Perilous
Dreams
Lynn Landes
By:
Lynn Landes
Published by:
Landes Publishing
Edited by:
Shane Landes
Cover art by:
www.roseannawhitedesigns.com
This book is a work of fiction. All of the characters, names, and events portrayed in this novel are products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events or locales or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.
Copyright © 2016 by Lynn Landes
http://followlynnsthread.wordpress.com/
All rights reserved.
Other titles by Lynn Landes:
Dust & Dreams
Stolen Dreams
The Angels Covenant
Covenant Breakers
Blood Covenant
Fae Queen
Shadow King
Serenity’s Song
Arctic Moon
NEW RELEASE!
Mercy's Promise
Prologue
England, 1869
“Glossy perfection.” Jung stares at the chocolate truffle on the small plate, looking for any flaws. Chocolates must be poured in the perfect environment. The temperature of the room needs to be exact. Too much humidity or heat and they will not set. One must work quickly to ensure the lustrous finish that is required.
His mother used to call them her “black pearls.” He grins and whispers, “Mother was always brilliant.” Most truffles have a coconut cream center, almond or even a cherry, but these are special. The syringe sinks into the chocolate center, and he injects them each before the chocolate hardens completely.
He pushes the blonde hair from his eyes and carefully arranges three truffles in a tin and ties it with a ribbon. A quick note of thanks for dinner last evening in the pub and the tin is ready for delivery.
Jung had been dining with two other ship's doctors when he overheard the news in passing conversation that Dr. Charles Denning was going to be traveling to America in three days. After a quick introduction, he joined the doctor for dinner. The man was thrilled to be chosen as the physician for the ship. He, of course, had not been interested in switching ships with Jung. Even after attempting to bribe him with a substantial amount of money.
“You, should have taken the money, fool.” A knock at the door startles him from his reverie.
“Deliver these for me this morning with Dr. Wade’s breakfast.” The attendant smiles and takes the money he presses into her hand. She slips it inside her half-open blouse and licks her lips.
“Right away, Dr. Rudolph. If I can be of any more assistance, just let me know.” Her brown eyes promise him a good time.
“I am learning to love England, but I must get to work.” His eyes travel down her body and he reaches out and trails a finger over her cleavage. “Perhaps tonight?”
“Seven?” She asks with a grin.
“Seven,” he replies with a smile.
Jung closes the door softly and begins working again. His mind is spinning as he finishes the chocolate truffles for his guest tonight. “No reason to waste good chocolate.” These will not hold the poison that he filled the doctors with, merely something to make her more receptive to his dark desires. The doctor will be dead before lunch and Jung will be sure to be close by when they are desperate to replace him. This opportunity must not be squandered. Dr. Charles Denning is the key to his future.
Chapter 1
“There she is! The Steamship Kharon.” Charles Denning tells his wife and daughters. “She was named after the Greek mythological creature who was a ferryman for…”
Mrs. Natalie Denning interrupts her husband’s musing with a gentle hand on his arm, she points, “Look at all the sails, girls. They look like beautiful clouds.” The men are just lifting the sails of one of the other ships leaving the busy dock. They catch the wind, and the eight-year-old twin girls squeal while pulling their mother along.
“I don’t know if telling them our ship is named after the ferryman of Hades who carries the souls of the dead to the underworld would be a wise choice, Papa.” Twenty-year-old Summer explains with a laugh while attempting to tame her long blonde hair in the morning breeze.
“Oh, quite right. Just look at her Summer!” His excitement is evident in his voice. “This steamship is the first of a new style of ocean liner. It is said that with her speed a trip that would have taken us two months will now take less than two weeks!” Dr. Charles Denning had accepted the offer to work at Harvard Medical School as a professor because he was dedicated to his profession. They assured him that his scientific studies would be taken under advisement and his future work would be fully sponsored by the university. In doing this his life’s work to stop the rise of epidemics of diseases, such as smallpox and other deadly outbreaks, could continue. His goal is to create inoculations and protocols to prevent the spread of the epidemics. Many in the medical community are wary of the new inoculations, but he is sure that if properly developed and administered some of the diseases will be eradicated in the future.
Summer looks at the excitement on her father’s face and can only smile. “She is stunning, Papa. We should get in line and move along.” Her voice fades away as she turns to look at the mass of people around them. There are lines waiting to board ships bound for several different ports. Some were to the United States, others were to Scotland, Germany, France, Brazil and many more.
Dr. Denning smiles at his wife as she rejoins them with the twins. They all gather close and fall quiet as he explains what they are seeing. “As many as eight or ten of these ships leave a day for destinations all over the world. Our ship, the S.S. Kharon is the first steamship of its kind. Some call it a large yacht, you will see. It
