"You're going to work onthe track tomorrow too?"
"As long as ittakes." He began to strip off his trousers. "Good night, Ian."
"I get the feeling I'mbeing dismissed." Ian rose leisurely to his feet and moved toward thedoor. "If I can help with anything else, let me know."
"You'd help me deceivethat 'poor child'?" Ruel asked mockingly.
"You won't deceive her.You're a decent man and you're already softening toward the lass," Iansaid tranquilly. "But the sooner we get this Kartauk business out | ofyour system, the sooner we can go home."
"I'm not soft—" Ruelstopped in midsentence as Ian closed the door behind him.
Five minutes later Ruel blewout the oil lamp on the nightstand beside the bed and lay back, staring intothe darkness. He should be tired but he was too tense to sleep, and Ian's wordshadn't put him in any more gentle mood.
He wasnotsofteningtoward Jane Barnaby, dammit. The fact that he had a debt to pay complicatedmatters, but he still had every intention of using her to find Kartauk. Afterhe had accomplished his aim, he would make the decision whether to turn Kartaukover to Abdar or kill the bastard himself and—
Kill Kartauk? The violence ofthe thought had come out of nowhere. He didn't even know John Kartauk andcertainly had no reason to kill him.
But he knew Jane Barnaby caredenough about the son of a bitch to risk her life for him.
And he knew enough to know shehad probably taken him for her lover.
The fury the thought broughtsent a shock through him.
Lust. Not casual lust butobsessive, overwhelming desire for possession. He had allowed himself to fallinto the trap of becoming intrigued and admiring even before his body hadresponded to her at Zabrie's. Now it was all tied together in some twisted,painful fashion.
He had to rid himself ofemotion and think coldly and clearly. There was no reason to let this feelinghe had for Jane interfere with his pursuit of Cinnidar. He must keep the twogoals entirely separate and find a way to accomplish both of them. She hadshown a response to him at Zabrie's, and he would play on that response. He wasnot unskilled, and if he could show her more pleasure in bed than Kartauk,perhaps—
Jane in bed with Kartauk,writhing beneath him as he plunged in and out of her body…
Rage tore through him. Hishands clenched into fists at his sides. God, what was happening to him? He hadnever felt jealousy over any woman. Passion had always been a pleasant game tobe indulged and then forgotten. Yet now he was in a fever over the thought of afaceless stranger plundering the body of a woman he had never even possessed.
Perhaps hewouldkillthe bastard.
"Colonel Pickering toldIan the maharajah's private railway car is supposed to be quite something tosee," Ruel said casually as he helped Jane onto Bedelia. "Will youshow it to me?"
She looked at him in surprise.She was nearly stumbling with weariness, and she had not been pounding spikesall day as Ruel had done. Yet he appeared as tough and energetic as when he hadstarted work that morning. "Now? Aren't you tired?"
"I've been moretired." His eyes twinkled as he mounted his horse. "As someonerecently told me, if you don't think about it, it goes away. Will you show methe car? The new station is on the way to the bungalow, isn't it?"
"Yes, there are two carsat the station. One is the maharajah's private car and the other is a passengercar for his guests."
"But it's the private carthat has the golden door?"
Her gaze flew to his face."You've heard about the door?"
"I'd have to be deaf notto have heard about the door that's the talk of Kasanpore. You don't run acrossgolden doors every day."
"I guess not." Shehesitated. "Wouldn't you rather wait? I received word last night thelocomotive is on its way downriver and should be delivered tomorrow afternoon.You could see them both."
"The locomotive doesn'tinterest me." He raised a brow. "Unless it has a golden boil$r?"
She laughed. "No, thoughwe made sure it has plenty of flash." She paused. "The maharajah willbe there and has invited practically everyone in Kasanpore to see it."
"That changes thesituation. Will you be able to introduce me to the maharajah?"
She shook her head. "Ican't risk annoying him. He's not going to want to concentrate on anything buthis new locomotive."
"Too bad. Then I'd rathersee the door now, when I have leisure to study it. I have a great fondness forgold in any shape or form."
