offering you a carte blanche?”
She stepped out from under his hands, turned her back to him, and clenched her fists at her sides. “You and Lady Mayfield have a good deal in common, sir. She thinks that I ought to sell myself in marriage. You are suggesting a less formal contract. To me it is all one and the same thing. But I have no intention of taking either route. I will find another way out of this mess. I swear it.”
He studied the determined line of her spine. “I believe you, Miss Greyson. But you mistook my meaning, I was not offering to make you my mistress. I was proposing to give you a position as my assistant.”
She glanced over her shoulder, green eyes narrowed. “Your
paid
assistant?”
He had her now. “You would not have to give up your current post with Lady Mayfield in order to enter my employ. In point of fact, your present position with her puts you in an ideal situation to perform your new duties for me.”
A shrewd gleam danced in her vivid green eyes. “Are you saying that I would have two posts? That I could collect wages from both you and Lady Mayfield? Simultaneously?”
“Exactly.” He paused deliberately. “I am not a clutch-fisted employer, Miss Greyson. I will reimburse you quite handsomely for your services.”
She hesitated a few seconds longer. Then she swung fully around to face him. Hope bloomed in her face. “Could you be a bit more specific about what you mean by
quite handsomely
, sir?”
He smiled slowly. The trick now was not to frighten her off by promising her a vast sum that would arouse her suspicions. He knew that as a professional companion she earned only a pittance, however. He wanted to dazzle her a bit.
“Shall we say double your current wages?”
She drummed her fingers on the bedpost. “My current arrangement with Lady Mayfield includes room and board as well as a quarterly stipend.”
“Obviously I am not in a position to offer room and board.”
“Obviously. Also, you will not need my assistance for long.”
“True. Only for the rest of the week, at most, I should imagine.”
A crafty gleam lit her eyes. “If you need my help so much, sir, let us say
triple
my current wages for an entire quarter.”
He raised his brows. “Triple your
quarterly
wages for a week’s work?”
She looked instantly uneasy, no doubt fearful that she had been too bold in her demands. “Well, you did say that you needed my services, sir.”
“True. You drive a hard bargain, Miss Greyson. Perhaps you ought to hear the requirements of your new position before you accept.”
“To be honest, sir, I am not terribly particular at the moment. So long as you will guarantee to pay me three times what Lady Mayfield pays for the quarter and not require me to warm your bed, I will take the post.”
“Done. Now then, all I shall demand of you, MissGreyson, is that you comply with Lady Ames’s requests to drink her special tea and play cards.”
She pursed her lips. “Is it absolutely necessary to drink the tea?”
“Just a bit of it. Only enough to convince her that you have taken some.”
Emma sighed. “This may sound impertinent, under the circumstances, but would you mind very much explaining what this is about?”
He held her eyes very steadily. “I have reason to believe that Miranda thinks she is performing some experiments on you with her potion.”
“Experiments?”
Emma’s hand went to her stomach. She felt queasy all over again. “That dreadful tea is some sort of poison?”
“I assure you, there is no reason to think that it will harm you.”
She narrowed her eyes. “What, exactly, is it supposed to do to me?”
“According to the legend—”
“Legend?”
“Nothing but occult nonsense, I promise you,” he said quickly. “I told you that I was searching for something that had been stolen. That object is an ancient volume from the Garden Temples of a distant island called Vanzagara. It is known to the monks of the temples as the
Book
She stepped out from under his hands, turned her back to him, and clenched her fists at her sides. “You and Lady Mayfield have a good deal in common, sir. She thinks that I ought to sell myself in marriage. You are suggesting a less formal contract. To me it is all one and the same thing. But I have no intention of taking either route. I will find another way out of this mess. I swear it.”
He studied the determined line of her spine. “I believe you, Miss Greyson. But you mistook my meaning, I was not offering to make you my mistress. I was proposing to give you a position as my assistant.”
She glanced over her shoulder, green eyes narrowed. “Your
paid
assistant?”
He had her now. “You would not have to give up your current post with Lady Mayfield in order to enter my employ. In point of fact, your present position with her puts you in an ideal situation to perform your new duties for me.”
A shrewd gleam danced in her vivid green eyes. “Are you saying that I would have two posts? That I could collect wages from both you and Lady Mayfield? Simultaneously?”
“Exactly.” He paused deliberately. “I am not a clutch-fisted employer, Miss Greyson. I will reimburse you quite handsomely for your services.”
She hesitated a few seconds longer. Then she swung fully around to face him. Hope bloomed in her face. “Could you be a bit more specific about what you mean by
quite handsomely
, sir?”
He smiled slowly. The trick now was not to frighten her off by promising her a vast sum that would arouse her suspicions. He knew that as a professional companion she earned only a pittance, however. He wanted to dazzle her a bit.
“Shall we say double your current wages?”
She drummed her fingers on the bedpost. “My current arrangement with Lady Mayfield includes room and board as well as a quarterly stipend.”
“Obviously I am not in a position to offer room and board.”
“Obviously. Also, you will not need my assistance for long.”
“True. Only for the rest of the week, at most, I should imagine.”
A crafty gleam lit her eyes. “If you need my help so much, sir, let us say
triple
my current wages for an entire quarter.”
He raised his brows. “Triple your
quarterly
wages for a week’s work?”
She looked instantly uneasy, no doubt fearful that she had been too bold in her demands. “Well, you did say that you needed my services, sir.”
“True. You drive a hard bargain, Miss Greyson. Perhaps you ought to hear the requirements of your new position before you accept.”
“To be honest, sir, I am not terribly particular at the moment. So long as you will guarantee to pay me three times what Lady Mayfield pays for the quarter and not require me to warm your bed, I will take the post.”
“Done. Now then, all I shall demand of you, MissGreyson, is that you comply with Lady Ames’s requests to drink her special tea and play cards.”
She pursed her lips. “Is it absolutely necessary to drink the tea?”
“Just a bit of it. Only enough to convince her that you have taken some.”
Emma sighed. “This may sound impertinent, under the circumstances, but would you mind very much explaining what this is about?”
He held her eyes very steadily. “I have reason to believe that Miranda thinks she is performing some experiments on you with her potion.”
“Experiments?”
Emma’s hand went to her stomach. She felt queasy all over again. “That dreadful tea is some sort of poison?”
“I assure you, there is no reason to think that it will harm you.”
She narrowed her eyes. “What, exactly, is it supposed to do to me?”
“According to the legend—”
“Legend?”
“Nothing but occult nonsense, I promise you,” he said quickly. “I told you that I was searching for something that had been stolen. That object is an ancient volume from the Garden Temples of a distant island called Vanzagara. It is known to the monks of the temples as the
Book
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