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“I am not a patient man,” the marquis answered. “See to it that he does not dally.”
“Ye have m’word. Ye’ll be ’earing from him by the end of the week, ye will.”
The marquis did not condescend to reply to this but gave the man his back and found Percy taking the voluptuous singing woman off the table and into his arms!
The marquis grinned boyishly as though he had not just been striking up a deal with the devil and broke out laughing as the woman toppled both Percy and herself to the floor.
They laughed and kissed heartily, and then off she went to mingle amongst her cohorts, leaving Percy grinning broadly and the marquis to pronounce, “Too much woman for you, eh, ol’ man?”
“Eh, oh … I can’t think of any other. Pledged heart, soul and—” He waved a hand over himself. “—body … and body … to the love of m’life.” He frowned. “But, Justin, I am hungry. In fact, ravenous. Dinner, I say, but, damn, not here.”
“Right you are! Dinner. Come on, Percy, to the Warwick House for our meal!”
~ Thirteen ~
SASSY STOMPED AROUND her room for a few minutes, unclear just what had her more upset, the fact that the marquis had kissed and nearly propositioned her or the undeniable truth that she had wanted him to kiss her. Oh faith, she had wanted him to kiss her!
She had learned on her second day at Netherby that the bathing tubs were located in a room just off the large kitchen and had already utilized it on two occasions. The room had its own fireplace where one could warm the water for the tub. She made her way there, and after a few trips carrying water to the fireplace and then to the tub, she was quite ready to sink into the welcoming bath suds and relax. She pulled the screen in place, put a chair at the door, as it did not have a lock, and sank into the lovely soapy water.
However, she could not get the marquis and his hot kisses off her mind. He made her feel such things—things she was very sure a respectable and unmarried woman should not feel.
Molly pushed at the door and, finding it blocked, called out, “Miss Winthrop, would ye be taking Sunday dinner with the others in the dining room?”
“No, thank you, Molly. I think I’ll just take a plate and go on up to my room after my bath,” Sassy called back.
“I’ll fetch it fer ye, I will.”
A few moments later, as she toweled off and wrapped herself in a warm velvet robe, Molly arrived with a plateful of food. She thanked her and made her way up the backstairs to her room. There she sat with a sigh and proceeded to pick at her food. Finally, she set it aside and climbed into bed.
Sleep came fitfully.
Dr. Bankes was in her dream, whispering in her ear, but the marquis pushed him aside. He took her hand and shoved her behind his back, and she clearly heard him say, “Stay behind me.” Why? Then her vivid, all too real dream centered on Bankes. He pulled out a pistol and aimed it at the marquis!
Dr. Bankes was armed … the marquis was not.
She awoke with a start and touched her ring. It was beginning to become apparent that if she was ever to understand what was happening to her, she was going to have to ask her ring to show her. She knew she was falling into a habit of turning to her ring, but matters were not normal at Netherby, and she believed the situation called for some otherworldly help. And she just couldn’t continue with these confusing dreams.
She rubbed her ring and whispered, Show me.
A cloud formed, no bigger than two feet in diameter, and then it cleared to display its contents.
Instead of the scene where Bankes held a pistol threateningly pointed at the marquis, Sassy found herself watching the marquis undress.
He turned to her, and his eyes held a strange glow around the deep blue color.
“You have always known,” he said softly.
“Known? Known what?” she whispered.
“Here, let me help you,” he said, ignoring her question as he undid the buttons of her dark velvet gown. Where had she gotten such a gown? Its style was definitely high fashion, and suddenly she noticed the diamonds around her neck. How? Where was she? She looked around. They were in the bedroom, the bedroom where she’d first seen him.
Her gown fell to the floor. She helped him remove her small things, and he stood back to look at her wearing only the diamonds at her ears and neck. His eyes were bright with desire and something else. “Luscious,” he whispered.
“Stop!” she told her ring. “This is not what I wanted to see!”
She played with her fingers fretfully. What was happening to her? Oh, Mama, she thought, I wish you were here to explain it all.
I am, said a soft voice that seemed to caress her, and it came to her all at once! Her mother’s Book of Light, invisible to all without magic. She rushed to her portmanteau, where only one object remained unpacked: an ornately carved wooden box.
