Wedded in Sin Read Free

hard as she would have liked, but enough that Jobby went down with a howl. Every man there winced in sympathy, and that gave her time to toss the satchel of important things to the side, where hopefully no one would notice. Then she started screeching like a madwoman by way of covering. If anyone had noticed what she’d dropped, hopefully they’d get distracted and forget.
    She focused on the constable, as he was the authority here. His eyes had darkened as he watched Jobby writhing on the ground, but now he focused on her.
    “There were no cause fer—”
    “He had no cause to be doing what he was doing to me bum either,” she snapped, her language deteriorating as her fury grew stronger. “And you’ve no cause to throw me out of my home!”
    The constable sighed, the sound coming from deep within him. If she were less furious, she might have felt sorry for him. He had the air of a man keeping doggedly on simply because there was nowhere else to go. A soldier, she thought, in a forced march. But then the image was gone as Cordwain blustered forward.
    “Got the bill of sale right here, my girl. As of dawn this morning, yer property is mine.”
    She snatched it from his hands, all but ripping the document. She would not have him waving the thing in her face. Problem was, she still had Tommy wailing in her arms, clinging to her like he was terrified. Which he was. Just as she was, but she controlled it better than the toddler. And while she was struggling to control the boy, Cordwain turned to Jobby, who was just now getting to his knees, his face a pasty white.
    “Get inside. Make sure she didn’t steal nothing!”
    “It’s not yours!” Penny snapped in reflex, but the constable just shook his head, his hands shoved deep in his pockets.
    “I’m afraid he’s right, Miss Shoemaker. I made sure of it before I came. Everything’s sold to him.”
    “By who? How can someone up and sell my home right out from under me?”
    Cordwain rolled his eyes. “Aw, listen to the tart. Lying bitch. I paid you all my damn savings for this place. You’re rich, you bloodsucking whore. And you won’t be denying me what’s mine!”
    Penny gaped at him, her mind rebelling at all the things that were absolutely wrong with everything he’d just said. But before she could get a word past the dam of fury clogging her throat, another man sauntered up. A gentleman, by the looks of him, and a useless one at that, given the worn state of his clothing. He was tall and somewhat thin, and his dark curly hair went every which way about his head as if his brains were exploding by way of his hair.
    “If I might have a word, Constable—”
    The official all but groaned. “Sir, this is hardly the time.”
    “Yes, I know, but in the interest of the writ of law, I thought I’d point out something.” He gestured with his hand, and in that one movement alarm bells began to ring in Penny’s mind. He was looking at the satchel. He knew and was about to tell. Bloody hell.
    “You want justice?” she snapped. “Here, hold Tommy for a moment.” Her words made no sense, but she had to distract him somehow. And how better to distract a toff than to hand him a squirming, screaming toddler?
    “What? No!”
    Too late. She’d shoved the boy into his arms, much to both males’ terror. And with her hands free, she could finally look at Cordwain’s false bill of sale while keeping half an eye on whether the toff hurt Tommy or not. He didn’t, thank heaven, but neither boy nor man was pleased with the situation.
    “Can you read it?” sneered Cordwain.
    “’Course I can. Enough to see that you didn’t pay me for my property. And as I’m the one who owns this place, I’m the only one who can sell.”
    “I did, too, pay!” snapped Cordwain as he grabbed the bill out of her hand. “Right here. Payment to one Thomas Shoemaker.”
    “Tommy! That’s Tommy!” She pointed at the squirming babe. “And he can’t sell anything but his