“Your wish is my command. Don’t forget that; you can use it against me in all kind of inappropriate ways. I’m going to go shower now. There’s room for two, by the way.”
“In your dreams!” she snapped.
“Oh, those were fulfilled last night.”
He slid off the edge of the bed and started to walk towards the bathroom, then turned back and looked her in the eyes. “Tell me something. If you didn’t believe that I was a thief, would you be willing to marry me?”
She thought about the way he looked at her. The way she felt when she saw the desire in his eyes. The way he stuck up for her when her mother insulted her. She thought about the way Emerson looked at Tabitha, still so much in love with her after all these years, and wondered if it would be like that for Gabriel and her. She imagined waking up in bed next to him every morning, his fingers trailing over her stomach...
“Ah, well, I…I mean…”
“Thought so,” he said smugly, and sauntered off.
* * * * *
Teresa had also spent the night at the castle.
However, Kelly found out when she went downstairs for breakfast that Teresa had been caught sneaking around at two a.m. trying to get into areas that were closed off. She’d accidentally set off an alarm that had sent the castle guards swarming all over her, according to Gabriel. Kelly would have given her favorite Prada purse to see that. Well, her only Prada purse.
Teresa, who had a competitive streak as wide as Texas when it came to Kelly, had obviously been trying to find the Dragonsblood Ruby on her own.
As if Gabriel’s family would have just casually left it lying around,Kelly thought scornfully. True, Teresa also had empath powers – she and Kelly had both inherited them from their dad – but they were nowhere near as sensitive as Kelly’s, and she had very little chance of finding the ruby even if she was in the same room. She’d have to be within five feet of it.
“I’ve assigned Winthrop to shadow her twenty-four hours a day, out of spite,” Gabriel told Kelly cheerfully as they ate breakfast in the garden behind the castle.
“Hmm. Sadistic. Which one of them are you spiting?”
Gabriel just winked at her and finished his coffee.
After breakfast, Gabriel took Kelly on a tour of one of the wings of the castle, which contained their art gallery and library.
Teresa insisted on going along, and Winthrop stayed at a distance of about ten feet from her, his gaze dutifully fixated on her at all times. Kelly wasn’t even sure if he was blinking. Now, there was a man who was dedicated to his job.
Gabriel had told her about that whole tradition thing with Winthrop’s family, who had worked as valets for his family for hundreds of years. Kelly didn’t understand it. If it had been her, and she’d been working for a family who drove her crazy, she would have handed in her notice in a heartbeat.
“Is that a Rembrandt?” Kelly asked, pausing by a painting.
“Yes, and in case you’re wondering, we didn’t steal it. He was a friend of the family. It’s a portrait of one of my great-great etcetera grandfathers.”
Kelly peered at it. He was telling the truth; she could see the family resemblance. She could even see the roguish glint in his eye.
They were the kind of family that hobnobbed with famous painters – and had been, for centuries. Why did they steal jewels? Kelly wondered. They were already obscenely wealthy. Part of it was the typical dragon lust for jewels and precious metals, she was sure, but she also suspected part of it was boredom. They seemed like the kind of family who’d crave the thrill of adventure.
“I suppose you already called and told mother that I got busted last night,” Teresa muttered to Kelly, glancing resentfully at Winthrop.
“No, Teresa, I’m not you,” Kelly snapped back.
“And thank God for that,” Teresa said haughtily. “At least mother has one decent daughter who can abide by the rules.”
“Yes, and she sure shows her appreciation for it, doesn’t she?”
Teresa flushed and shot a murderous glare at Kelly before shoving her hands in her pockets and stalking off. She was the recipient of their mother’s verbal abuse just as often as Kelly was, which infuriated her.
Kelly knew what Teresa was thinking. She was the good daughter; why didn’t her mother love her more than Kelly? Or at least dislike her less?
They finished their tour after a couple of hours. Unfortunately, Kelly hadn’t really been able to appreciate all the exquisite antiques and beautiful tapestries. As they’d walked around, she had concentrated ferociously and used her mental energy to sweep the rooms for any sign of the Dragonsblood . She’d never had to focus her powers for so long before, and she had a pounding headache now.
“What about the rest of the castle?” she said, massaging her temples.
“The castle is too big to tour in one day,” Gabriel said. “We’ll spend the next week or two going through the different parts. You’re starting to look a little pale; do you feel all right?”
“Maybe I’ll lie down for an hour,” she said weakly. It was just as well that they were taking a break; if her headache got any worse, she might end up puking in the nearest Ming vase.
She went back to her room and sent an email to the Allied Jewel Insurance agency’s office manager, letting her know that she hadn’t found anything but would update them if and when she did. She deleted the seventeen messages from her mother, all of which had subject lines like, “Answer this email now, you incompetent ingrate!”
Then she popped a couple of aspirin and lay down on the bed.
