Wedded in Sin Read Free Page A

drool.”
    “Look, you lying piece of—” Cordwain’s next words were drowned out as the constable blew one long shrill note on his whistle again. The noise was so loud that everyone stopped to clap their hands over their ears, Tommy included. Then, while their ears were still ringing, the constable stepped forward, speaking in a low, reasonable tone.
    “It wasn’t Tommy himself who sold your home, Miss Shoemaker. It was his guardian.”
    “I’m Tommy’s guardian,” she snapped.
    “No, miss. You’re not.” As proof, he lifted up the bill of sale and pointed at a signature. Right there in dark ink she saw the signature of Mr. Reginald Addicock, solicitor and trustee of Thomas Shoemaker.
    “What’s a trustee?” she asked.
    “Legal term for guardian,” inserted the toff from behind Tommy’s head. Apparently during that shrill whistle blow, Tommy and the gentleman had come to some mutual agreement. Tommy was wrapped around the toff’s neck like a monkey and he wasn’t screaming anymore. Meanwhile, the man supported Tommy’s bum with one hand while angling for a better view of the bill of sale.
    “But he can’t sell my home!” Even as she said the words, a worry niggled at the back of her mind. She knew Mr. Addicock. He had been one of her father’s friends. But surely her father would have said something if he’d named Addicock guardian. Or had that been just another thing her father had meant to do but forgot?
    “He can and he did!” bellowed Cordwain.
    “You’ve never even heard of him?” asked the gentleman. “How long have your parents been gone?”
    “Seven weeks! Don’t you think that in nearly two months, the man would have presented himself?”
    “Well, yes, that would be typical, wouldn’t it?” The man reached over and picked the bill of sale right out of Cordwain’s hand. No one disagreed. He had that kind of confidence that people went along with. As if he had the right to step in and solve the problem. Which he didn’t. But as he was working on her side, Penny saw no reason to stop him. Meanwhile, he was frowning down at the document. “It does look official, but—”
    “’Course it is,” said Cordwain. “It’s this lying—”
    “Call me names again, and I will scratch your eyes out!”
    “You will not!” inserted the constable. “But I will blow this whistle until you are both too deaf to hear it. So stubble it, Cordwain. You got no cause to be saying things like that to her. Especially since you got the law on your side.”
    “His side!” Penny cried. “But none of it is true!”
    The constable grimaced. “Everything I got is legal and true, Miss Shoemaker. It says he purchased your shop and everything in it.”
    “But how? I haven’t received any money, I haven’t talked to this solicitor, I don’t know anything about this at all!”
    The constable just sighed again, and the sound seemed to pull his shoulders down. It was the look of a miserable individual, but one who would do his duty no matter if it were wrong or not.
    “It’s not right ,” she said.
    “Don’t matter,” inserted the toff. “It looks right from his end. He’s got no cause to stop it.”
    “But it’s wrong ,” Penny repeated, trying desperately to find a way to stop this. “All of it is just…”
    “Legal,” said Cordwain with a sneer. “All legal. Now get gone from here, girl. And take your brat with you. I can’t have the likes of you around my place of business.”
    That was the final insult. The living fury beneath her skin broke free. She launched herself at Cordwain with the only weapon she had—her nails and her fury. But she never connected. Before she even realized she’d leaped, the toff had her around the waist. It was no small feat, given that he still had Tommy wrapped around his neck. And for a too tall, no-good toff, he was damned strong.
    “We’ll have none of that,” he scolded, not winded in the least despite the way she was flailing in his