“You quite clearly told me not to speak. On the other hand, you also said you were arranging a room for the express purpose oftalking.”
“Iwill be doing the talking—questions, mostly. You will restrict yourself to answers.”
They came to the numbered door that matched thefiveinscribed on his key plate. He slipped the key into the lock, turned, and then opened the door.
She strode into the shadowy interior with a confident swing of her hips, as if all of this had been part of her plan.
“I’lldecide what questions I will answer and, for that matter, when and if I speak. If you are nice, Imightchange my mind about the pirates.”
He set down the lamp and adjusted the wick, and the room brightened.
“Nice?You think I should be—mygod!” He grasped her chin in his fingers and tilted her face. He released her and leaned over. “Fuck.”
Thrill raised bumps on her arm. Again…that utterly delicious, terribly vulgar word. She smiled, winced, and then caught the former expression in the mirror. Her left jaw had started to swell. Well,thatwasn’t going to be pretty in a few hours. And whether the bumps on her arm were the result of thrill or chill…she was no longer quite sure.
“Is your jaw broken?” he demanded. “Are your ribs?”
She shook her head. “Just bruised, I think.”
He hissed through his teeth. “What devil made you take on those three? And what devil made you think you could convinceanyoneyou were a man? And, for that matter, what the hell were you doing on the back of my carriage?”
My, he commanded a colorful assortment of words.
“Boy,” she corrected. “And Iwasholding my own, before you blurted out the truth. Besides”—she folded her arms—“pretending to be a boy, or a man, for that matter, is easy enough—I just emptied my mind of thought and chose instead to believe myself superior to every living creature.”
He stared in silence. “Holding your own, were you?”
A knock startled them both. He tensed almost imperceptibly, while she placed her hand over her heart.
“Oh, yes.” He glanced to the ceiling. “You’veabsolutelymastered a man’s mannerisms.”
He yanked open the door. Jack’s hair bobbed as he attempted to see inside the room, but Rayne filled the crack between the door and jamb with his body. Not exactly difficult, muscled as he was.
“Yes?” Rayne demanded.
“I brought your bag, just like you asked.”
“Set it down and be gone,” Rayne replied.
The bag thudded ominously against the floor. For a fleeting second, she wondered if she’d be better off spending the night in the barn with the boys.
“Iknewhe was a she,” Jack said. “Ain’t ever seen a footman who had eyelashes like that.”
“Well”—Rayne handed the boy another coin—“you’re going to forget you ever saw those eyelashes. Repeat after me—Iain’tnever seenanyone with the lodger at all.”
“Pardon?” Julia interrupted indignantly. “Just what are you going to do with me?”
“You”—Rayne didn’t turn—“be quiet, or I’ll consider a gag.”
“Oh.” Jack’s voice had a smile. “Isthathow it is? Well, then. Came here alone, you did,Mr.Laithe. Me and the boys will swear it.”
Julia placed her hands on her hips. “Well, that’s a fine feather, Jack! The least you could do after nearly breaking a lady’s jaw is make certain she’s—”
Rayne’s heated glance sucked the wordunmolestedright out of her throat.
“What ya mean, there,Stanley?” Jack called from the corridor.
“Well.” She stiffened, looking Rayne in the eye. “What if this gentleman plans to abduct me?”
