Page 73 of The Pirate and the Pagan
She swung her feet to the floor quickly.
He laughed. “Not now,” he teased, “you have a decided miasma about you.”
“Oh, you brute!” she gasped.
He laughed with delight. “I thought we’d agreed to be brutally honest with each other? Why else would I warn you I was going to have you?”
“That would be adultery,” she said repressively. “Something I’ve been known to indulge in from time to time,” he said, amused.
“But I won’t!” she swore emphatically.
“Won’t you?” he challenged lightly
“What about the jewels?” she said, dismissing the subject.
He opened her hand and dropped the ruby studs into her palm.
“Not these, the ones I want to sell.”
He cocked an eyebrow at her. “I’ll have to see them first, won’t I?”
“Will you be here tomorrow?” she demanded. “My whereabouts are my business. Perhaps I’ll come to you. We can contact each other through Mr. Burke.”
“Mr. Burke?” she asked in surprise.
“He’s had a soft spot for me since I was a boy. Does that surprise you?”
“It shouldn’t,” she admitted. “He’s been a good friend to me also. He must have a weakness for black sheep,” she said, smiling.
He went to one of the cabinets and took out an exotic-looking bottle. “Let me give you a present.” He grinned wickedly. “It will make you smell even better.”
She took out the stopper and sniffed appreciatively.
“Frangipani,” he said.
She accepted it with a smile.
That night her dreams were unbelievable. She blamed it on what she had eaten because she wouldn’t admit, even to herself, that Rory Helford attracted her. One dream led into another and he was with her in all of them, mocking, teasing, laughing, touching, kissing, but when their bodies finally joined, it was Ruark who made love to her.
She didn’t fall into a deep, peaceful sleep until morning and so it was after ten o’clock when she opened her eyes and slipped from the bed. The first thing she did, even before she dressed, was go up to the roof to see if the Phantom was still there. When she saw he was gone, a feeling of disappointment swept over her. She told herself the disappointment stemmed from not being able to sell the jewels today and tried to force her mind to other things, other people. But when she returned to her chamber, her eyes fell on his shirt which she’d worn home, and with a blush upon her cheek, she picked it up to sniff the sandalwood and male scent of it. Death and damnation, what was it about these Helford men that had this stunning physical effect upon her?
She realized that before Ruark she had been unaware, unawakened, and he had introduced her to the mysteries of sex in such a pleasurable way that now she had needs and longings and some nights she burned with desire. Yet up until now no other man had aroused any sort of romantic feelings in her except Ruark … up until now …
She washed and ironed his black shirt herself, fingering the embroidered R upon the collar and wondering jealously who had done it. She tucked it away in a drawer then spent the rest of the day in a quandary, trying to decide if she should take all the jewels, and if not, then which ones should she select?
That night when the curtains were drawn and the candles lit, she took out each piece, laid it on the bed, and tried to put a price on it. She knew he would offer less than she asked and tried to establish a firm price for each piece below which she would absolutely refuse to go. She had a pretty good idea that the diamond necklace was worth the most. She decided to take no less than five hundred for it. Altogether she hoped to get at least three thousand pounds, but if he refused that much, then she was prepared to go as low as two.
The next morning there was still no sign of the ship and again she felt a pang of disappointment. In the late afternoon Mr. Burke brought her an invitation card. She picked it up with indifference from the silver salver he produced, wondering which neighbor had sent it. Her eyes opened wide in surprise. It was an invitation to dine aboard the Phantom. She decided not to question how Mr. Burke got it, for he never ever questioned her.
She tried to suppress a feeling of elation, but found it impossible. Since he had sent what amounted to a formal invitation, she decided to dress formally. She felt a great compulsion to look beautiful and knew the reason why. Here was a man who made it clear he found her attractive and she knew there was no point in denying she felt that same attraction. Rory Helford’s mission in life seemed to be to amuse himself, so why shouldn’t she do the same?
She bathed, perfumed between her breasts with frangipani, then, because he wore black, she donned a black lace gown slit up the skirt to show off an embroidered petticoat, except she left off the petticoat. She needed the freedom to ride, and besides, she decided, the gown worn this way had a delicious shock value she couldn’t resist. Since Rory Helford urged her to be herself, he might as well know from the start she was a pagan.
She wore black silk stockings, and to complete her outfit she wore the diamond necklace that had once belonged to the King’s mistress. She swept her hair up atop her head and fastened the diamond shoe buckles among her curls. She even selected a tiny black patch shaped like a diamond for one cheekbone. If he was expecting the hellcat in breeches, he was in for a surprise.
She tethered Ebony beneath the trees in the early-evening shadows and carefully picked her way to the edge of the river and up the long gangplank. His motley crew stared openmouthed at the fine lady who came aboard. She wore no mask, nor carried a fan; Cat had no patience tonight for such affectations. She did, however, bring the jewel case. She went straightaway to his cabin, knocked politely, and entered. The door to the inner room stood open and she could see partway into his exotic bedroom. When he came through the door, he was not in black, but wore a loose white djellaba and bare feet. His skin looked so dark against the white robe that he almost did not look like a white man. He had shaved his beard but not the mustache. The black patch was gone from his eye and the zigzag of white hair at his temple made a startling contrast.
He did not laugh at her tonight, but the mocking amusement was still in his eyes as they swept over her from head to foot and came to rest on her breasts. Of course he wasn’t looking at her breasts, she told herself, he was looking at the diamonds.
