“You knew our father,” Charlie countered.
“I never met him,” Radcliffe corrected. “But we did correspond on occasion. We were partners in several ventures.”
Charlie nodded solemnly and did not correct Radcliffe’s polite phrasing. Partners was a bit of an ambitious word to use for the investors who threw in with Radcliffe. The man was a genius, according to what her father had always told her. He had the Midas touch. Any investment he made paid back in at least triplicate. Everyone knew this and everyone wished to invest with him, but he was a choosy fellow. Very few people were invited to invest with him, and if one was not invited, one did not invest. As for it being a partnership, there really was none. The investors often had no idea where their money went, and fewer still really cared so long as it paid off. Radcliffe did all the thinking in the investments; those who he invited along simply rode on the coattails of his genius.
She turned the card over in her hand thoughtfully. Lord Radcliffe would hardly need the jewels they carried. While they were a small fortune, they were nothing compared to the wealth he enjoyed. “Why would you trouble yourself to help us?”
Radcliffe raised an eyebrow at the blunt question. “As I said before, you are not even carrying a weapon, lad. But, if I am right, you are carrying your mother’s jewels.” He grinned when Charlie stiffened. “As I thought. One highwayman and the two of you are paupers at your uncle’s mercy.”
Charlie winced considering that prospect, and Radcliffe’s expression softened. “I am headed that way anyway. I see no harm in offering my company as a deterrent to thieves.”
Charlie hesitated a moment, then grabbed Beth’s hand and urged her a safe distance away, dragging their horses behind them.
“What are we going to do?” Beth hissed as Charlie stopped and faced her.
“We go with him.”
“What? But—”
“He is right, Beth. We could be robbed on the road. I did not think of taking a pistol.” Sighing, she shrugged. “He is protection. It is one thing to go to Ralphy with our inheritance. It would be quite another to show up penniless.”
“But he is heading the wrong way,” Beth pointed out after a hesitation.
“I know.” Charlie thought for a moment, then grinned suddenly. “That might be to our advantage, though. As I pointed out earlier, our uncle will hardly look in London, or even in that direction for us.” A soft laugh slipped from her lips. “We shall go that way with Radcliffe; then when he stops to rest, I shall steal his pistol and we will head for Ralphy’s.”
Beth looked uncertain. “But, Charlie, he is offering to help. I cannot like the idea of stealing his pistol as repayment. He—”
“I shall leave him one of Mother’s bracelets. That should pay for the pistol three times over.” Her gaze slid back to the man in question. “He must have been on the road most of the day and this evening. He shall probably stop at the next inn, or the one after. There we will make our escape. And that will give us most of the night to travel.”
About the Author
LYNSAY SANDS is the nationally bestselling author of the Argeneau/Rogue Hunter vampire series, as well as numerous historicals and anthologies. She’s been writing stories since grade school and considers herself incredibly lucky to be able to make a career out of it. Her hope is that readers can get away from their everyday stress through her stories, and if there are occasional uncontrollable fits of laughter, that’s just a big bonus.
Please visit her on the web at www.lynsaysands.net.
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By Lynsay Sands
One Lucky Vampire
Immortal Ever After
The Lady Is a Vamp
Under a Vampire Moon
The Reluctant Vampire
Hungry For You
Born to Bite
The Renegade Hunter
The Immortal Hunter
The Rogue Hunter
Vampire, Interrupted
Vampires Are Forever
The Accidental Vampire
Bite Me If You Can
A Bite to Remember
A Quick Bite
Tall, Dark & Hungry
Single White Vampire
Love Bites
An English Bride in Scotland
The Husband Hunt
The Heiress
The Countess
The Hellion and the Highlander
Taming the Highland Bride
Devil of the Highlands
Copyright
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously and are not to be construed as real. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, organizations, or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.
Excerpt from The Switch copyright © 1999 by Lynsay Sands.
ONE LUCKY VAMPIRE. Copyright © 2013 by Lynsay Sands All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the nonexclusive, nontransferable right to access and read the text of this e-book on screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, downloaded, decompiled, reverse-engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of HarperCollins e-books.
EPub Edition OCTOBER 2013 ISBN: 9780062078155
Print Edition ISBN: 9780062078148
FIRST EDITION
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