Page 95 of One Night with a Prince
He nodded. “And yours, too,” he said dryly. “Then I tried your door, but it wouldn’t open.”
“I’ve been wedging a chair under the handle because of Lord Stokely.”
“So you gave up on flirting with him to gain access to his room?” he asked in a tight voice.
“Yes.”
He let out a breath. “Thank God for that.” Turning the deck of cards around in his hand, he stared at her. “It’s rapidly becoming apparent that we aren’t going to find them this way. We’d be better offGenerated by ABC Amber LIT Converter, http://www.processtext.com/abclit.htmlstriking a deal with Stokely.”
“He won’t give them up,” she murmured, with a glance in the baron’s direction. “And offering a bargain would only put him on his guard.”
“I know. That’s why I haven’t done it yet. But if the choice is leaving here without the letters or striking a bargain—”
“I have nothing with which to bargain—nothing he’d want badly enough to give them up. You, on the other hand, have money and connections—you might have something he’d want. And it’s not as if I can stop you from…dealing with him.”
Throat tight, she turned to leave, but he spoke again, his voice softer, almost tormented. “Please, lass, I need to know…Are you all right?”
“As well as can be expected.” For a woman whose heart was breaking.
“You look tired.”
Under the circumstances, his concern angered her. “I find it hard to sleep when the possibility of disaster looms over me and my family.”
“And I find it hard to sleep withoutyou .”
Her gaze shot to his, and the yearning she glimpsed in his eyes banished her anger, rousing a bone-deep longing for him in her chest. It had been three full nights since they’d shared a bed, three nights of restless tossing, anxious dreams, and fiery, unfulfilled needs that drove her to drown her woes in tears. It would be so easy to give in, to tell him she didn’t care what happened as long as she had him, didn’t care if her father lost his commission, his reputation…his life. Ruthlessly, she pushed the temptation away. “Try laudanum. I understand it works wonders for the sleepless.”
“Christabel, please—” he choked out.
“Lady Haversham!” a voice called out, dragging her attention from Gavin. She stifled a groan as Lord Stokely approached, especially when a quick glance around revealed that everyone else had left.
The baron flashed them both a patently false smile. “I understand that the two of you will be playing in the next round.”
“We’ll be winning the next round,” Gavin said.
“We’ll see.” Lord Stokely settled his gaze on her, and it grew decidedly lewd. “I hope your partner told you that in the final stages, we meet right after breakfast to play. So the others will be starting at one o’clock.”
“I told her,” Gavin interjected.
Generated by ABC Amber LIT Converter, http://www.processtext.com/abclit.htmlLord Stokely ignored him. “I’ll send a servant for you once the next round begins. Of course, we may start later than one o’clock if I have another more entertaining prospect tonight that keeps me up until the morn.” He offered her his arm. “Would you join me for a glass of wine in my study, Lady Haversham?”
She actually considered it. Perhaps if she got Lord Stokely drunk—
No, she couldn’t do it, not with Gavin sitting there watching, assuming the worst. Besides, the more she saw of Lord Stokely, the more convinced she was that Gavin was right about him. Hewas playing with them. He would never tell her anything, but he might very well be capable of rape. It was too dangerous to risk.
“Thank you,” she said, ignoring his proffered arm, “but I’m tired after the long day. I believe I’ll go on to bed now.”
She started to walk past, but he caught her arm. “Come now, don’t be so—”
“Let go of her,” Gavin said, each word clipped like pistol fire as he rose to his feet behind them. Lord Stokely’s grip on her arm only tightened. “Don’t be an ass, Byrne. I know you kicked her out of your bed, so now that you’re done with her—”
“First of all, what happens in our bed is none of your concern.” There was no velvet with the steel in his voice this time. “Second, I am far from done with her, and even if I were, you would have no right to manhandle her.”
“I’m not manhandling her.”
Gavin’s eyes narrowed to slits. “If you don’t remove your hand from her arm this minute, I will break it finger by finger until you do.”
Lord Stokely released her with amazing speed. “Christ, you’re mad.” His resentful gaze shot to Christabel. “We’ll talk again when you don’t have an angry ex-lover hovering about.”
