"As a gentleman."
"Gentleman?" she replied.
"Is there anything else you would like to add to your list of observations?" His warm fingers captured hers as he pulled her into his arms to begin the first steps of a waltz.
"As a matter of fact, there is," she replied as her steps matched his. "You're not old or infirm. You certainly don't seem to be afflicted with gout or trembling of the limbs. “And," she paused, "that costume suits you far too well. You seem more comfortable posing as a pirate than as a gentleman."
Zach flashed her a smile. "Did anyone ever warn you about offending a gentleman?"
"I think it's a little late for that." She rested one hand on his shoulder, the other held in his hand.
"It seems I've already offended one this evening, and now yourself."
"Impossible." He was enjoying the feel of her body as it brushed against his when they turned. Her eyes were an incredible shade of blue, mysterious, and a bit dangerous with their secrets.
"Impossible that you're a gentleman, or that you're offended?"
"Perhaps a little of both," he pulled her against him and watched the subtle change in her eyes at the intimacy of the contact.
"You have the oddest way of saying things, almost as if there were some hidden meanings." She laughed. "And you certainly don't seem to have much respect for anyone else."
"I have a great deal of respect when it's earned. But I'm not fooled by titles. They're just decoration and illusion."
"Like a mask?" she asked.
"Precisely." He smiled, enjoying their verbal sparring.
Her smile deepened with her little victory after the conversation with Jerrold. "I knew you were a pirate. It fits so much better than that ridiculous title you carry around. Sir William St. James. Is it a family name?"
Zach wasn't the least fooled by her. She was an intoxicating, beguiling little witch and she was subtly prying for information.
"I'll tell you someday." At the moment, he chose not to satisfy her curiosity. "Are you going to dance or talk?"
"Both," she announced, then recalled something that was bothering her. "I do hope you brought the pendant with you. There is still the matter of our little agreement."
"Ah, yes," Zach replied. "I believe it was something about a kiss in exchange for the pendant."
"You know perfectly well what the agreement was," she quickly proclaimed. "I would like to have the pendant now."
"Is that right?"
"Yes." They both looked up at the sound of voices to see a costumed couple emerge from the great room and walk in their direction.
She tried to step back. It would never do for Jerrold to find out she had been dancing with St. James when he'd thought her to be upstairs changing her clothes.
Amusement danced in Zach's gaze as the other couple walked past them, nodded a brief greeting, and continued on through large double doors at the end of the hallway that opened into the gardens.
"You were saying... about our agreement?" he completely ignored her glare of disapproval.
"I want my pendant back."
"I understand."
She glanced past him into the great hall. "Do you have it with you?"
He hesitated just long enough for her become suspicious.
"You don't have it?"
