Mira was reluctant to grant his request but, after a moment, nodded in resignation. Douglas grasped one of her hands, kissed it, and headed off with Jonathan to where a man had evidently been stabbed. Mira followed him out from behind the screen, leaning against it as she watched him depart from the hall. All of that beautiful, long blond hair made him look like a god above men. She remembered the texture of it well, how it was both soft but strong.
Kind of like Douglas.
Soft but strong.
And oh so wonderful.
With a smile on her lips, she turned away, moving back behind the screen again and preparing to leave the hall as she’d promised him. She came around the other side of the screen where Isabel and Eric and Lord de Honiton were sitting. They were deep into the wine and Isabel was drunk. Mira could tell simply from the way the woman was moving. She knew her well enough to know how animated she became when she’d had too much drink. Raymond, however, had not rejoined his father, and Mira had no idea where he was. Perhaps it was better to leave the hall now while he was gone, as Douglas had requested, and remain there until Raymond and his father departed Axminster. She certainly didn’t want to chance being grabbed by Raymond again.
With that in mind, she came away from the dais and moved to the wall on the northern side of the hall. The servants’ alcove was at the far end with a small door in it, and beyond that, the kitchens. She was so lost in thoughts of Douglas and counting the minutes until Raymond departed on the morrow that she failed to realize that, once again, she was being hunted.
This time, by a most foolish and wicked hunter.
*
It was onlyby pure luck that she was alone.
Ever since her conversation with Raymond, Astoria had been watching Mira on the far side of the hall. Mostly, Mira was behind the screen that stood behind the dais, but every so often she would emerge to make sure there was enough bread on the table or that the wine pitchers were filled. She was doing her duty as Lady Isabel expected her to and therefore wasn’t paying attention to anything else in the room.
That meant Astoria had been able to watch Mira freely from her vantage point near the entry door. The problem was not only in getting Mira alone, but in convincing her to go to the storage vault where Raymond was waiting. Considering Astoria and Mira had been fighting for a couple of days, she wasn’t entirely sure that Mira would even talk to her, much less believe her when Astoria said she needed to go to the storage vault. The only way around that was to apologize profusely for her behavior and, in particular, for breaking the necklace. Astoria had to make her believe that she was genuinely remorseful. Mira wasn’t the hard sort, so a heartfelt apology might get Astoria exactly what she needed.
Mira’s compliance.
As Astoria cooked up a plot that would send Mira to the storage vault where Raymond was waiting, she was disheartenedto see Douglas join Mira behind the painted screen. She could only imagine what was happening that she couldn’t see, like tender kisses and sweet words, things that Douglas should be saying and doing to her. The more the seconds ticked away and the more Astoria was positive that Douglas was ravaging Mira with his mouth, the more jealous and hurt she became. But she comforted herself with the knowledge that Raymond would soon be doing the same thing to Mira because, once she entered the vault, Astoria intended to send word to Douglas to tell him where she was. Once the man happened upon her in Raymond’s arms, he would see for himself what an unworthy woman Mira was.
She would be ruined.
And Douglas would be looking for comfort.
So Astoria hoped, anyway.
As she tried to figure out how to get Mira alone, Jonathan suddenly appeared in the entry. He startled Astoria because, quite frankly, she was afraid of the man. He was big and hairy and powerful and absolutely terrifying. But they made eye contact as soon as he came in through the door, and he headed straight in her direction.
She struggled not to cower.
“Lady Astoria,” he greeted her in a rushed manner. “Where is Douglas?”
Astoria pointed to the dais. “There,” she said. “Behind the screen.”
Jonathan thanked her with a nod of his head and was gone, leaving Astoria a bit rattled. Jonathan always had that effect on her. She watched him disappear behind the screen and, not a minute later, reappear with Douglas on his heels. They both seemed to be in quite a hurry, heading for the hall entry. Astoria watched them disappear out into the torch-lit night, but it tookseveral moments before she realized that with Douglas out in the bailey, Mira was now alone.
Alone!
Astoria turned to the dais only to see Mira standing next to the screen, her gaze on the hall entry. She appeared lost in thought, and it occurred to Astoria that she had been watching Douglas leave. The stab of jealousy to Astoria’s heart seemed to spur her forward, and she headed toward the dais just as Mira came away from the screen and moved to the perimeter of the hall. Astoria was on one side of the hall while Mira was on the other, and Astoria had to cross through the middle of the room to get to her. Mira was so focused on the door that led to the kitchen and the kitchen yard that she failed to see Astoria coming up behind her.
“Mira,” Astoria said, watching the woman flinch at the sound of her voice. “I must speak with you.”
Mira came to a halt, apprehension and even anger in her expression. “What do you want?” she said, then quickly raised her hand. “Forget I asked. I do not care. I have nothing to say to you.”
She turned to walk away, but Astoria followed. “I know,” she said, trying to sound repentant. “I do not blame you. But what happened today… When I grabbed your necklace… Truly, I did not mean to break it.”
That was actually the truth. She hadn’t meant to, so she wasn’t lying about it. But Mira cast her a long look.
“Save your breath,” she said. “You mean to destroy anything you cannot have, so I will not soothe any guilt you are feeling by forgiving you for your cruel actions.”
It was Astoria’s instinct to flare up when confronted, so it was a genuine struggle for her not to argue. “I am not asking for you to soothe any guilt,” she said. “I… I simply wanted to say that I am sorry I broke it. I am sorry I have behaved so poorly lately. Ido not know why I do, only that I have had to fight and defend myself my entire life. I suppose it is in my nature to fight against, and for, everything that does not go my way. You happened to be caught up in it.”
Up until this point, Mira had simply been walking, trying to get away from Astoria, but now they were at the small servants’ door that led to the yard beyond and, subsequently, the kitchen. Mira shoved the door open but came to a pause, turning to look at Astoria.
