Outrageous Fortune
Chapter One
Venice, 1575
"I saw the way she measured you, Master." Fear stripped away the carefully
cultivated French accent that years of travel had perfected, revealing the Irish
brogue. "You have made a bitter enemy."
Dr. John Dee touched the edge of the quill to the ink block, then deliberately
etched a graceful looping curl to the end of the paragraph. "I am well used to
women taking my measure," he said absently. He dotted an i with a flourish, then
dropped the pen to the table. Rubbing his hands briskly together, the spymaster
broke off a piece of Venetian cheese from the wedge on the table before him. Its
milky aroma filled his nostrils with delight, and he devoted his entire
concentration to it as he savored the first bite. Then he sipped from the goblet
of young Venetian wine. It was sour and tart, but once it was laid down for a
couple of years, it would be very passable indeed. Dee nibbled some more cheese.
It was said that the Old Ones, who had walked this world in the days following
the Creation, dined only on cheese and wine. At that momen ... read full excerpt from The Merchant Prince Volume 2: Outrageous Fortune ebook
