Snippet of Red in Tooth and Claw (Patreon)

Book is due Friday and I'm furiously editing while on retreat. Thought I'd share a little snippet! For context, HisBen is a shortened title standing for "His Benevolence." Enjoy! --Lish

Miss Honeywell opened the door to the left of HisBen’s room. She paused, looking back behind her. “That one belongs to Stuckley.” She rolled her eyes. “I wouldn’t go in there if you paid me up front.”

It was obvious she wanted me to ask why not, and I almost didn’t—I have an innate dislike to being pushed into anything. Contrary like a cat, Pops used to say. But while I wanted nothing to do with Miss Honeywell, I didn’t want to make an enemy of her either. She seemed the vengeful type.

“Oh?” I waited in the hallway, since she hadn’t moved out of her own doorway yet.

“He spends a lot of time in there, our Stuckley. Ruminating on the benevolence, or so he says. I wouldn’t be surprised if he was doing something less savory in there.”

I had no idea what she meant by that and honestly, I didn’t want to think about Stuckley, savory ways or otherwise. Normally, I would keep my trap shut as this had nothing to do with me, but if I did that, I would be alienating Miss Honeywell. I had to give her something. “Have you ever taken a peek?”

She made a big production out of looking this way and that down the hall. Once she saw no one was coming she whispered, “I might have been a little curious, but you know he locks it?”

I did not know and I said as much.

“I don’t suppose…” She bit her lip.

Either she was amazingly transparent, or she did not think me clever. I honestly could not tell which. I played into it, anyway. “Suppose what, ma’am?

“You don’t know how to pick a lock, do you Faolan?” She patted my shoulder. “I would be so appreciative.”

Now we were getting to the meat of things. It could be that Miss Honeywell asked any newcomer to the Settlement if they knew how to pick locks. It was also possible that she asked because I was what I was, being a Kelly, red-headed, and ghost-eyed, as there were folk that equated any one of those things with an absence of character.

As it happened, I could pick a lock or two, but it had nothing to do with any of those things. I was not of a mind to share this knowledge with Miss Honeywell.

“I regret that I do not,” I said, pretending that I really did regret it.

She sighed like she was up on the penny stage. “Well, it never hurts to ask. I worry he’s going to lock himself in there one of these days and then what are we going to do, chop down his door?” She rolled her eyes at me and finally stepped into her room.