Free Quick, Amanda by I Thee Wed Page A

her. I wish to play another game." A familiar electricity sparked through Emma. She felt the hair on the nape of her neck stir. A prickly sensation made her palms tingle. I am afraid, she thought, stunned by the sharp premonition of danger. Mortally afraid. For no obvious reason. Damn the woman. I will not let her do this to me. Miranda watched her the way a cat watches a mouse. Another frisson of fear and warning sizzled through Emma. What is wrong with me? It is not as though she is holding a gun to my head. With a fierce effort of will, Emma collected her nerves and the skirts
     
of her uninspired gray gown. Good night, Lady Ames. I have had enough of cards for this evening." She did not dare glance back over her shoulder to see how Miranda had taken the dismissal. She forced herself to walk sedately away from the card table. En route to the staircase she paused near the open door of the ballroom to check on her other employer. A large number of people had gathered inside the spacious chamber. In addition to Ware's houseguests, many members of the local gentry had been invited tonight. Chilton Crane had not come downstairs all day, much to Emma's relief. He had sent word to his host that he was nursing a headache. She glanced around and saw Letty standing with a small group on the other side of the room. She was attired in a heavily flounced satin gown that was cut so low at the neckline that it barely contained her breasts. There was yet another glass of champagne in her gloved hand. Her laughter was growing louder by the minute. She would no doubt be calling for her tonic in the morning, Emma thought. She would certainly not be needing the services of her companion tonight. Grateful to be free for a while from the demands of both of her employers, Emma started up the staircase. Of the two careers she was pursuing this week, she feared her duties for Edison would prove to be the most onerous. If it were not for the fact that she had accepted his offer of employment, she would not have taken another drop of Miranda's obnoxious tea. All the ridiculous talk about a missing book and occult elixirs had given her some serious second thoughts about her new employer. She wondered uneasily if he was mad as a March hare. But even if that proved true, he was a very rich mad hare, she reminded herself as she climbed the stairs. And if she lasted the week in his employ, she would have triple her usual quarterly wages to show for it. The thought of the money made her more inclined to view Edison Stokes as clear-witted and eminently sane. She rounded the landing on the second floor and prepared to ascend into the darker reaches above. The staff did not waste many candles lighting the gloomy wing in which her bed chamber was located. Down below, the music swelled as the dancing got under way in the
     
ballroom. Voices rose in drunken laughter. But the noise was quickly absorbed by the thick stone walls of the old castle. By the time she reached the third floor and started along the corridor to her room, the sounds from the ballroom were muted, ghostly echoes in the distance. Her footsteps rang hollowly on the uncarpeted stone. She stopped in front of her door a nd opened her small reticule to retrieve her key. Another tiny shiver went down her spine. That bloody tea. Edison was certain that it could not possibly affect her. But what if he was wrong? In addition to the fact that it made her head swim, she was begin ning to have an uneasy suspicion that it actually worked. She had always been good at guessing games, but her luck with Miranda's cards tonight had been a bit unnerving. Tomorrow she would merely pretend to drink the stuff, she vowed. She wondered if she should mention her concerns about the tea to Edison. After a moment's contemplation she decided not to say anything to him. It was all very well for her to wonder about his sanity, she thought. But she certainly did not want him to question hers. She went into her room and