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CHAPTER 1

Froan saw the woman, he knew that--despite her beauty--she would never be any man's bride

He followed the water to his skin and for beads on his wool coat He kept both hands shoved deep in his pockets, while his gaze chased restlessly around the scene The river looked oily in the dull glow of la Two or three tiny boats ferried passengers across theThaainst the steps and face of an embankment wall A wintry March breeze curled around Grant's face and ears and slipped persistently beneath the edge of his cravat He suppressed a shiver as he stared at the sloshing black river No one could survive er than twenty minutes in water that cold

"Where is the body?" An ied at Grant's brow He reached inside his coat, fingering the case of his pocket watch "I don't have all night"

TheThalance at thehian, aren't ye? Mr Morgan hisselfWhy, no one will believe it when I tell 'eht you above such dirty business as this"

"Unfortunately not," Grant muttered

"This way, sirand mind yer step The stairs is awful slick by the water, specially on a daht like this"

Stiffening his jaw, Grant made his way down to the s stairs In the course of his detective work he often saw dead bodies, but drowning victi the most unpleasant The body had been left facedown, but it was clearly fe doll abandoned by a careless child, the skirts of her dress heaped in a dripping s

Crouching beside her, Grant clasped the woan to turn her over He recoiled instantly, startled, as she began to cough and retch salt water, her body spas

The waterht she was dead" His voice shook with amazement "She was cold meat, I swear it!"

"Idiot," Granthad this poor woman been left in the bitter cold while the waterate? Her chances of survival would have been far greater had she been taken care of iood He flipped the wo hair soaking his trousers Her skin was ashen in thelump on the side of her head Even so, the delicate, distinctive features were recognizable He knew her

"My God," Grant breathed He but to find Vivien Rose Duvall here, like thisIt was inconceivable

Her eyes half opened, dull with the knowledge of her imminent death But Vivien was not the kind of wole She whi the front of his waistcoat in a feeble attempt to save herself Spurred into action, Grant locked his arms around her and hauled her upward She was sown nearly doubled her weight Grant held her high against his chest, giving a grunt of discoh his own clothes

"Will you take 'er toBow Street , Mr Morgan?" the water to follow Grant as he took the steps two at a tiivethe lady afore she croaked I wouldn't take no thanks, o' coursejust to do the right thing is enoughbut there htn't there?"

"Find DrJacob Linley," Grant said harshly, interrupting the er speculation "He's usually at Toht Tell hi Street "

"I can't," the waterman protested "I' as to work, ye knowWhy, I could earn five shillings yet tonight"

"You'll be paid when you bring Linley toKing Street "

"But what if I can't find 'im?"

"You'll bring him there within a half hour," Grant said curtly, "or I'll have your boat confiscated--and I'll arrange a three-day stay for you in a prison hulk Is that h?"

"I always thought you was a fine fellow," the waterman said sourly, "until I met you You're not a-tall like they write you in the papers Hours I've spent in the taverns whilst they read aloud about yer doings" He trotted away, disappointment evident in every line of his squatty form

Grant's rim amusement He ell aware of the way his exploits were described in the papers Editors and writers had exaggerated his accoarded hiend, not as a normal man with flaws

He had hly profitable one, earning a fortune fro stolen property for banks He had, on occasion, taken other kinds of cases--locating an abducted heiress, serving as a personal guard to a visitingdown murderers--but banks were always his preferred clients With each case solved, his naarnered more celebrity, until he was discussed in every coffee shop and tavern inLondon

To Grant's amuse for his presence at their social functions It was said that a ball's success was assured if the hostess was able to write "Mr Morgan will attend" at the bottom of the invitation Yet for all his apparent popularity with the nobility, it was clear to all that he was not one of theure of entertainh social circles he frequented Woerous character, and men wanted his friendship in order to appear more brave and worldly themselves Grant are that he would never be accepted except in the most superficial way And he would never be trusted by thetonHe knew too many of their dirty secrets, their vulnerabilities, their fears and desires

A gust of frosty air whirled around hi his unwieldy burden htly, he left the embankment and crossed a cobblestoned street coated with h a snant water barrels, a fetid pigsty, and a cart with broken wheelsCovent Garden was littered with courts like these, fro rookeries spread out in disease-ridden webs Any gentleht mind would be terrified to venture in this area of the city, rife with thieves' kitchens, whores, bullies, and cris But Grant was hardly a gentleman, and theLondon underworld held no terrors for him

The woman's head lolled on his shoulder, her weak, cool breath hitting his chin "Well, Vivien," he murmured, "there was a time I wanted you in my armsbut this wasn't exactly what I had planned"

He found it hard to believe he was carrying London's most desirable female past Covent Garden's tumbledown booths and open stalls Butchers and peddlers paused to stare curiously as he passed, while prostitutes ventured from the shadows "Here, laddie," a sunken-cheeked scarcrow of a woot a nice fresh cream pot for ye!"