Chapter ONE - Weebly

Before Pell could respond, Ethan heard someone
approaching along the lane. He reached for his blade.
“It’s all right,” Pell said quietly. Then, in a louder
voice, he called, “Good evening, Mister Caner.”
The man walking toward the chapel paused in
midstep, but then walked on. “Is that you, Trevor?”
“Yes, Reverend, sir.”
“And who is that with you?”
“This is Ethan Kaille. He’s the thieftaker Mister
Troutbeck mentioned to you yesterday.”
“Ah, yes,” the rector said. By now he had joined
them in the churchyard. Stopping before them, he
extended a fleshy hand to Ethan. “A pleasure to make
your acquaintance, Mister Kaille.”
Ethan gripped the man’s hand. “And yours, Mister
Caner.”
The rector was short and round, and even in the
moonlight Ethan could see that he had a pleasant face.
His mouth was shaped like a small bow and his
eyebrows were bushy. He wore a wig of thick white
curls in a style that had been current before Ethan sailed
with the Ruby Blade, but not since.