Excerpt from Birds of a Feather by Jacqueline Winspear, plus links to reviews, author biography & more

Maisie was quick to respond. "My terms remain, sir. Part of my work in bringing Charlotte home will be to listen to her and to hear what she has to say."

Waite scraped back his chair, pushed his hands into his trouser pockets, and walked to the window. He looked up at the sky for just a moment and took out a pocket-watch. "I agree to your terms. Send your contract to me by nine tomorrow morning. Miss Arthur will take care of any deposit required, and will settle your account and expenses upon receipt. If you need me to answer more questions, Miss Arthur will schedule an appointment. Otherwise I expect your progress report by Friday. In person and at the same time-that is, should you fail to have found her by then. I'm a busy man, as I've said, Miss Dobbs." He turned to leave.

"Mr. Waite?"

"Yes?"

"May we see Charlotte's rooms, please?"

"Miss Arthur will call Mrs. Willis to show you the rooms. Good afternoon."

From Birds of a Feather by Jacqueline Winspear.  Copyright Jacqueline Winspear 2004.  All rights reserved.  Reproduced by permission of the publisher, Soho Press.