The room was flooded with light, thanks to a wall of windows at the back behind a large, oak desk.The woman settled in a chair behind it, and steepled her hands atop the neat, satiny surface.Her hair was gold, not like sunlight but like fire, the kind of color that edges into flame when the light hits it.Liquid and molten like her eyes.Those blue fires, though, flashing and sharp.She wore a prime gown, buttoned to the neck in a deep plum.And a raven stood on her shoulder, its shiny black wings folded close, its gleaming bead of an eye on Temple.
“Who’s this then,” a deep voice grumbled behind Temple.A man stood in the corner like a shadow.Dressed all in black, a thick dark beard ranged across his cheeks and down his neck, and his black brows slashed over deep green eyes.He leaned into the corner, folding thick arms across a broad chest.He seemed at ease, but that was likely a deception.The man could probably move.Quickly and with lethal force.
“Do not mind Mr.Bran,” the lady behind the desk said.“He is my bodyguard and always in a foul mood.”
Mr.Bran grunted.
“I am Lady Guinevere,” the woman said, lifting the bird from her shoulder and depositing it on a golden perch on the corner of her desk.“And you are?”
“Temple Grant, er, Baron Knightly.”Temple nodded.“Why does a shop owner need a bodyguard?”
“You’d be surprised how dangerous my profession is.Now… you’ve been accidentally dosed?”
“It seems so.”
“Hm, a serious thing, that.Can you tell me who drugged you?”
“I cannot.That is why I am here.To discover who she is.And…” He scratched the back of his neck.Hell.He’d have to admit he was still smitten.“And to find out how long it takes for the damned stuff to leave a man’s system.”
Lady Guinevere went entirely still.“Can you tell me anything about her?”
“It was dark.She had dark hair and light eyes.I think.Couldn’t see too well.Short and”—he shaped a woman’s form in the air, feeling his cheeks heat—“curvy.Not entirely curvy.Just about the hips.”
Lady Guinevere looked to the shopgirl, who shrugged, shook her head.
“Can you describe the accident?”
Temple did.
“And did you know the man she intended the potion for?”
“No.Only that she didn’t want him to fall in love with her.She was using it to get rid of the man.”He laughed.“Damnedest thing.Only to be surpassed by how strong your potion is.”
She scowled.“And you only consumed a drop?”
He nodded.
Lady Guinevere pointed her chin at the door, a gesture the shopgirl interpreted by leaving.Then her gaze hazed over, and she drummed her fingers on the desktop.“Lord Knightly, what are you going to do with the lady once you find her?”
“Finding her is not my primary goal.Ridding myself of your potion is.”
Another tattoo across the desktop, soft and rhythmic.Then the lady rummaged in a desk drawer, pulled out a glass and bottle of wine.She filled two cups and pushed one across the desk toward Temple.“The wine will help you relax.These things are temporary.And they can only heighten emotions that already exist.If you are still attracted to her, then…” She shrugged.“I like to think of myself more as a matchmaker than a potions mistress.”
The man in the corner snorted.
The bird ruffled its feathers.
Lady Guinevere ignored the man but put a soothing hand out to the bird.“My question remains.What will you do with this lady if you find her?”
Good God, he wasreallyattracted to her, then?A transcendent?He whipped up the wine glass and took a large swallow, then replaced it on the desktop.He waited for some sort of horror to slip over him, resistance at the very least to the idea of wanting a woman as much as he’d wanted that woman last night.Nothing, though.Nothing but… satisfaction.He needed to wed, and there was a woman he wanted to marry.Quite convenient actually.
The door behind him opened, and the shopgirl slipped in, towing another behind her, a woman with light brown skin and tight black curls.“Miss Maple met with her.”
“Well, Miss Maple?”Lady Guinevere said.“What can you tell us about her?”
Miss Maple folded her arms behind her back and stood at attention like a soldier.“No name.I didn’t ask, either.She didn’t seem likely to give it.She said enough, though, and I did as you say to do when we get odd ones in.I set a guard after her.”
“What did you mean?”Temple’s pulse spiked.“Set a guard…?”Was she in trouble?
