“The last time we spoke, my prowess didn’t seem to impress you. I believe you accused me of instigating riots and destroying lives.”
Dash him and his memory like an elephant’s.
“We got off on the wrong foot, and I apologize for my part in it,” she said smoothly. “Be that as it may, there is no need for hostility between us. In fact, I believe we can find common ground.”
“We have, and it’s called the Chudleigh Bottoms’s World Famous Roman Bath,” he countered. “Convince your friend to sell it to me, and I’ll give her a price she won’t get anywhere else.”
“It is not about money?—”
“Everything is about money. Or power. Which is, essentially, the same thing.”
She drew her brows together. “How did you get to be so cynical?”
“I’ve lived, sweetheart. I’m thirty-one, and I’ve seen more of the world than you have.”
He reached out a gloved hand and tweaked her chin as if she were a tot. Before she could recover from her shock, he sent her reeling again.
“Given your sheltered existence, your innocence is understandable, and I won’t hold it against you. But your little games will stop. Now.”
Her temples began to pound. “I am not playing any games?—”
“Then what is this?” Reaching into the pocket of his greatcoat, he removed a bottle of Chuddums water.
“Where did you get that?”
“It was a gift from Wally. He insisted that I sample the ‘love potion’ that saved Chuddums’s spa. He also credited you with being the brains behind the racket.”
While Gigi adored Wally, in this instance, she wished he did not talk quite so much.
“It is not a racket,” she said stiffly.
“Please.” Godwin curled his lip. “You’re peddling a bottle of water that costs three times a pint of ale. You’re robbing folks blind with this clever swindle of yours.”
“It is not a swindle if it’s true.”
He laughed humorlessly. “Don’t tell me you’ve fallen prey to your own ridiculous scheme.”
“It is a point of fact that people who’ve taken the water have found their true love,” she said hotly. “As of last count, I know of a dozen happy couples in London and at least as many here in Chuddums?—”
“That is claptrap, and you know it. No damned water exists that can bring about true love.” He paused, sneering. “And true love’s probably a figment of the imagination as well.”
The man was unbelievable.
She clenched her hands. “If you’re certain that neither love nor an elixir for it exists, then I am sure you have no qualms drinking the water.”
He quirked an eyebrow. Uncorking the bottle, he downed the contents in several swigs. He clanged the empty vessel onto the worktable.
“Satisfied?” Mockery glinted in his eyes.
“We’ll see who has the last laugh when you fall head over heels in love,” she retorted.
“Wait.” He paused, placing a hand over his heart. “I do feel something. Something strange…”
She tilted her head. While she believed in the potion’s power, its effects were usually not this immediate. “What do you feel?”
“Never mind. It was dyspepsia.” He flashed strong, white teeth. “Probably from the hashed mutton the Briarbush Inn served for lunch.”
“You are a cad.”
