The Perfect Temptation (22 page)

the box, took out a phosphorus
stick, and proceeded to light

the wick. Adjusting the flame
and fanning away the smell

of the igniter, she added,
"When I
 
first started
brokering,

though, a good number of people
tried to sell me stolen

goods. But the word soon spread
that I
 
wasn't willing to be a

party to such things and they
seldom come around anymore.

Occasionally, but not at all
often."

''Those that do are probably
very new
to
the thieving business,"

he ventured, hoping she might
know something about

the illegal side of the
brokering street. A description-or

even better yet, the name--of a
potential buyer would be far

more than Barrett had at
present.

She nodded and put the silver
box back on the shelf.

''They tend to be very young
and haven't the foggiest notion

of the silver's worth. I'm
always tempted to take them by

their ear and drag them home to
their mothers."

"An admirable
consideration, but it wouldn't do any

good," he counseled.
''More than likely their mothers are

counting on the money to go to
market."

''Which is why I don't do
it," she agreed with a sigh. "It's

horrible to live so hand to
mouth."

Aiden frowned. East India
officers made handsome

wages. And then, as first the
daughter of the royal tutor and

then the tutor herself, Alex
never should have wanted for

anything in her life. "And
how does Miss Alexandra Radford

know about a meager existence?”
he pressed gently.

She studied the maker's mark on
the back of a fork as she

replied, "My father had
many vices, the worst of which were

drinking and gambling. Mother
would wait for him to stumble

in during the wee hours of the
morning, and when he finally

fell unconscious, she'd search
his pockets. What money she

found would be what we had to
take to market and to pay the

rent that week."

"So she left him and went
to teach in the raja's court,"

Aiden supplied.

She shrugged and picked up the
wrapping tissue she'd removed

earlier. "More or
less."

The fact that she'd been vague
was
telling.
"It's considerably

more, isn't it? Was he
abusiveT'

A sad smile touched her lips.
"Have you known very

many
drunks
who were
jolly, lovable people?"

She'd answered a question with
a question, one of the defensive

strategies she'd employed early
yesterday and then

abandoned along the way to
sunset. That she'd resorted to

evasion again suggested that he
was prying into areas that

troubled her. The gentleman in
him urged him to cease his

questioning and let her keep
her secrets. But something else

insisted even more strongly
that he'd never understand her

unless he could get her
to
share her
story. He didn't know

why understanding her was so
important, but it was.

"Did your mother kill
him?" he asked bluntly, hoping to

force her into an equally
direct answer.

''No.'' He was about to ask
if
she
knew where her father

was when she expelled a hard
breath,
put
the fork back
in
the

box,
and added, "But she didn't shed any tears when
one of his

gambling associates did. The
man came to us for the money

my father owed
him
and
since we didn't have it and had no

way of getting it, Mother and I
fled Bombay."

"And went to the
raja," he offered, thinking to make the

telling easier for her.

"Eventually. Where's
Mohan?"

Eventually?
Aiden cocked a brow, watching her put the

chest on a shelf and debating
whether or not to press her for

more. The simplicity of her
answer and the abrupt change in

subject, however, suggested
that he wasn't going to be successful

at it a second time. At least
not right now.

"Preeya's supervising his
bath:' he provided. ''He's gotten

a bit piggy today
.
I came in
for his clean clothes. Mine,

as well. I'm next in the queue."

"I would hope so,"
she laughingly said. picking up the

lamp and moving past him.

He came off the table and
followed her out into the hall.

''Then I gather that a torrid
affair
with
the stable master is

out of the question?" he
teased.

She laughed outright and put
the lamp on the desk in the

front store. "Judging by
your appearance, I'd guess that you

managed to acquire the horses
you wanted."

Change of subject. He wasn't
surprised. A bit disappointed,

yes, but not surprised.
"Yes, and then we went to

take delivery of the
carriage," Aiden explained, noting that

while the wooden crates
remained where the delivery crew

had left them that morning,
they were now surrounded by a

shallow sea of packing straw.

"It's been cleaned and
polished and the horses are happily

munching on sweet oats, all
settled into their new

home," he continued as she
leaned into one of the boxes and

he tried not to stare at the
attractive curve of her backside.

''Tomorrow we
'
ll saddle
the horse we bought you and start

your riding lessons."

''We'll see. I'm sure Mohan
made you start with his today:'

She straightened with a wad of
straw in her hands. Wiggling

her fingers, she let the golden
bits fall slowly away. "How did

he do?"

"He's very good. Not at
all afraid or put off by their size.

He's going to be one of those
riders who looks as though he

was born in the saddle."

She stopped and looked over at
him. "You will make an

effort to keep him from taking
unnecessary chances, won't

you?"

It
was a momentous step for a confirmed mother hen.

"He's on a palfrey and a
lead rope until he proves himself

competent several times
over."

"Thank you, Aiden. That
makes me feel better."

And the appreciation of her
smile was making him feel

decidedly too warm. He nodded
his acceptance of her gratitude.

"Well, I'd best be getting
those clothes and back to the

kitchen," he said, backing
toward the stairs and beyond the

persistent whisper of
temptation.

Alex watched him leave and then
went back
to
work,

thinking that he was a far more
fascinating man than was

good for her. Thankfully, he
didn't seem to
be
a callous predator

like so many of the British
Army officers her mother

had taken pains
to
see
that she encountered. And while Aiden

obviously wasn't opposed to
taking opportunities that presented

themselves, he didn't strike
her as the sort that went

out of his way to deliberately
create them. Placing an otherwise

virtuous woman in a
compromising situation just so that

he could take advantage of her
... No, Aiden was decent and

honorable. He'd never do such a
dastardly thing.

But, by the same token, he
clearly wasn't opposed to

accepting an offer freely made.
And if the woman of the

hour expected a payment of
sorts in exchange for her favors,

he'd pay it.
If
one
man had given Charlotte Tyndale a set

of Roberts and Belk's latest
and most expensive flatware,

then what had Aiden given her?
Horses and carriages?

Not that he would have had to
give so extravagantly; he

was a handsome, charming man
and no doubt the sort of

lover women like Lady Tyndale
preferred. But he didn't

seem like the sort to stint on
quality or value just because he

could. For Aiden, providing a
special, memorable gift would

probably be a point of pride.

And, she admonished herself, to
spend so much as a second

of her time thinking about such
things was beyond foolish.

It
was unseemly. Ladies didn't entertain such musings.

If
they even occurred to them in the first place.

"A pair of sapphire
rings."

She looked up to find Aiden
standing at the base of the

stairs, clothing draped over
his arm and his smile wicked.

How long had he been standing
there? she wondered. And

had she been thinking aloud?
Lord, she hoped not. She knitted

her brows, trying to fathom
what sapphire rings had to

do with anything.

"You were wondering what I
gave Charlotte."

Of
course he'd known what she'd been thinking. He
always

did. At least it didn't overly
surprise her anymore.

"Rings are a very
expensive, personal
gift,"
she observed.

''Weren't you afraid her
husband would notice them at the

breakfast table?"

The devil danced in his eyes
and his smile broadened.

''They weren't for her fingers.
Charlotte has certain intimate-

parts of herself pierced for
jewelry."

Alex stared at him, stunned and
slack-jawed mute. She'd

heard of such scandalous
practices, but to actually know of

someone who engaged in them ...