“I’ll tell the guards you’re here,” she choked out.
Surely the chit wasn’t threatening him.
“I’ll tell the guards unless you promise to return my master’s painting.”
“You’re in no position to make bargains, little girl.”
“I am not a little girl!”
Shao Qing held up his hand, his palm still moist from when she had licked it before. She scowled.
A harsh knock sounded at the door, the wooden frame rattling. “Open up. There’s an intruder on the loose.”
A triumphant gleam shone in Miss Nong’s eyes.
Before Shao Qing could stop her, she cupped her hands around her mouth. “Coming!”
Miss Nong smoothed the front of her robe and leaned back against the wall, a satisfied smirk playing at the edge of her perfect lips. “Well, thief? Make your choice.”
Shao Qing was aware of his blood rushing to his ears. And his heartbeat pounding faster. This was the thrill that came to him when he was at the threshold of trouble. It was glorious.
He was vaguely aware that if he did get caught, he’d spend the rest of his days behind bars. He could go completely numb in captivity—there would be no thieving to make his blood rush in prison. Perhaps he’d lose consciousness altogether and become a vegetable. The possibility was always at the periphery. An inevitable fate worse than death. And then death itself. There was still a conscious part of him that feared it.
Which meant he would have to accept this girl’s bargain. For now.
“Fine,” Shao Qing said.
There was an impatient knock at the door. “What’s going on in there?”
Miss Nong cupped a hand to her ear. “Fine what?”
So she liked to gloat. Shao Qing felt that bubble of amusement again. “Fine, I’ll return your master’s painting.”
She nodded, then threw her bed covers over his head. “Hide.”
Shao Qing obeyed, laying himself down.
The patter of feet and the sound of the door creaking open was muffled by the blankets.
“So sorry,” Miss Nong said with a stifled yawn. “I had just gone to bed. Did you say there was an intruder on the loose?”
“Yes. A man dressed in black. Have you noticed any movement, any suspicious noises?”
“I’m afraid not.”
“We were instructed to search every room. If you don’t mind, miss?”
“Oh yes, search as you please,” Miss Nong said calmly. She was an impressive actress, he’d give her that. “I’ll be off to bed, ifyoudon’t mind. It’s dreadfully late.”
“Er...I don’t think that’s—”
“I must run an early errand for my master tomorrow. He needs supplies to replicate the painting that dirty thief stole. The faster my master finishes the painting the sooner Magistrate Bu will be happy. I reckon you don’t want to keep his lordship unhappy?”
“Of course not, miss.”
“Carry on then,” Miss Nong said. Light footsteps came closer. The bedclothes were lifted for a fraction of a second, then the girl threw herself on top of him and covered them both with the blankets.
The wind was knocked out of Shao Qing, but he slowly inhaled even as his face was suffocated by Miss Nong’s shoulder.
