Winchester, and I do not intend to allow you to put your life in jeopardy."
She gasped. "You—you're lying!"
"You abuse my character." Nathan caught her other arm and held her fast.
"Because you are nothing more than a—hired thug! You have no right to give me orders!"
His eyes went hot and dark, but he spoke softly. "I may be a working man, but I will not be lorded over by anyone, especially a spoiled, harum-scarum baggage like you." Not for the first time, Raveneau wished Nicholai had never invented this new identity for him. It didn't fit him any better than the frayed costume he was forced to wear. "I will not fight you at every turn." He pulled her closer until their bodies touched full length. "Furthermore, I suggest that you not underestimate me."
Adrienne nearly spat in his face. "I hate you!"
He gambled. "Do you want me to leave you here? Would you prefer to protect yourself from Walter Frakes-Hogg?"
Her catlike eyes shot daggers at him, but Adrienne's intellect prevailed in the end. "All right. You can stay. If there is one person I despise more in all the world than you, Nathan Essex, it is the odious Walter Frakes-Hogg!"
Chapter 4
"Something by Haydn, perhaps?" Lady Thomasina inquired sweetly.
After untold hours of playing the piano, Adrienne's fingers were stiff and sore. Across the drawing room, the old woman was tucked into her favorite chair, munching contentedly on sweetmeats while Angus dozed in a pool of sunlight.
"Perhaps I should step into the library for a moment and see how Tavis and Sam are coming with the Systems. They do grow confused from time to time."
"Well..." Lady Thomasina's painted mouth turned down in a pout. "If you must, run along then. But be quick about it! If I'm left alone very long, I shall grow bored and ill-tempered!"
Fleeing, Adrienne nearly collided with Hortie, who was carrying a tarnished silver tray with a letter on it. "This just arrived by post, my lady," she intoned, pretending that her rival was not in the room at all. "I believe it is a letter from his young lordship."
"From my Hunty?" Lady Thomasina leaned forward anxiously. "Oh, dear, will someone read it to me? I've forgotten my spectacles."
Adrienne knew that she ought to volunteer, but the opportunity to slip away was too promising. From the doorway she called, "No doubt Hortie will be glad to oblige, your ladyship. And you must be missing her companionship since I've joined the household." She gave the skeletal abigail a hospital smile.
"I am forever at your disposal, ma'am."
"I'm used to Miss Beau's reading voice, or that of Mr. Essex, but I suppose you'll do, Hortie...."
It did Adrienne's heart good to see the other girl drawing a stool up beside Lady Thomasina. She was more than glad to share her own position, the burdens of which had shifted from physical labor to emotional suffocation. Like a child, Lady Thomasina demanded relentless entertainment and attention, and Adrienne was growing increasingly resentful.
Out in the cavernous corridor, it came to her that there really wasn't any escape. There could be no change of scenery except other parts of dreary Harms Castle. She wasn't allowed to go to town, for even if Lady Thomasina would loosen her grip, Nathan Essex had forbidden her to wander away alone.
Through an arched leaded-glass window on the landing, Adrienne gazed out over the garden. It was in need of grooming, but daffodils were blooming in clusters, and a boxwood maze caught her eye. How wonderful it would be to breathe fresh air after the assortment of stale smells inside Harms Castle!
Lifting her gray skirts, Adrienne looked right and left, then hurried down the stairs to the heavy doors leading out the rear of the house to a mossy terrace rimmed by shallow stone steps. Nearby, a man who apparently was the estate gardener was poking at a plot of earth with a hoe. He tipped his hat to her as she passed, then shuffled away as if he'd forgotten why he'd been hoeing
She gasped. "You—you're lying!"
"You abuse my character." Nathan caught her other arm and held her fast.
"Because you are nothing more than a—hired thug! You have no right to give me orders!"
His eyes went hot and dark, but he spoke softly. "I may be a working man, but I will not be lorded over by anyone, especially a spoiled, harum-scarum baggage like you." Not for the first time, Raveneau wished Nicholai had never invented this new identity for him. It didn't fit him any better than the frayed costume he was forced to wear. "I will not fight you at every turn." He pulled her closer until their bodies touched full length. "Furthermore, I suggest that you not underestimate me."
Adrienne nearly spat in his face. "I hate you!"
He gambled. "Do you want me to leave you here? Would you prefer to protect yourself from Walter Frakes-Hogg?"
Her catlike eyes shot daggers at him, but Adrienne's intellect prevailed in the end. "All right. You can stay. If there is one person I despise more in all the world than you, Nathan Essex, it is the odious Walter Frakes-Hogg!"
Chapter 4
"Something by Haydn, perhaps?" Lady Thomasina inquired sweetly.
After untold hours of playing the piano, Adrienne's fingers were stiff and sore. Across the drawing room, the old woman was tucked into her favorite chair, munching contentedly on sweetmeats while Angus dozed in a pool of sunlight.
"Perhaps I should step into the library for a moment and see how Tavis and Sam are coming with the Systems. They do grow confused from time to time."
"Well..." Lady Thomasina's painted mouth turned down in a pout. "If you must, run along then. But be quick about it! If I'm left alone very long, I shall grow bored and ill-tempered!"
Fleeing, Adrienne nearly collided with Hortie, who was carrying a tarnished silver tray with a letter on it. "This just arrived by post, my lady," she intoned, pretending that her rival was not in the room at all. "I believe it is a letter from his young lordship."
"From my Hunty?" Lady Thomasina leaned forward anxiously. "Oh, dear, will someone read it to me? I've forgotten my spectacles."
Adrienne knew that she ought to volunteer, but the opportunity to slip away was too promising. From the doorway she called, "No doubt Hortie will be glad to oblige, your ladyship. And you must be missing her companionship since I've joined the household." She gave the skeletal abigail a hospital smile.
"I am forever at your disposal, ma'am."
"I'm used to Miss Beau's reading voice, or that of Mr. Essex, but I suppose you'll do, Hortie...."
It did Adrienne's heart good to see the other girl drawing a stool up beside Lady Thomasina. She was more than glad to share her own position, the burdens of which had shifted from physical labor to emotional suffocation. Like a child, Lady Thomasina demanded relentless entertainment and attention, and Adrienne was growing increasingly resentful.
Out in the cavernous corridor, it came to her that there really wasn't any escape. There could be no change of scenery except other parts of dreary Harms Castle. She wasn't allowed to go to town, for even if Lady Thomasina would loosen her grip, Nathan Essex had forbidden her to wander away alone.
Through an arched leaded-glass window on the landing, Adrienne gazed out over the garden. It was in need of grooming, but daffodils were blooming in clusters, and a boxwood maze caught her eye. How wonderful it would be to breathe fresh air after the assortment of stale smells inside Harms Castle!
Lifting her gray skirts, Adrienne looked right and left, then hurried down the stairs to the heavy doors leading out the rear of the house to a mossy terrace rimmed by shallow stone steps. Nearby, a man who apparently was the estate gardener was poking at a plot of earth with a hoe. He tipped his hat to her as she passed, then shuffled away as if he'd forgotten why he'd been hoeing
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