Quest of the Highlander (Crowns & Kilts #5) - Cynthia Wright Page 0,107

Nora said firmly.

“No? Perhaps this will help to persuade you. Does the title Maiden with a Harp mean anything to you?” He came closer, flashing a sinister smile. “Did you imagine that someone really wanted to purchase that little tapestry you made, enabling you to support yourself without a man?”

Nora felt the blood drain from her face. “Are you implying that it was not a merchant but you who purchased it from Master Mostinck?”

“Oh, I’m not implying it. I’m telling you! You needed to be taught a lesson. If we cannot reach an agreement today, I shall be forced to take back all those beautiful sovereigns and angels you need so much.”

Feeling sick, Nora glanced toward the door. If only Lennox would appear!

The Englishman seemed to read her mind. “Ah, of course, you are expecting someone, aren’t you? Let me guess…’Soon I will be kissing your sweet lips’.”

She stared at him in horror. “Y-you wrote that note? And signed Lennox’s name?”

“My ruse succeeded very well, I see, for you have made yourself look especially lovely, pet. And look at the refreshments you have prepared, expecting to enjoy them with MacLeod. Oh, wait, he now aspires to be an English nobleman, does he not?” Slater’s tone was mocking. “Soon he may have a title. Did you really expect MacLeod to turn his back on life with the Duke of Hastings and come back to you, especially knowing you carry my child?”

Nora pushed through a tide of rage and forced herself to think. She might feel a powerful urge to pick up the flagon of wine and smash it across his head, but if that failed, Slater could retaliate in a way that would put her baby in danger. No, instead she must use her wits to overpower him.

Striving to sound conciliatory, Nora said, “I suppose I must recognize that there is truth in all that you are saying.”

He came closer, watching her. “You are sensible as well as beautiful.”

“I cannot escape the fact that you have sired my baby, Sir Raymond. I may wish at times that it were not so, but it is.”

“Very wise, pet.” He poured wine into both goblets and helped himself to a wedge of cheese. “Shall we agree to be friends?”

Nora nodded slowly. “I can finally see that we must work together, for the sake of our child.”

Slater hovered closer. As usual, he wore a jeweled pomander on a chain around his neck, its musky scent filling the air. Reaching for her hand, he guided it to his gold-striped codpiece and forced her to touch him. “We can do much more than work together.”

It took every ounce of Nora’s control to refrain from giving him a shove. Instead, she lowered her lashes and moved her hand away from his body. “You are so virile. I can’t help remembering how shy I felt the last time we were together and how your delicious sweetmeat helped me to relax. Do you by chance have more of them?”

“What a good idea.” He lifted both brows and reached inside his jerkin for the emerald-studded case. “For you, pet, anything.”

Nora accepted the sweetmeat he proffered and gazed at it longingly. “Let me sip my wine first, for I am thirsty.”

Slater nodded, but he was looking across the parlor to the cabinet, where Nora’s tapestry purse peeked out from the open door. “What do I see there?”

“That purse contains all the money I have in the world,” she said in a defeated tone. “Not only my meager savings, but also the payment for the Maiden and the Harp. I had been so proud to earn it honestly, but I now realize those funds came from you, sir.”

Striding to the cabinet, Slater withdrew the purse and opened it. As he counted the coins, Nora took one of the figs, furtively poked a hole in it, and pushed the sweetmeat inside.

“Indeed, there is even more than what I gave for your unremarkable tapestry,” Slater announced, slipping the purse inside his jerkin pocket. “But don’t worry, you won’t need any money of your own. You’ll be in my care.” He returned to her side. “Now then, where were we?”

“I have just eaten my sweetmeat. Will you have a fig?” She held out the plump fruit. “They are exceptionally good.”

He took the fig and ate it in one bite. “God’s teeth, I’ve never tasted anything so delicious. Now for some wine. Let us drink together, pet, and then you will take me to your bedchamber so