by Sam Thomas
“Will!” I cried. “What in heaven are you doing?” He didn’t answer but continued staring intently out the window. “Will!”
“It’s all right, Aunt Bridget,” he said. He glanced over his shoulder and I saw that he had been fighting again. His left eye would soon be swollen shut, and a trickle of blood oozed from a cut on his forehead.
“For God’s sake, Will, what is going on? Who is after you?”
Will laughed derisively and I could smell the liquor on his breath. “Who isn’t? The sons of bitches who hit me from behind, the churchwardens seeking Sabbath-breakers, the beadle trying to find whoever brawled in the alehouse … it could be any of them. It looks like they lost the trail, so there’s nothing for you to worry about.” He turned away from the window and walked past me. “Do you have any wine? I’m not drunk enough yet.”
Also by Sam Thomas
The Midwife’s Tale: A Mystery
The Harlot’s Tale: A Midwife Mystery
About the Author
SAM THOMAS teaches history at University School near Cleveland, Ohio. He has received research grants from the National Endowment for the Humanities, the Newberry Library, and the British Academy. He has published academic articles on topics ranging from early modern Britain to colonial Africa. Thomas lives in Shaker Heights, Ohio, with his wife and two children.
This is a work of fiction. All of the characters, organizations, and events portrayed in this novel are either products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously.
THE MAIDSERVANT AND THE MURDERER. Copyright © 2013 by Samuel Thomas. All rights reserved. For information, address St. Martin’s Press, 175 Fifth Avenue, New York, N.Y. 10010.
www.minotaurbooks.com
Cover design by David Baldeosingh Rotstein
Cover photograph © John Foley / Arcangel Images
e-ISBN 9781466850439
First Edition: December 2013