A False Mirror - Charles Todd [155]
Mallory crossed to where Bennett was standing with Rutledge. “I’d like to leave now,” he said tightly. “Am I free to go?”
“For the present,” Bennett agreed, after a glance at Rutledge. “We’ll speak tomorrow.”
Mallory nodded and started to walk back down the passage alone. Rutledge caught him up. “You’re not to do anything foolish. I’ve had enough trouble for one night, by God.”
“No,” Mallory said wearily. “I won’t put that burden on Felicity. She doesn’t deserve it. And it would fuel the gossip. You needn’t worry.” He walked on, then stopped just before opening the door into the hall, his back to Rutledge.
“I was the best soldier I knew how to be. We weren’t all cut from the same cloth.”
“If you’re asking my forgiveness, you’ve come to the wrong person. For my sins, I have no right to judge you or anyone else.”
“Every time I looked in my mirror, I saw your face. The man I ought to have been.”
“It was a false mirror. What you were searching for was someone to blame. I want no part of it. I have my own nightmares. I don’t need yours.”
“Then, damn it, forgive me and be done with it.”
Rutledge could hear Hamish’s voice roaring in his ears. But he stood there for a count of ten, then said, his words clipped and raw, “I forgive you.”
Mallory nodded and stepped through the door, shutting it firmly behind him.
Rutledge closed his eyes, and swore long and fluently under his breath.
About the Author
CHARLES TODD is the author of eight Ian Rutledge mysteries—A Long Shadow, A Cold Treachery, A Fearsome Doubt, Watchers of Time, Legacy of the Dead, Search the Dark, Wings of Fire, and A Test of Wills—and one stand-alone novel. They are a mother-and–son writing team and live in Delaware and North Carolina, respectively.
www.charlestodd.com
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ALSO BY CHARLES TODD
A Test of Wills
Wings of Fire
Search the Dark
Watchers of Time
Legacy of the Dead
A Fearsome Doubt
The Murder Stone
A Cold Treachery
A Long Shadow
Credits
Jacket design by Susan H. Choi and Richard L. Aquan
Jacket photograph © by Michael Trevillion/Trevillion Images
Copyright
This is a work of fiction. The characters, incidents, and dialogue are products of the author’s imagination and are not to be construed as real. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.
A FALSE MIRROR. Copyright © 2007 by Charles Todd. All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the non-exclusive, non-transferable right to access and read the text of this e-book on-screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, down-loaded, decompiled, reverse engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of HarperCollins e-books.
ePub edition December 2006 ISBN 9780061742835
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Todd, Charles.
A false mirror / Charles Todd.—1st ed.
p. cm.
ISBN-13: 978-0-06-078673-1
ISBN-10: 0-06-078673-6
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
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Table of Contents
Cover
Title Page
Dedication
Contents
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