The Tiger Prince (24 page)

“You’ll find I’m always obliging when it comes to giving a lady what she wants.” He turned and moved toward the french doors. “And, as I definitely want to stake a claim before we part ways, I can see I’ll have to make an attempt to remind you of just what we’ve both been missing. Expect me for dinner tomorrow night.”

“No, I don’t want you to—”

“Expect me.” He looked back at her, his gaze running over her loose, shabby cotton robe. “I’ve never seen you in a nightgown before.” He frowned. “If you can call that garment a nightgown. Someday I’m going to see you in something more womanly.”

He left the veranda and a moment later she heard the front door close behind him.

“Go away, Ruel,” she said as soon as she opened the door of the bungalow the next evening. “I told you not to come. I don’t want you here.”

His brows lifted. “I take it dinner’s not ready?” He took off his wet slicker and dropped it on the porch beside the door. He was dressed more formally than she had ever seen him, in a dark brown suit, crisp white shirt, and black cravat at his throat. The light from the porch lantern played on the polished sheen of his black boots and the brilliant tawny streaks in his brown hair. His unexpected elegance caught her off guard and made her awkwardly aware of her own rough clothing.

There was no reason for her to feel defensive, she told herself. He was the intruder here. “Go away.”

“Well, if you refuse to feed me, I’ll just come in and have a word with Patrick. Is he on the veranda?”

“He’s gone to bed.”

“Already? It’s barely eight-thirty. Didn’t he object to you rushing him through dinner and whisking him off to bed?”

“I didn’t—” She stopped as she met his knowing
gaze. “What if I did? I didn’t want you here and you’ve made sure Patrick thinks you’re his friend. You have no need to talk to him.”

“Oh, but I do. I intend to ask for his daughter’s hand.” He snapped his fingers. “But then, that would confuse him, wouldn’t it? He won’t admit he has a daughter.”

“You’re not serious?”

“Of course I’m serious. Since I’m walking the path of virtue, I want to observe all the proper forms. He can’t be asleep yet. I’ll just go in and—”

“No!” She drew a deep breath. “This is foolishness and I won’t have you bothering Patrick.”

He suddenly gave in. “Very well.”

She started to swing the door shut.

“If you’ll come and walk out with me.”

“Walk out?”

“At home in Glenclaren it’s the custom for an affianced couple to walk out together in the evening. Properly chaperoned, of course.”

“I have no desire to ‘walk out’ with you.”

“Then I’ll be forced to come in and have my talk with Patrick. I believe he’ll give his consent to the match. As you say, he has a liking for me.”

He was clearly not to be swayed. “It’s raining,” she said weakly.

“All right, I’ll be satisfied with sitting with you on the veranda.” His brows lifted. “Providing Li Sung has vacated the couch.”

“He went back to the temple early this morning.” She gazed at him in frustration. He was smiling, but she could sense both recklessness and implacable resolution beneath that glittering exterior. She threw open the door and turned on her heel. “Very well, ten minutes.”

“Yes, memsahib.” He followed her across the room toward the open french doors. “You see how obedient I am? Obeying your every wish, trailing at your heels like your faithful dog, Sam.”

“Sam doesn’t trail at my heels.” She sat down on the
cushioned rattan couch. “Even he has too much sense for that.”

“A remark aimed at me?” He sat down beside her. “But I’m not so favored as Sam. I’ve trespassed and must exhibit the proper show of humility.”

“You?”

He chuckled. “I agree the idea is foreign to me, but I’m trying to make an adjustment. Give me your hand.”

“Why?”

“I want to hold it. I’m sure even Ian and his Margaret hold hands. It’s a proper courting procedure.”

“We’re not courting.”

“Of course we are.” He took her hand and threaded his fingers through hers. “I thought I’d made that clear. No, don’t jerk away from me. I’m only holding your hand.” His tone was soothing. “We’ll just sit here and make conversation and listen to the rain.”

Her muscles were tensed and she had to force herself to sit still. She was acutely conscious of his shoulder touching hers, their locked hands.

“Relax. I’m no threat to you. Actually, I’m trying to show you how tame I can be.”

If she hadn’t been so tense, she would have laughed aloud. He was no more tame than the winds preceding a typhoon.

She tried to ignore the heat beginning to spread from the hand he was holding to her wrist and upper arm. “You seem to know a great deal about courting customs in Glenclaren.”

“Only from hearsay. I was a wild lad and never had the patience for any of the more proper traditions.”

And the mandarin would have no need of patience. He would charm and issue a siren call and everything and everyone would come to him. She moistened her lips. “Is Glenclaren far from—”

“I don’t want to talk about Glenclaren. It’s a dank, depressing place.” He turned and smiled at her. “And didn’t suit me at all. It wouldn’t suit you either. Once we’re wed, we’ll live on Cinnidar.”

Exasperated, she sought a less personal subject to distract him. “How did you find your Cinnidar?”

“I was on a ship bound from Australia to Africa that put in at Cinnidar to take on food and water. When the ship left, I stayed on.”

“Why?”

He shrugged. “I … liked it. I felt—” He stopped, searching for words. “It called to me.”

“Is it beautiful?”

“I suppose it is.” He thought about it. “Yes, Cinnidar is beautiful.”

“But that’s not why you liked it.”

“The moment I saw it I knew it was going to belong to me. I felt it.” He turned her hand over and idly traced patterns in her palm with his index finger. “And since it was obviously meant to be mine, I couldn’t see why fate wouldn’t furbish the island with what I loved most.”

She chuckled. “Gold.”

He nodded. “I had to go and see. There’s a trail down the canyon wall, but it was blocked with stones I had to crawl over, and after I reached the canyon floor it took me three weeks to make my way through the jungle and get to the mountain. A few times I didn’t think I’d make it. But when I got there …” His face lit with eagerness. “Veins, not pockets of gold. Rich wide veins … Even the streams were full of nuggets. I could reach down and pick up a nugget as big as a goose egg.”

“Did you gather them to take with you?”

He shook his head. “Word of a strike would have gotten out, and Cinnidar had to be legally mine before that happened. So I went back to the port ragged and half starved with nothing but my hands in my pockets and told everyone I’d never made it past the canyon. I shipped out on the next boat that put into port and went to the gold fields in Jaylenburg. It took me three years and two gold fields, but I finally made a big enough strike to provide me with enough money to buy Cinnidar from the maharajah.”

Three years of staggering work and deprivation and
all for Cinnidar, she thought. “And now you’re going back.”

“Yes, I’ll send for you as soon as—” He stopped as he saw her expression. “It will happen, Jane.” He reached out and touched a tendril of hair at her temple. “I’ve never seen you with your hair loose. I want to see it flowing about your shoulders. I wanted to unbraid it when we were in the railway coach but I was hurting so bad I couldn’t wait.”

She felt the heat rise to her cheeks, suffusing her throat and breasts.

“I could do it now,” Ruel said softly. His index finger rubbed slowly back and forth on her palm, and a tingle ran up her arm. “I could do anything you want me to do. Patrick’s asleep and wouldn’t bother us. I could close the doors and—”

“No,” she whispered. Sweet Mary, her breasts were swelling, pushing against the material of her shirt. Let him not notice. But he probably did know, she realized in despair. He seemed to know how to trigger her every response.

“Do you remember the maharajah’s painting? There are so many ways of pleasure, and I want to show you all of them.”

She couldn’t get her breath and was beginning to tremble as she had that day in the railroad car. She suddenly knew she wanted to kneel down like the woman in the painting, to obey him blindly, to do anything he wanted of her.

She was acutely aware of the faint scent of soap surrounding him, the tiny jolts of sensation as his finger rubbed her palm, the sound of the rain on the thatched roof of the bungalow.

Like the sound of the rain on the maharajah’s railway car …

“But this is different,” he said as if he had read her mind. “I’m not trying to seduce you.” “Aren’t you?”

“I want only to show you that you need me as much as I—God, that’s not true.” He laughed desperately.
“That’s how it started, but now I don’t give a damn about showing you how tame and respectable I could be.”

She should pull away, but she couldn’t seem to move. “Let me go,” she whispered.

His grasp tightened for a brief instant, and then he slowly released her hand. “You see how good I’m being? I didn’t want to let you go.” He stood up and strode toward the door. “But I’m keeping my promise. The ten minutes are up and I’m leaving.” He paused at the french doors to glance back at her. “But it’s not over, and you’re not going to get rid of me. I’m staying here in Kasanpore until you and Patrick leave.”

“That would be a waste of time. I’m not going to change my mind. And what about your Cinnidar?”

“I’ve worked and waited years for Cinnidar. I can wait a little longer.” He smiled. “You’re worth it, Jane Barnaby.”

The locomotive was already spouting steam, the head lanterns blazing when Ruel bounded into the cab. “Kartauk?” Jane asked.

“Safely ensconced at Lanpur Gorge.” He grinned. “We rigged a lean-to shelter of sorts for him on the embankment, but he was still swearing because he has to wait in the rain for us. I had to assure him Scotland has no monsoons.”

She braced herself against the blast of energy Ruel exuded as he stood smiling at her. After a near sleepless night she had told herself she was ready to withstand that magnetism, but it came as a fresh shock. The rain-wet brown slicker he wore was no more glossy than his tawny-streaked hair, and he glowed with the same brilliant beauty as the lanterns on the front of the locomotive. She had an almost irresistible urge to step forward and touch him.

She glanced quickly away from him. “Ian arrived a quarter of an hour ago. He’s in the maharajah’s car. He
said he planned on napping in splendor while we labored. Why are you late?”

“I paid a visit to the palace and requested an audience with Abdar.”

Jane’s eyes swung back to him. “What?”

He grinned. “And was told by a servant that His Highness had left this morning to go to Narinth.” He turned to Li Sung, who was sitting in the engineer’s seat. “It seems your misdirection was successful.”

“So it would appear,” Li Sung said without expression. “But appearances sometimes lie. Who is to know if Abdar did not guess at the deception and is waiting to ambush us somewhere along the track?”

“Very true.” Ruel looked at the engine controls. “Are you sure you know how to drive this monster of a locomotive?”

“My father taught me as a boy and I ran supplies up and down the line in Salisbury.” He stiffened. “Of course Patrick never considered a Chinese good enough to engineer a passenger train. Perhaps you agree and would prefer to try yourself?”

“No, thank you. I’ll be happy to labor at your command.”

“An unusual attittude for a white.” Li Sung smiled faintly. “I feel quite giddy with delight. We Chinese are not unaccustomed to being allowed such power over round-eyes.”

“It’s time we left.” Jane told Ruel, “You can stoke the boiler. I’m going to have to be on the lookout for hazards on the track.” She signaled to Li Sung, and a moment later the locomotive pulled out of the station. “Patrick said the tracks were clear all the way to Narinth when he inspected them yesterday, but that doesn’t mean something might not have happened in the meantime.”

They were forced to stop twice before they reached Sikor Gorge, once to clear a fallen tree from the track, the second time to shoo a water buffalo who stood placidly chewing grass half on, half off the rails.

They slowed as they crossed Sikor Gorge, but once
over the raging river Li Sung picked up speed and the locomotive glided smoothly over the tracks.

“Lanpur Gorge is just ahead around the bend,” Jane said. “Be on the lookout for Kartauk.”

“In this rain he can see the train’s lights better than we can see him.” Ruel moved over to stand beside her at the window. Through the heavy rain he could catch only glimpses of the yellowish gleam of the Zastu as the train started over Lanpur Bridge. “And you can be sure Kartauk is going to be ready to get out of this rain and jump on board as soon as we slow— What’s that?”

Jane heard it too and her heart lurched. “Li Sung!”

“I know.” Li Sung’s voice was hoarse as he put on more power. “It’s only three cars. The thrust may get us across before—”

The locomotive tilted, ground to a halt, jerked side-wise like a snake switching its tail.

“What the hell is happening?” Ruel asked.

“One of the back cars is off the tracks,” Jane said. She felt as if the blood were freezing in her veins.

“Abdar!” Ruel swore beneath his breath.

The train jerked again and the cab was suddenly swaying.

“Get her out!” Li Sung snapped to Ruel as he applied the brakes. “The cab’s off the track too. I think it’s going over.”

“Christ!” Ruel picked Jane up and leapt for the side of the track. They hit the bridge with bruising impact and rolled over and over.

The wooden bridge was vibrating beneath them, and between the ties Jane could glimpse the rushing water sixty feet below. This couldn’t be happening, she thought frantically. Dear God, why?

“Li Sung!” Jane screamed.

She saw Li Sung at the door of the cab. An instant later he jumped.

Her relief vanished when Li Sung’s bad leg folded beneath him as he hit the track. He fell, slipping toward the edge of the bridge.