“Charlie said to wait here,” I said, hoping the vagueness in my statement would cover the bartender’s presence. I had to conceal his snooping so he wouldn’t betray mine. “Have you seen him?”
Ella shook her head in exasperation. “No, I haven’t seen Charlie, and even though he’s an idiot,youknow better than to come into Daddy’s study.” Manicured fingernails tapped against her arm as she considered me. “What’s going on, Nate? Earlier, you said you and Charlie weren’t on again, yet here you are, waiting for him. But you’re also snogging that guy.” Her eyes widened. “Oh. You werebothwaiting for Charlie. For God’s sake, what does my brother have that has guys falling over themselves to be with him?”
That would be looks, wealth, and a dick that didn’t seem to have heard of a refractory time. Not that I was going to tell his sister that.
I had to make this convincing. “I’m in Bath to research my book, but when I saw Charlie…” I let it trail off. That way, she could put whatever ending she wanted on my statement.
Her eyes softened. “Oh, Nate.”
“I still haven’t seen your father,” I said quickly, not wanting to get into that conversation. “Do you know where he is?”
“I came in here looking for him,” she said. “He’s probably trapped somewhere by Margaret, the Cornish dragons’ leader. She loves to talk. And for some reason, Daddy lets her.” Her brow wrinkled. “I still can’t work out why he’s invited them here.”
As if in answer, James Fortescue’s hulking figure filled the doorway. All dragons were big and fairly muscular, but James’s size compared to most of us was like a draught horse among saddle horses. His younger son was the same, while Charlie and Ella took after their mother. James was older now. The hair that had been salt and pepper the last time I’d seen him had turned fully grey. His physical sense of threat hadn’t diminished in the least, however.
“Gossiping again, Ella?” He strode into the room.
I removed my arse from his desk extremely swiftly, making sure I bumped obviously against the edge as I did so, in case the screensaver hadn’t come back on yet.
“Nate,” he said neutrally. “This is a surprise.”
I neverhadbeen able to read him. “I came to see you, sir, to let you know I’d like to stay in Bath for a while.”
I paused. That didn’t explain why I was standing in his private study.
“I told Nate to come to the party, and we’ve been looking for you,” Ella filled in the gaps, bless her. Whatever differences had lain between her and Charlie at times, they’d always closed ranks to defend one another against their father’s wrath.
“Well, you’ve found me.” James sat down in one of the leather armchairs in front of the fireplace. Tilting his head, he invited me to take the other. “Let’s hear why you’ve chosen now of all times to visit my city.”
Chapter Three
NATE
That sounded ominous, but he couldn’t know for certain why I was here. Could he? I bit down on my surge of anxiety.
“I’m writing a book,” I told him. “About Jane Austen’s time in Bath. I thought it would be helpful to walk the same streets she walked and experience the city the way she did, but only with your agreement, of course.” Staying in his territory without his permission would be a serious breach of the arrangements that had been in force amongst dragon families for centuries. More importantly, so far as I was concerned, it would be suicidal.
James’s eyes were both like and unlike my grandfather’s. There was the same assessment, the same shrewd summing up of the person in front of them, but where Bim’s eyes were cold, James’s ran hot. Hot and scary, because they so often looked as if he was about to shift into a dragon and start tearing off heads.
“No disrespect intended, Nate, but I’ve never thought of you as a scholar.”
“Oh, it’s not a scholarly sort of book,” I said swiftly. “I wanted a break, a change from London, and this gave me the excuse. Knowing there’s a built-in audience for anything to do with Austen, I thought either a pop history or a novel would be bound to sell a few copies. There’s potential for gossipy scandal in her admiration for Elliston, an actor at Bath’s theatre.”
Ella shifted slightly where she’d perched on the arm of my chair.
“It will either prove a wild success, or I’ll be lynched for besmirching her name,” I said.“As long as it sells, I don’t particularly mind which.”
“I see.” James’s words fell like stones into the silence.
I curled my toes inside my boots, trying to control all signs of nerves.
“Is there a reason you’ve grown tired of London? I thought you were settled at Mortimer Bank. Mid-level in Investor Relations, aren’t you?” For some reason, his hands tightened on the arms of the chair as he mentioned my bank, his gold signet ring catching the light momentarily.
“And likely to remain so for the rest of my life.” I was playing a part, yet real bitterness bled through my voice. “You know my family’s history. I’m unlikely to proceed further in my career.”
Partly because my parents’ influence had been lost with their premature deaths and partly because of my brother, Rufus. My red-dragon brother, who was a better person and dragon than the rest of my family would ever be but who had the misfortune to be born that accursed colour. Red dragons were said to be weak—one of the worst things a dragon could be. Even more damningly, Rufus had no interest in gold or wealth. His treasure was something entirely different. If dragons believed in fairies, he’d have been accused of being a changeling. As it was, my family simply tried to ignorehis existence.
The family’s attitude towards Rufus spilled over onto me. They tolerated me because I was useful in my role at the bank, but I had no illusions about how they regarded me. That was why my investigation had to be successful—the only way I’d ever make headway in the family and my career would be with Bim’s sponsorship.
