Any Man So Daring (42 page)

Ned peered doubtfully at the first page. “Two households, both alike in dignity, in fair Verona, where we lay our scene, From ancient grudge break to new mutiny, where civil blood makes civil hands unclean--” Ned read. He looked up and blinked. “This is like nothing you ever wrote before, Will.”

“I know,” Will said.

Ned peered back down on the paper. “From forth the fatal loins of these two foes, A pair of starcrossed lovers take their life; Whose misadventured piteous overthrows doth, with their death, bury their parents’ strife. The fearful passage of their death-marked love, and the continuance of their parents’ rage, Which, but their children’s end, naught could remove, is now the two hours traffic of our stage,” Ned looked up and slowly, a rare smile curled his lips upwards, erasing the marks of tension in his features. “Faith, Will, it is the best you’ve written.”

Will grinned. “I know.”

And it seemed to him, though it couldn’t be true, that somewhere nearby Marlowe’s ghost laughed.

About the Author

Sarah A Hoyt has published over twenty novels and a hundred short stories.  If you enjoyed this book, please look in Baen's webscriptions page for her Shifter's series (
Draw One In The Dark, Gentleman Takes a Chance
) or her science fiction (
Darkship Thieves
.)  For more of her fantasy, look for
Heart of Light, Soul of Fire
and
Heart and Soul. 
Those interested in historic mystery might wish to check out Sarah's
Musketeer Mysteries
, under the pen name Sarah D'Almeida.  Her contemporary mysteries, under the name Elise Hyatt are
Dipped, Stripped and Dead
and
A French Polished Murder.

For samples of all of Sarah's work, check out Sarah's website at
http://sarahahoyt.com
.