Chapter ONE - Weebly

Ethan’s knock was several years younger than William,
and quite a bit larger. Burly, tall, stone-faced, he more
closely resembled one of Sephira Pryce’s toughs than a
house servant. Ethan attempted to explain that he had
been hired by Abner Berson and needed to speak with
Cyrus Derne, but the man simply glowered at him.
When Ethan finished, the man informed him that Cyrus
Derne was not at home, and promptly shut the door.
Ethan considered knocking again, but decided
against it. It was growing dark. The night watch would
begin rounds before long. And men like Cyrus and
Fergus Derne would be making their way home from
the waterfront. Ethan strolled back to the street, but he
remained near the Derne house, nodding to strangers as
they walked past, laughing under his breath at their
reactions to his battered visage.
He had never met Cyrus Derne or his father, but he
knew them as soon as they turned a far corner onto
Bennet’s Street. They were both well-dressed in ditto
suits as was the current fashion. The younger Derne’s
was beige; Derne the Elder wore dark blue. Both men
sported dark cloaks and black tricorn hats with