Devilish Page 0,141

motion machine. Or flight."

She looked at an enormous multifaceted diamond, surely the largest, most sparkling gem he could find in a ring. She laughed with sudden, soaring delight. "You know what I love most about you, Bey?"

"Tell me." Though she'd seen him mellow a time or two, she'd never seen him glow like this.

"You like me as I am. You do, don't you?"

"I adore you as you are. I adored you from the moment you pressed a pistol into my back."

"A rough wooing. I want a promise."

"Anything."

"Don't try to change for me. I love you as you are, too."

He took her hand, thumb rubbing on the ring. "I thought you'd been fighting to change me."

"Do you feel changed?"

"Utterly."

"Then this is wrong."

"Diana," he protested.

"The essential you mustn't change," she said fiercely, praying she wasn't throwing away the moon and the stars. "I want you only to have changed as we all change, moving forward in life, in tune with our natures."

He stood in thought for a moment, thumb still rubbing gently on the ring he'd placed on her finger. "Yes, I see. You're quite correct. You'll have to put up with omniscience, omnipotence, protectiveness, and a devilishly strong will. Can you bear it?"

"I adore it," she said, and spotting a certain sapphire on his right hand, she moved it to his left, and kissed it there. She longed to drag him off to a bedroom and ravish him, but as he'd said, they had duties here.

And, now she thought of it, she had her courses.

She turned to leave the ballroom with him, hand in hand. "What are we going to do about the king?"

"If he chooses to be offended, so be it. My allegiance above all is to you." The smile he sent her was astonishing in its warmth. "I hope to have my own small world to cherish soon, so England can go hang."

She laughed and shook her head. "No one can change that much. I was thinking - you might appease him by giving him the drummer boy."

He raised their linked hands and kissed them. "We are in accord as always. You won't mind?"

She shook her head. "It's a lovely piece, but carries too much pain. Perhaps we'll make a little drummer boy of our own."

"Ah," he said lightly, leading her back through the entrance labyrinth, "but will it end up Lord Arradale or Lord Rothgar? Or both, poor mite? Our problems are never ending."

It was a practical concern, for she still wanted to preserve her earldom's independence, but she wouldn't let it shadow the moment. As they emerged into the brighter corridor, she said, "Our problems are nothing, as long as we're together. Together, we can rule the world."

"Don't say that in front of the king. Come on." He tugged her to run lightly down the stairs. "Let's face the lions. You're right, alas. I can't let England go hang just yet, at least not while it's at supper in my house."

They found excited masqueraders eating, drinking, and reliving the event of the year. Bey and Diana progressed through the four rooms generating even more excitement by formally announcing their betrothal.

More than one man said something like, "You'll not want to be getting on the wrong side of a wife like that, eh, Rothgar?"

Diana decided it was good to be reminded of the real world. Most of the men here would be frightened by her skills and powers, and would try to mute her in some way in case she eclipsed him. She had found one of the few men strong enough and fair enough to let her fly free.

As Bey had said, sometimes the gods were kind.

A frown from the king, however, reminded her that he was one of the traditional men. Abruptly, he beckoned her over, and a hint of fear flickered. He couldn't prevent their marriage, but if he'd turned against them, he could make things difficult.

A glance showed that Bey looked unalarmed, but that, she suspected, meant nothing at all. He led her to the king, formally, hand in hand. She curtsied, but Bey raised her immediately.

"Lady Arradale," the king said, in the suddenly quietening room, "you are a very unusual woman."

"I fear so, Your Majesty."

"I spoke to you once on the dangers of women seeking manly skills."

"You did, sire."

He frowned, and she began to wonder if he could indeed throw her in the Tower for some reason. Firing a weapon in the royal presence? It might be a crime.

"At that time," he said,