and punched, landing one or two good hits to the other boy’s head and neck before kneeing him in the groin, an action he knew to be all too effective. He scooted back toward the rear wall of the hut, leaving the boy curled up on his side.
Fielding slid down the wall not far away, his chest heaving like a bellows as Iain crawled crablike until he was beside him.
“Thanks for saving me yet again.”
John ignored him, his eyes fastened on the now silent group across the room.
“They’re coming for me tonight,” Iain whispered. “You can go with me. My uncle will help you.”
The boy’s bitter laughter spilled out of him like a dead, bloated body floating to the surface of a deep, dark lake.
“What?” Iain asked, stunned by the other boy’s ill-tempered reaction to an offer of freedom.
“The only place I’m going is Norfolk Island.”
Even Iain—bumpkin that he was—had heard of the infamous penal colony. “You’re being transported?”
“Aye, on the morrow, as yer luck would have it.” He gave Iain something that passed for a grin. “I doubt you’d have lasted another day without me,” he added.
Iain already knew he wouldn’t have lasted five minutes.
“Come with me tonight, John. We’ll talk the guard into it by promising him more money from my uncle. Surely the guard won’t care if two go rather than one if it means more coin in his pocket?”
John snorted. “Tain’t the guard puttin’ me on the boat. My life ain’t worth a bucket o’ warm piss after getting’ on the bad side o’ Fast Eddie. Leavin’ this miserable shitebox of an island is the only chance I ’ave left.”
“Fast Eddie?”
“Aye, Fast Eddie. ’E runs it all—from gin t’ whores.”
“What happened?”
“Never you mind. Just keep yer mind on getting out o’ ’ere tonight.” He turned away to indicate the discussion was over.
Iain stared at his harsh profile in the dim light, trying to think of something to make him change his mind. Transportation? What a horrible thought—to leave everything and everyone you knew and head to a dangerous new land alone. It had been bad enough to leave Scotland after his mam died, even though he knew his Uncle Lonny was waiting for him in London. How would it be to go half-way around the world to some strange place where nobody knew you?
His eyes began to tighten and water just like they always did when any thought of his mam passed through his mind. It would be the end of him in this cell if he started blubbering; John Fielding would probably beat Iain himself if he broke down. He swallowed down the tears and drew on the anger that came after the pain. His mother would still be alive and Iain wouldn’t even be in this godforsaken city if not for The MacLeod kicking them both off their land. Thoughts of the Highland lord made Iain boil and gave him strength.
“You angered him, Iain. But he’s your real father,” Mam had reminded him as she lay dying in a filthy room in Edinburgh. “You can always go back to him if you need help. Him or your Uncle Lonnie.”
Iain had chosen his uncle over the bloody bastard who would get a child on one of his housemaids and then marry her off to one of his tenant farmers. Not that John Vale had been anything but kind to his adopted son, treating Iain as though he’d been his own blood.
Iain squeezed his eyes shut on the old pain, turning his thoughts back to the boy who’d saved him so many times these past few days.
Transportation.
Bloody hell. What a nightmare that would be. He massaged the back of his aching neck. Thankfully Iain would never have to face such a thing, not with his Uncle Lonny looking out for him.
I HOPE YOU ENJOYED THE FIRST 3 CHAPTERS! You can grab the full book HERE.
Looking for more unusual heroes and heroines? Have you tried THE ACADEMY OF LOVE series?
Finding out that her husband was a bigamist didn’t devastate Portia Stefani; she held her head high when she forced him out of her life. But losing her beloved music school as a result of the traitorous bastard's gambling debts almost destroyed her. The only way she’ll be able to make ends meet is to accept a lucrative tutoring position in remote Cornwall. What Portia hasn't anticipated is the life-altering impact that her mesmerizing new employer has on her.
Stacy Harrington learned the hard way to keep people at a distance. Playing the piano is the only thing that makes his solitary life enjoyable these days, and he’ll be damned if he allows his albinism to keep him from everything he loves. Bringing a private music tutor into his home is disruptive, but it’s the only solution. Unfortunately, nothing could have prepared him for the overwhelming attraction he feels toward his fiery new employee.
It’s not long before a shared passion for music develops into something infinitely deeper. But when ghosts from the past—along with some very dark secrets—emerge to threaten everything they’ve built, can Stacy and Portia continue to make beautiful music together? Or will their happily ever after end on a painful, discordant note?
You can check out the rest of the series HERE
Who are Minerva Spencer & S.M. LaViolette?
Minerva is S.M.’s pen name (that’s short for Shantal Marie) S.M. has been a criminal prosecutor, college history teacher, B&B operator, dock worker, ice cream manufacturer, reader for the blind, motel maid, and bounty hunter. Okay, so the part about being a bounty hunter is a lie. S.M. does, however, know how to hypnotize a Dungeness crab, sew her own Regency Era clothing, knit a frog hat, juggle, rebuild a 1959 American Rambler, and gain control of Asia (and hold on to it) in the game of RISK.
Read more about S.M. at: www.MinervaSpencer.com
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Minerva’s OUTCASTS SERIES
DANGEROUS
BARBAROUS
SCANDALOUS
THE REBELS OF THE TON:
NOTORIOUS
OUTRAGEOUS
INFAMOUS
THE SEDUCERS:
MELISSA AND THE VICAR
JOSS AND THE COUNTESS
HUGO AND THE MAIDEN
VICTORIAN DECADENCE: (HISTORICAL EROTIC ROMANCE—SUPER STEAMY!)
HIS HARLOT
HIS VALET
HIS COUNTESS
THE ACADEMY OF LOVE:
THE MUSIC OF LOVE
A FIGURE OF LOVE
A PORTRAIT OF LOVE
THE LANGUAGE OF LOVE
THE MASQUERADERS:
THE FOOTMAN
THE POSTILION
THE BASTARD
THE BACHELORS OF BOND STREET:
A SECOND CHANCE FOR LOVE (A NOVELLA)
ANTHOLOGIES:
THE ARRANGEMENT
Hugo and the Maiden: A Steamy Virgin and Rake Regency Romance (The Seducers Book 3) Page 37