“It is not unknown to certain elements. It is why you are hiring me, is it not?”
“And your face? Hardly a visage to be forgotten,” I said, surprised at my own vitriol—relief at having someone offering help turning into unnecessary combativeness.
“Are you calling me handsome? Why, Marietta Winters, I do believe I’m blushing.” His voice deepened as he pulled his leather gloves through his fingers in slow motions.
My cheeks roasted. “I stand by my statement.”
“I usually travel in disguise. Much easier for everyone that way.”
He maintained his indolent posture leaning back against the squabs, but a new thread of tension laced through the latticework in the carriage. The gloves dangled, momentarily forgotten. I made note of the tension, though I wasn’t sure what it signified. Perhaps I could use it to my advantage later.
“And what are my brother and I to do while you are off masquerading in the shadows?” Surely, he had been kidding about—
“Your older brother is of no concern. Butyouwill be with me.” The sides of his mouth curled as he watched me. “Perhaps at my feet, or on my lap. This case becomes more interesting by the second.”
Terrible man, baiting the oxygen-starved fish. “How could a lady possibly refuse?”
“You will accompany me wherever I go and whatever I say. And if it’s to kneel at my feet, you will kneel.” He smirked, but there was no amusement in his eyes. They were ice, watchful—gauging my reaction.
Panic flared. “You are serious.”
“You want your brother absolved, and evidence produced. And you’re not paying a sliver of gold?”
“I’m paying you in favors—favors you say could entail anything you desire. I think you will be compensated quite well.” Fear and desperation were poor companions.
“Those who pay me ten thousand gold have to do nothing more than rest upon their gloved hands. You, my dear penniless gilded one, must be an active participant. When your favors come due, I need to make sure you’re prepared to pay.” Emerald eyes turned dark and dangerous.
I wasn’t opposed to actively participating in freeing Kennen—I wanted to—but what he was implying...
“Skulking, thieving,kneelingMasterNoble?”
Prickly, defensive, prideful. Along with my paltry magical abilities, when I opened my mouth, my unmarried state always became less of a mystery.
“I don’t recall mentioning anything about thieving, but it is excellent that you are taking the initiative, Marietta,” he said with mock approval. “The favors aredeliberatelyunspecified; your compliance mandated by magic itself.”
“Surely there is a codicil in the contract for my satisfaction with your service?” I lifted my jaw, clenching teeth around threadbare pride.
A faint smile touched his mouth. “If you wish. I can offer a guarantee. I’ve never left anyone unsatisfied. But you will give me what I ask for. Your service will be tome.”
His smile turned edged and sensual. I clenched my gloved hands together, trying to strengthen the enchantments within, to gird myself against his hypnotic effects.
“You think highly of yourself. I will do my part as long as you do yours.”
“You seem much more confident today, Lady Winters.” Long bare fingers stroked a well-defined jaw. “Is this the real you, I wonder?”
“You make me nervous.” And resolute—neither emotion had radically changed.
“Hardly something I’d admit to a virtual stranger. Who knows what I might do with that information?” His voice grew lazy. “Too nervous to kneel?”
I held my posture, unable to answer.
His lazy air disappeared as quickly as it had formed. He leaned forward, and the air, the tension, coalesced sharply. I pressed into velvet. He was at least two feet away, but it suddenly seemed like inches.
“Are you frightened, Marietta Winters?” he whispered, his tone somewhere between a threat and a taunt. The interior seemed darker, the shadows longer.
“Do I have reason to be?” I faked a calmness I didn’t feel.
His eyes turned from bright green to black as he pressed beyond the fairy light. “Completely.”
