FitzDuncans Alchemy – John Spearman

It would not surprise me if Pedersen had watchers on the road to make sure I left. I headed to the east gate of the city. Once I went outside the gates, I walked about half a league then headed cross-country to the north gate. It took most of the day to make it back to my rooms. I stopped at an herbalist on the way to my rooms. When I arrived at the bookseller, it was near time to close.

I demanded a bath. Lyle Forteney still managed the shop, but I had bought the business and the building from him a couple of years before. The employees did not know that. “Mr. Forteney, I’m afraid I’ve had a hard few days on the road and must request a hot bath.”

“Oh, Mr. FitzDuncan, are you sure? I was just about to send the lads home for the day.” “Sad to say, Mr. Forteney, I must request that they stay.” “This is going to have to go on your bill, I’m afraid, Mr. FitzDuncan.” “Oh, Mr. Forteney, do we need to plow this furrow again?

We’ve had this same discussion so many times. I get one hot bath per week included in my rent. I have not had one yet this week.” “Yes, but you’re asking the boys to stay late,” he complained. “Boys, you don’t mind, do you?” I asked. “Especially if I give you a half florin each?”

“Shouldn’t that money come to me?” Forteney asked. “If you were the one lugging buckets up the stairs, sure,” I said. “But since the boys will be doing it, I’ll deal directly with them. See you soon, boys.” I left Forteney spluttering. The boys filled the tub with hot water and I gave them the half florins I promised. I took a bowl of the hot water and added a tincture of larkspur and some vinegar to it. I didn’t think my stay at the Hungry Goat had given me any creepy-crawlies, but I wasn’t taking a chance.

The larkspur and vinegar would kill anything that was trying to nest in my hair. Before I climbed in the tub, I checked closely in the mirror to see if there were any nits in my hair. There were none—a good sign. I worked the mixture from the bowl into my hair everywhere, then sank in the tub.

You are the purpose of this and all my books. Thank you for reading. If you like what you have read, please leave a positive review on Amazon.com or goodreads.com. If you did not like it, I’m sorry. OceanofPDF.com 1 It was now six weeks since my last adventure. If you’re new to my stories, that one involved a plot by the younger of the two royal princes, Wim, to usurp his older brother, Albert, in the royal succession. Wim’s plan was designed to ensnare me and make me the scapegoat.

However, with a bit of help from friends and a great amount of luck, I was able to ruin Wim’s plot. In revenge, he kidnapped my girlfriend to lure me outside of the city. We fought. I won. He died. Two days after, I met with the king. Since I was able to leave the meeting with my head still attached to my shoulders, I count it as a win.

After that, I returned to my normal life, such as it is. This particular evening, six weeks later, I returned to my rooms in an exceptionally jovial mood. Driven by a wind from the north, the first snow of the season was falling. The first appearance of snow always made me happy.

In another eight weeks, I would be tired of the stuff. Another reason for my buoyant good feeling was I’d been out to dinner with friends: Freddy, his cousin Lucy and Freddy’s somewhat intended, Greta Hawkins. The meal was passable, but the conversation was sparkling. All four of us enjoy healthy senses of humor. Fueled by some delicious cider, our evening’s dialogue was ribald and risqué.

Greta possessed a dry, clever wit. Freddy was often her accomplice, responding to her quips in a droll way. Lucy was the most direct. I tended to react to the others’ remarks, similar to a riposte in fencing. At times we were laughing so hard we attracted unkind looks from the other patrons of the inn. We didn’t care.

Shortly before the encounter with Wim, Lucy’s father granted me permission to court her. Lucy’s father is the Duke of Gulick. That makes her a ‘Lady.’ Her official title is Lady Darling, after one of her father’s minor holdings. She thinks ‘Lady Darling’ is a bit twee. So, naturally, her cousin Freddy and I tease her about it.

Freddy is actually Lord Rawlinsford. He will inherit his father’s duchy and become Duke of Manton when his father dies.

This is a short excerpt from the opening of “” by Unknown, quoted for review and introduction purposes. All rights belong to the copyright holders.

Book Information

• Unique ID: f024a5a9774ebbe6
• File Extension: .pdf
• File Size: 2,193,747 bytes (2.092 MB)
• Title: –
• Author: Unknown
• Pages: 161
• Language: English (en)

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• Estimated Reading Time: 296.32 minutes
• Total Words: 59,264
• Total Characters: 322,947
• Average Words per Page: 368.1
• Average Characters per Page: 2005.88

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