Free Moonlight Lover by Marie Ferrarella Page A

the house. Hurrying out of the shed where he had been working, he was ready to grasp the reins when Sin-Jin dismounted.
    "I was just about to send someone into town to search for you. I thought you'd been shanghaied aboard some privateer or pressed into service by a ragtag brigade of soldiers."
    Though the air was crisp, Bronson's rounded face was sweaty just from the effort of hurrying across the lawn. He was a short, stocky man, and his weight was evenly distributed, giving him the appearance of an amiable brick wall.
    Sin-Jin waved over the stable hand who stood peering at the two men in the distance. The young boy was quick to comply. Everyone liked Mas't 'Jin.
    "Thank you, Seth," Sin-Jin murmured to the dark-skinned youth. He turned to Bronson. The overseer had been worried, just as Sin-Jin had predicted. He smiled at the man easily. "I'm afraid that the evening slipped away from me."
    Bronson was aware that when his employer had left yesterday, there had been a sadness about him that was rare. Yesterday was the date of his marriage to Miss Savannah. Bronson had guessed that loneliness was licking at Sin-Jin's soul. It had been his fervent hope that Sin-Jin would find relief in town. He grinned now. Apparently he had. "Was she pretty?"
    Sin-Jin walked into the stately mansion that had been his home for the last five years. Bronson followed in his wake. Sin-Jin thought of the taste of Rachel's mouth as he walked past the parlor to his library. "Like ripe strawberries dropped on a field of fresh virgin snow."
    Bronson scratched the thinning fringe of wheat colored hair that still decorated his pate. He'd been to town and stopped by the tavern only the week before.
    "That doesn't sound like any of the ladies Sam has at the tavern." His moon-like face broke into a hopeful grin. "Has he brought in any new barmaids?"
    Sin-Jin laughed, shrugging out of his coat. He draped it with care over a settee. He knew Emily would be by to put it away before long. He looked at the wistful expression on Bronson's face and guessed at his thoughts. "I believe that you're making a good deal more of my evening than I did."
    Bronson was a simple man, not given to subtleties. "Sir?"
    Sin-Jin sat at his desk, stretching his legs out before him. There was a healthy fire burning behind him. He could always trust that Emily and her husband, Joe, would keep things running smoothly at the house.
    "I met the printer's sister Rachel last night under very chaste circumstances." He smiled, steepling his fingers together. "Not that I wouldn't have entertained the notion of having them not quite so chaste."
    Bronson scowled, his thick brows knitting together in a furrow. "I didn't know the printer had a sister Rachel." He paused to consider his own words. "Or that we had a printer."
    "That we do." Leaning over, Sin-Jin took out a folded sheet that he had taken with him when he left Sam's. It was part of the Gazette. "As of two months ago, or so, the good citizens of Morgan Creek have been graced with a periodical."
    Bronson stared at the sheet. When Sin-Jin offered it to him, Bronson took it, turning it around in his hands. "A what-i-gul?"
    "Periodical." Sin-Jin sat up and tapped the sheet to emphasize his words. He studied the blank look on Bronson's face as the latter regarded the newspaper with interest. "A publication that makes its appearance regularly."
    Bronson shrugged, handing the paper back to him. He straightened, dusting his clothes a little awkwardly. "Well, it can appear as regularly as it wants, makes no difference to me."
    "You can't read?" Sin-Jin guessed, surprised. When he had hired Bronson under Morgan McKinley's recommendation five years ago, it had never occurred to Sin-Jin to inquire whether Bronson could read or not. It was just something he had assumed. To learn differently, after all these years, was a surprise.
    The shrug became more pronounced and self-conscious, though his inability had never really troubled Bronson before. Book