Page 68 of Company of Thieves
FIFTEEN
“Is there such a thingas a pregnancy test here?”
Alan, who was strolling past Octavia’s cabin en route to the mess, where he was to discuss William’s demand, paused and stepped back to look in.
“There is, but it involves killing a rabbit,” Octavia told Hallie.
“Ugh. No thank you.”
“I’m afraid women here just have to wait before they are certain.” Octavia patted Hallie’s arm, her gaze going over her shoulder to where Alan stood. “I wish I could offer you something to ease your stomach, but Mr. Ho says she’s given you her mother’s best advice. I do hope things settle down in that regard.”
“Me too,” Hallie said, sounding tired. Alan swore to himself. He should never have allowed Hallie to come with them on the raid of the imperial stores. She was clearly taxing herself, and although he knew she would not put herself in any danger now that she was with child, she was no doubt letting her enthusiasm overestimate her stamina.
He said nothing when Octavia slipped out past him, giving him a rueful smile, but he watched Hallie when she stretched, sighed, and turned, pausing to tip her head to the side at the sight of him. “Damn me, but you are the handsomest man I’ve ever seen, and I’ve seen a lot of men.”
He laughed, shaking his head. Would he ever guess what her mind was thinking? “I’m filthy, covered in blood and sweat, and my lip itches.”
She moved over to him, stroking a finger along his upper lip. “Mmm, but it will be worth it when you have your ’stache back. Stop looking like that.”
“Like I want to take you to bed and do numerous things to your delicious, nubile, smooth body?”
“No, like you’re about to turn into one of those men who think women who are pregnant don’t know their own limits, and need to be protected from themselves.”
He started guiltily, wondering just how well she was able to read expressions. “Just out of curiosity, not that it has anything to do with your quite outrageous statement, because I would never in a million years be one of those husbands who think to tell you what you may or may not do, but does your difficulty in recognizing faces extend to expressions?”
“To a certain extent, yes,” she said suspiciously, her eyes narrowing. “I mean, I can see your face. I can see what it’s doing. Like right now, your eyes are open wide, and your eyebrows are raised a bit, so that means you could either be trying to look innocent or you might be thoughtful, or even scared, but although I can see the expression on your face, it’s a bit difficult for me to interpret what it means. Jack is much better at this than me, but then, he only has a slight case of the facial blindness. My mother had it, too, which means we might have a child with it, as well. Just fair warning.”
“Actually, I find it all rather fascinating,” he said, brushing his thumb over her freckled cheek. “And you will please tell me if I ever do something that confuses you.”
“I’m not befuddled,” she said, whapping him on the arm. “I just have a hard time with faces. Speaking of that, are you going to grow your hair out, too? It’s cute short, but ...” She eyed him, her expression making him want to laugh again.
He heaved a faux sigh. “You want me looking just like Akbar, don’t you?”
“I kind of do,” she said with an apologetic expression. “Do you mind?”
“Not really. It will make things difficult with William, although to be honest, I suspect that isn’t going to be an issue much longer. And with that said, let us go speak with the others so that we can determine the best course to take.”
“I love it when you talk all proper and British, even though you had the most outrageous accent when I first saw you.”
“I didn’t know who you were,” he admitted. “Prince Akbar speaks ... spoke ... English with a very heavy accent just in case anyone met me in both guises.”
