Free Microsoft Word - jw by kps

too, merely added to the overall effect of sensuality. I judged him to be somewhere in his late thirties, no longer a terribly young man, but maturity had only added line and character to a face that, at eighteen, must have looked like the face of a pretty, surly choir boy.
    "We leave for London tomorrow," he said as he led me out of that glowing womb of a room. "We leave at ten."
    "I'll be ready."
    "I will send a servant to your room with a breakfast tray."
    "That won't be necessary."
    "You must eat. He will also pack your bags."
    "I can do my own packing, Count Orlov."
    "Is work for servant," he told me. "I send him up."
    His voice was firm. He would brook no argument. I wondered what he would think if I told him I had once been a servant myself, a convicted thief transported to America in chains, to be sold at public auction to the highest bidder and serve seven long years as an indentured servant. My accent might be cultured, my features patrician, but I was hardly the elegant lady he took me to be.
    "It is very kind of you to drive me to London," I said.
    "You and Lucie have been wonderful."
    "We of Russia have the heart," he replied. "Is wellknown fact."
    It was a flat statement, and I had to repress a smile at the manner in which it had been delivered. Although it really wasn't all that late, the inn was very quiet, the hallway dim. The Russian contingent had certainly settled down. Perhaps they had taken their revelry to one of the taverns in the village and were terrorizing the populace, I thought, or perhaps they were merely holding their breaths and creeping about on tiptoe after Orlov's servant had taken his message to the taproom. My skirts made a soft whispering sound as we moved down the hall toward the front of the inn.
    "Lucie has grown very fond of you," Orlov remarked.
    "And I have grown fond of her."
    "She is a moody girl. Is good for her to have a friend."
    The innkeeper's wife had already locked up. The front door was bolted. A candle burned beneath a glass globe on the counter. A fat calico cat was curled beside the heavy leather registration book. It stretched drowsily and waved its tail as we passed. Orlov cupped his hand about my elbow as we started up the steps, his palm warm, the fingers lightly squeezing my flesh. The contact sent pleasant vibrations through my whole body, and I felt a delicious languor.
    I loved Jeremy Bond with all my heart and soul, but I was human, after all, and I couldn't help but respond to this remarkable man on a purely physical level.
    No candles burned on the second floor, but the window at the end ofthe hall was uncurtained and brilliant moonlight spilled through, making a pale silver pool on the floor and creating a soft silvery blue haze. There was a slight chill in the air. I shivered. Orlov's white garments gleamed in the semi-darkness. We stopped in front of my door. He stood before me. I tilted my chin, looking up at his face. He wore a thoughtful expression, and his eyes seemed sad.
    "Is pity you have this man in London," he murmured. "I had hoped you would be our guest in the house I have rented."
    Was he going to spoil it? Was he going to take me into his arms and try to use physical persuasion? Was I going to have to struggle and end the evening on an unpleasant note? Orlov looked deeply into my eyes for a long moment, and then he stepped back and took a deep breath, his chest heaving. I was relieved ... at least that's what I told myself.
    "Thank you for a lovely evening, Count Orlov," I said.
    "I bring a few presents to you from London," he said,
    "just a few trinkets to amuse you. I have them' placed in your room while we dine."
    "Presents? But there was no reason for you w-"
    "It is my great pleasure to give presents to a beautiful woman."
    "Then-then I will simply say thank you again. "
    Orlov nodded and opened the door for me. The maid had left candles burning, and pale golden light washed over us.
    I told him good night. He hesitated just a moment,