Stephan stepped forward and knocked on the door.
Mrs.Webb’s face was a pasty white blotched with red. Strands of graying hair fell from her bun, and there were several holes in her dressing gown. Her gaze slipped over Stephan, landing on Alden. “What are you doing here?”
“We’ve come for Persila.”
She cackled. “You think you can just take her?”
“If you’re unwilling to negotiate a deal.”
Her eyes narrowed. “What sort of deal?”
“That depends on you, Mrs.Webb. My friend and I are hoping for a reasonable one.”
He held her gaze even as he positioned his foot against the door to prop it open.
“What if I don’t want to negotiate?”
Alden shrugged. “Then we’ll just take her.”
“You can’t do that.”
He glanced over at Stephan, and the two of them elbowed their way past her, into the cramped room.
“Get out,” Mrs.Webb cried behind them.
Persila was sitting on the floor, mending items from a basket. The Webbs, it seemed, had found another way to generate income from her work.
“Hello, Persila,” he said.
Her eyes lit when she saw the men, but her gaze plunged quickly back to her mending. Stephan sat on the frayed rug beside her while Alden faced Mrs.Webb.
“Would you like to discuss the terms?”
Mrs.Webb eyed her and then looked back up at him. “I won’t take less than five hundred.”
“Dollars?”
“Of course, dollars.”
“Do you have her papers?” Alden asked.
Mrs.Webb removed a canvas portfolio from the bureau and took out two sheets of paper. Alden perused them slowly. They must hurry before Mr.Webb returned, but he wanted to make the woman before him nervous. He suspected that she’d already spent the five hundred dollars in her head.
“Alden?” Stephan urged.
He glanced down at Mrs.Webb, the papers secured in his hands. “We will purchase her for three hundred dollars.”
Mrs.Webb laughed again. “Five hundred.”
He sighed as he inched back. “Then it seems we can’t compromise. You’ll have no slave and no money.”
She stopped laughing when he bolted the door behind him. “If you steal her, Mr.Webb will send the police after you.”
“The police won’t find us,” he assured her before looking around the room. “What shall I use to tie you up?”
Her face paled.
“I’m sure Mr.Webb will be back soon to rescue you.”
