Page 78 of Tsumiko and the Enslaved Fox
“We walked right past Jacques, and he didn’t bat an eye.”
“I hardly noticed.”
Tsumiko frowned. “He always bats his eyes. Especially when you’re around.”
Argent was serenity itself. “I cannot be bothered to concern myself with his ocular difficulties.”
“I think youdidsomething.” Tsumiko could almost feel it, a ticklish sensation she’d learned to associate with Argent’s traps. “He was probably looking for us.”
Leading her into an obscure stairwell, Argent said, “I was in no mood to dally.”
Tsumiko inspected her hand. “Are we invisible?”
“No.” Argent spared her an amused glance. “However, the lamentable fool cannot see us if he is lost in a daydream.”
“What sort of daydream?”
Argent shrugged carelessly. “Something more engaging than the waylaying of young girls in hallways.”
Tsumiko asked, “Are you discouraging him or encouraging him?”
The smirk was there, then gone; but it had been there. “It may be more accurate to say that I frustrate him.”
“Won’t your teasing make him more determined?”
“Do you plan to entertain his wishes?”
“No.”
“Then there is no danger.” Argent drew her into a different hallway. “I am more concerned about Boniface. He is the sort to announce your engagement and issue a thousand wedding invitations before consulting you.”
“That’s absurd!”
Argent coolly asked, “You would not take pity when Cedric and Yvette beg you to spare poor Bon-Bon the scandal of a public rejection?”
Tsumiko frowned. “I wouldn’t accept his proposal.”
Argent stopped and bent so they were eye-to-eye. “That is why he will not ask.”
. . .
Too trusting. Too sympathetic. Too quick to forgive. Argent appreciated these gaping flaws in his mistress’s guard whenhewas the one taking advantage. But this was maddening. How was he supposed to protect someone so guileless? She was too simple, though not shallow; he could barely begin to fathom the depth and breadth of her soul. But this girl was so uncomplicated.
And yielding.
If he applied himself, Argent could undercut the cousins’ blundering efforts. He could think of six ways to corner her into an obligation. No, seven. Then, instead of dreading the machinations of whatever dolt became her husband, he could be his own master. In a sense. For a while.
Wait. Was that a viable strategy?
Surely not.
“I’m so restless,” said Tsumiko, who pressed against the balcony doors like a prisoner. “We haven’t explored outside yet. Do we have time for a walk?”
“An hour at most before you must dress for tonight’s party,” he replied.
“Can we get out without anyone noticing?”
Argent quirked a brow. “You stand at a door.”
