The Gadget: The Rondon Chronicles Book One by V. Timlin (speed reading book .TXT) 📕

The mischievous smirk faltered on Nat’s face. Anouk grimaced. Had she taken the joke too far? She knew nothing of Anglean society. Until she did, she would be better to keep jokes to herself.

Nat started to reply, but the door opened and ‘Mr Sunshine’ appeared in the doorframe. “Come in. Madam Valeria will see you shortly.”

Nat nodded in acknowledgement and leaned closer to Anouk. “It won’t jeopardise either. So yes, it’s just information,” he whispered.

“You’re not telling her where I come from as you did to Amanda?” Anouk whispered back.

“Of course not. I don’t trust her that much.” Nat stepped inside to follow the doorman who was eyeing them with suspicion.

“Good,” Anouk muttered, hiding her smile. Nat’s interest in Madam Valeria was purely professional, not that it would have bothered her if it had been more. Well, maybe a little, but only a little.

‘Mr Sunshine’ led them through a shadowy, yet buzzing, room where men sat around tables playing card games, smoking and drinking. Women—dressed in corsets, garters and laced up high-heeled shoes, with voluptuous feathers decorating their hair—moved around, entertaining and serving drinks. Occasional raucous laughter pierced the throng. The scene reminded Anouk of old Western movies.

They navigated between the tables towards a pair of velvet curtains. The air was thick with tobacco smoke which irritated Anouk’s throat, and she started to cough. Nat gave a look over his shoulder.

“I’m fine,” Anouk called between the fits of coughing, putting her hand over her mouth.

Someone grabbed Anouk’s wrist. “Hey, beautiful,” a man slurred. Stench of sharp alcohol hit her nose when he tried to pull her into his lap. “Come here.”

She regained her balance and trapped the man’s hand with hers, taking a hold of his wrist and pressing downward. The man dropped off his chair to his knees, crying out in pain and surprise. Nat reacted in a split second—he grabbed the man by his throat and lifted him up.

“You leave her alone,” he hissed near the man’s face. His eyes were blazing. The man’s face turned redder and redder as the air stopped reaching his lungs.

“Nat, stop!” Anouk shouted. “You’re choking him.”

The doorman placed his hand on Nat’s. “I’ll take care of him.” Then he seized the man by his collar and dragged him towards the back door.

The whole hazy room was silent and everyone was staring at them. The attention unnerved Anouk and made her skin crawl. She wished she hadn’t yelled.

She clasped her hands and forced a smile on her face. “Just a minor misunderstanding.” Her voice quivered and a nervous tic started to tug her upper lip. “Please, don’t let us disturb your… um… evening.”

The drinking and card playing at the tables resumed and soon the noise level was almost as boisterous as before, but the frequent glances in their direction told Anouk they were now the main topic of conversation.

“Did he hurt you?” There was a genuine concern in Nat’s eyes and voice, and it warmed and irked Anouk at the same time.

She pressed her hand on her lip to hide the involuntary twitching. “No. I think I was the one who hurt him.”

“Good,” Nat grunted.

“Why did you step in? I had the situation under control.” Anouk’s nervous tic was subsiding now as she got a grip on herself.

“Aye.” Nat nodded. “Indeed, you did.”

Anouk tilted her head. “So why did you grab him by the throat then? Were you jealous?”

“No.” Nat swivelled his head towards the approaching Mr Sunshine, who was dusting something from his clothes with his hands.

Anouk gulped. “You didn’t use unnecessary force on that man, did you? He was just drunk, and he honestly didn’t hurt me at all.”

Mr Sunshine regarded her and Nat with a dark expression. “Follow me.”

“He didn’t beat him, did he?” Anouk redirected her question to Nat, who simply shrugged.

A cold stone settled in her gut. Yes, the man had tried to pull her into his lap without her consent, but she had defended herself without hurting him. Alright, maybe she hurt him some, but he deserved it. It wasn’t necessary for Nat and Mr Sunshine to brutalise the guy too much. Granted, however, Madam Valeria’s employee had to make sure the clients of the brothel and the gambling room were safe—that was his job. But Nat… he had overreacted. Great that he’d defended her, but there was a time and a place for it; this hadn’t been one. Anouk shot mental daggers in Nat’s back, but to her great disappointment, he didn’t twitch his shoulder blades, not even once!

Nat and Anouk were guided through the velvet curtains and up a stairway to a small parlour.

“Madam Valeria will be with you in a minute.” Mr Sunshine promptly left.

Anouk walked in and studied the room. The walls, carpet and velvet curtains were all scarlet. A golden coloured baroque table took the centre, on it, a statuette depicting a man and woman frozen in a pose that left nothing to the imagination.

Anouk flicked her eyes to the walls and walked over to take a closer look at one of the many paintings hanging there. In an instant, she realised it was a mistake. The image portrayed a vivid scene of a man and woman enjoying one another. She turned around and met Nat’s eyes. He sat relaxed on a scarlet velvet sofa, his head resting against the back.

“Enjoying the artwork?”

A hot wave flushed over her cheeks, and she was sure her colour now matched the room. She sat in an armchair on the other side of the table, dropping her gaze to the floor.

“Er… Not my style.” She paused to clear her throat. “How knowledgeable is Madam Valeria about the affairs in the city?” She kept her eyes firmly focused on the floor as she spoke. It at least didn’t have any indecent imagery woven into it.

“You mean, how much information do she and her girls extract from their clientele?”

“Yes, isn’t it an old trick using sex to gather intelligence?”

“True, but fortunately, Madam Valeria shares her knowledge