Nicholas said, "Grayson found a rare old book at the fair yesterday. It is in code. Are you good at deciphering code, sir?"
"Code? This old book is written in code? How very odd. Let me see it." Ryder held out his hand. Nothing else to do- Grayson handed his father the Rules of the Pale, though for an instant, he'd wanted to tuck it into his shirt and run.
Ryder, aware that his son was hovering, handled the book very gently. "It indeed appears to be very old. You found this in a bookstall at the artists' fair yesterday?"
Grayson said, "Yes, sir."
The three of them watched Ryder open the book at random, watched his forehead furrow as he studied the page, watched him frown. Finally, he raised his head. They held their collective breath. "It is a code I have never seen before. Douglas is very good at this sort of thing. We can show it to him." Grayson took the book from his father without a word.
"Douglas and Alexandra will be arriving on the morrow," Sophie said to Nicholas. "He is the Earl of Northcliffe, but you know that, don't you?"
"Someone mentioned it to me at the ball the other night. I look forward to making his lordship's acquaintance."
Sophie held out her hand to her son. "My turn."
To her disappointment, she couldn't make out the code either. "How very lowering. I thought my dear husband and I knew everything of importance. This depresses my spirits. As for Douglas, he is coming to lend more weight to Rosalind's coming out. There will be a bail hare for her next Friday," Sophie said, her eyes never leaving Nicholas Vail's dark face.
Guileless as a nun, Rosalind said, "Lord Mountjoy came back with Grayson because I agreed to go riding in the park with him; he is going to tell me all about Macau. I have a fascination for Portuguese colonies, you know."
Both Ryder and Sophie strongly doubted Rosalind had even heard of Macau before this. Still, Sophie found herself nodding. "I suppose that will be all right. But don't forget, dearest, you have a final fitting at Madame Fouquet's this afternoon."
"Macau can wait," Grayson said. "The book, Rosalind, we must work together on the book. Nicholas as well."
It was odd, but Rosalind no longer felt any urgency about the book. She felt urgency about Nicholas. She said, "I will get more information from Nicholas about it, Grayson. It will assist us. When we return, we will all work on it together."
"But why-"
"I have a headache. I need fresh air."
"That was very well done," Nicholas said as he sat opposite Rosalind in his carriage. "Your Uncle Ryder is wrong. You lie quite fluently." He thudded his cane against the roof. "Tell Grace and Leopold to go leisurely to the park, Lee."
"Yes, my lord." The carriage rolled forward.
"Grace and Leopold?"
"My grays. They're proud and know their own worth. If they feel someone has slighted them, they bite. Now, can you really read the Rules of the Pale?"
"You needn't play more games, my lord. You know I can read that wretched book. You knew all along. Or at least you very much hoped I could. My question to you is, why?"
There was a pause before he said, "Of course I am surprised. How could I possibly know? As for a plan, why, I have none except to provide whatever assistance I am able to you and Grayson when I return you home from the park. This ride I invited you for this morning, did I indicate any specific time?"
"A medium sort of time, if I remember aright. Don't change the subject. And you think I lie fluently. I am not near to your equal, my lord. I know you will hang over my shoulder to hear each word from the Rules of the Pale. I wish you would tell both Grayson and me what you know about it, Nicholas."
He gave her a lovely shrug with his powerful shoulders, but she had no intention of admiring him. "Certainly the book is of some interest to me, since even as a young boy, I knew it was a passion with my grandfather. Perhaps I'll learn why it was his passion from the text itself."
Her gloved fingers drummed on her reticule. "You are quite adroit, aren't you, my lord?"
"My name is Nicholas. Adroit? I surely hope so or I doubt I would have survived to adult years."
When she looked at his mouth again, she forgot about his secrets, forgot about the Rules of the Pale, forgot that she didn't want to admire his shoulders. She didn't understand any of this, only knew she wanted him to touch her again, to feel him kiss her hand again, perhaps kiss the inside of her elbow, even her ear. She shuddered when she thought of his kissing her on the mouth, kissing her until she was stupid with it. That would be wicked, surely, but she imagined that a life without wickedness couldn't be much fun, could it?
She looked out the carriage window to see that they were passing by the entrance to the park. She didn't care a whit. It was overcast today, cooler, but she felt comfortably warm. There weren't that many people wandering about, not at this unfashionable hour, only a few children with their hoops, yelling to each other in sight of nannies and tutors. A flower girl and a pie vendor were walking about to find buyers. She said on a sigh, "So that I am not a complete liar, tell me about Macau."
"The air smells different there."
"Well, yes, of course it does. It is a foreign clime."
He laughed, shook his head. "And just what do you know of foreign climes?"
"Actually, London was a foreign clime to me until two weeks ago. I'll admit it, I'm a provincial. Do you despise me for it?"
"I don't think so. Should I?"
"Probably. When you are angry with me you will doubtless think of several reasons." Then she found herself once again staring at his mouth. She cleared her throat. What were they talking about? Oh, yes. "I'm sure the blue of the sky is different as well as the smell of the air in Macau. Tell me, how did you live?"
He stared at her, all of his dangerous suave self suddenly nonplussed. Until now, no one had shown the slightest interest in the life he had before London. "What do you mean?"
"Come now, Nicholas, I'm sure you were very prosperous. All these nonsensical rumors about your not having a sou because your father purposefully beggared you, I don't believe it for an instant."
"But it is true," he said slowly. "My father's intention was to beggar me. He left me only the entailed family estate in Sussex with its three thousand acres of dying land."
"What he did doesn't matter to you. You have the funds to fix everything. Indeed, I imagine you have already begun setting things to right. I am willing to wager my next allowance that you have no need at all of an heiress."
"No, you're quite right I have no need of an heiress."
"I knew it. I am equally sure you moved easily in Portuguese society in Macau. Tell me about your life there."
He gave her a brooding look. "Your eyes are the most incredible shade of blue. I was thinking of a soft blue blanket a Portuguese woman wove for me."
"A blanket? That sort of flattery could shatter a girl's heart. As for your eyes, Nicholas, they are black as any tar pit I have ever seen."
"Have you ever seen a tar pit?"
She shook her head, never looking away from his face. "Your eyes do not, thankfully, look like wet tar. They're simply black and deep and there are answers inside that you hide very well. You're a man brimming with secrets, Nicholas. I have secrets myself, only I don't know what they are."
A very strange thing to say, he thought, but said, "Shall I tell you about how beautiful I think your hair is? The shades of it-hair your color graces Titian's paintings."
He leaned toward her and lightly touched his fingertips to the curls over her ears. "I must adjust my opinion. The color of the stuff is richer than any red Titian ever produced. It is glorious hair you have, Rosalind."
"Why do you pay me such an extravagant compliment? Are you trying to atone for the blue blanket?"
"When I saw you at the ball Thursday night, I knew, I simply knew, that you were-"
"Were what?"
He frowned a moment out the window, and shrugged as he turned back to her. "You dance well," he said.
"Thank you. You
're quite right about that. Uncle Ryder taught me himself. Stop avoiding the subject, Nicholas. I wish to hear about how you lived in Macau. I want to know how you dealt with daily life in a strange land."
"Ah," he said absently, "listen to all the noise outside the carriage window. And all the people moving about- black-frocked clerks, ladies with their maids, gentlemen of leisure strolling to their clubs, swinging their canes, solicitors muttering to themselves, vendors hawking pies, flower girls surrounded with splendid color. It was the same in Macau, only you wouldn't understand what anyone was saying."
"You are extraordinarily eloquent."
"Thank you. Now-"
"Now nothing. What did you do, Nicholas? Where did you live? How did you live?" Did you love a woman? Many women?
And out of his mouth came, "I will tell you when you agree to marry me."
She stared at him for an instant, then laughed so hard she hiccupped and fell sideways.
Then she straightened up, hiccupped again, and looked over at him-stiff, silent, wary. By everything that was glorious and splendid, he was serious. Her body hummed. She felt the leap of excitement, the feeling that very suddenly, so very unexpectedly, everything was right. It didn't matter that she'd seen him for the first time the night before last. She laughed again, joyously, and said, "Yes, I should like to marry you, Nicholas Vail."
He looked suddenly panicked. "But I-"
She leaned toward him and lightly laid her finger against his mouth. Then she kissed him.
10
Rosalind read:
"The Tiber is vicious. Only slight force is needed for its hooves to smash a man's face into pulp. The Tiber has one weakness. It craves the taste of the red Lasis. The black La-sis or the brown Lasis will not do, only the red Lasis. But the red Lasis, unlike the brown and black Lasis, is wily and reveals itself to the Tiber only when it can lead it to a covered pit. The red Lasis easily jumps the pit but the Tiber does not. It falls in and the Lasis sends fire spears into it until it is dead. A man must make friends with the red Lasis. Otherwise a man is destroyed by the Tiber. Sing to the red Lasis of your loyalty just as they sing to the Dragons of the Sallas Pond, and they will protect you."
Rosalind looked up. "It is like Sarimund is writing for a child-simple, basic, crude, if you will."
Nicholas sat on a sofa opposite her, holding a large silk pillow between his hands. He said as he tossed the pillow from one hand to the other, "Or he is writing an instruction manual and wants to make certain there is no misunderstanding. It is crude, you're right about that, Rosalind, and unfortunately it gives us no information at all that is helpful." And he wondered, as he had each time she read from Sarimund's book: Why is this so clear to you and not to me?
Grayson was rubbing his hand, cramped from writing so quickly to keep up with her. He said, "Or the Tiber and the red Lasis simply stand for something else-they're metaphors."
"Metaphors for what?" Nicholas said.
Grayson shrugged. "Perhaps concepts of the afterlife. The Tiber represents Hell, the Dragons of the Sallas Pond and the red Lasis-well, Heaven seems a bit of a stretch."
"Maybe the red Lasis are angels," Rosalind said, an eyebrow raised. "They protect men, help them to survive. I don't know, Grayson; even though Sarimund writes simply, I can see the red Lasis leaping over a pit meant for the Tiber. I can even picture a fire spear."
"But note there's no description of them, it only tells the reader that the Tiber has hooves," Grayson said. "It's interesting too, you have words like 'Tiber' and 'Lasis'-foreign, strange words-but then there are words we know, like 'moon' and 'spear.' Read, Rosalind. I have a feeling this will change. I know it will change."
He dipped his nib pen into the inkwell on the floor beside him and nodded to her.
She gave Nicholas a quick look and felt her insides glow even brighter. She fully intended to marry this man-it was astounding and absolutely mad. So few days earlier she hadn't even known he existed. He was a stranger, she knew nothing about him, yet she knew, simply knew to her soul, that this man was the one for her. She thought again of what she'd said to him as they'd walked into the house earlier.
She'd looked up at him sadly, shoulders dropped, and sighed deeply as she'd whispered, "I hope no one believes me a failure."
That pulled him up short. "A failure?"
"Well, the fact is, my lord, you are not a duke."
His quick full laugh had made her want to jump on him.
Grayson snapped his fingers under her nose. "Come along, Rosalind, back from wherever you went. Why are you blushing? No, don't tell me. Read."
She studied the next sentence a moment, then raised her head."'This is strange. It's a new section, but there is no empty space between to mark the end of one and the beginning of the next. It also changes from narrative to first person." She read, "Idiscovered the Dragons of the Sallas Pond only eat every three weeks, and only fire rocks, heated for those three weeks until they're soft and glowing. They have never eaten a man. When men venture to the Pale they cower inside caves and build fires, but learn quickly that the flying creatures swoop down upon them to kill the flame. It is a frightening sight, the dying flames, the creatures sucking at the embers, the men screaming, but withal, the flying creatures do not harm men.
"The men who survive settle into the body of the Pale. Just as I did, they observe the Dragons of the Sallas Pond and see that their snouts are rich glittering gold and their eyes bright emeralds and their huge triangular scales, the sharp points glistening beneath the brilliant ice sun, are studded with diamonds.
"To the best of my knowledge, the Dragons of the Sallas Pond do not die. They exist for the now and the ever after. If a man holds himself perfectly silent, he will hear the Dragons singing to each other, perhaps telling about men, what very different creatures they are, foolish and lost and afraid. If a man has patience and can wait, the Dragons will determine if he is worthy, and if he is, as I was, the Dragons will teach him the rules of the Pale.
"For myself, their love songs moved me unutterably, for the mating of the Dragons of the Sallas Pond is for all eternity. They are your salvation. Never lie to a Dragon of the Sallas Pond. This is a rule of the Pale."
Rosalind stopped reading, frowning as she read again, silently, the last few lines. Grayson raised his hand and began rubbing it. Nicholas tossed the bright blue silk pillow to a brocade chair opposite him. He said, "Dragons of the Sal-las Pond-it sounds like a tale spun out of an incredible imagination. What is the Sallas Pond, I wonder?"
Rosalind said thoughtfully, "A sacred place, perhaps like Delphi. And Mount Olyvan could be Mount Olympus, could it not? My throat is quite dry. Should you like some tea?"
"Nutty buns?" Nicholas asked, perking up.
"Stand up, Nicholas. Let me see your belly first." He obligingly rose and waited for her to come to him. At the last moment before she touched him, she saw Grayson was gaping at her, his mouth open.
Nicholas said mildly, catching her hand, "I am thin as a pole, Rosalind, no extra flesh on me. Any man who allows himself to gain flesh in his belly is doomed, and will be spat upon. This is a rule of the Nicholas."
His words, spoken with such seriousness, undid her. Laughter spurted out of her. Grayson didn't know whether to laugh or to hit this man who was on such friendly terms with Rosalind. She'd thought to touch her hand to his belly to see if it was flat-what the devil was going on here?
"Oh, goodness," she said, "does the rule of the Nicholas apply to the ladies as well?"
"Indeed it does. Heed me, for I speak true. Should I check your belly, Rosalind? I proclaim you exempt from this rule when you carry my-when you carry a child."
Grayson leapt to his feet and opened his mouth, only to close it when he saw Rosalind's face. Her eyes were wicked. He knew that look. She gave him a bow as she walked to the bell cord and gave it a rug. When Willicombe appeared in the library a scant three seconds later, Grayson said, "Willicombe, were you waiting outside? Did you somehow
fathom that we were starving?"
"I am desolated to announce there are no more nutty buns, Master Grayson. I heard Cook say the last three were stolen right out of her kitchen, and it so upset her that she was unable to prepare more."
"Oh, dear, I swear I am not guilty," Rosalind said.
"I suspect my mother," said Grayson. "Nutty buns are her weakness. And she is sly."
Rosalind sighed. "Is it time for luncheon yet, Willicombe?"
"Actually, Miss Rosalind, I was on my way in to fetch the three of you. Cook has prepared ham slices so thin you can see through them." While Willicombe spoke, he looked at Sarimund's book. Rosalind could see his fingers twitching. He bowed once again, holding it a long moment so the full effect of his bald head could be appreciated.
Rosalind watched Grayson carefully tuck the Rules of the Pale into his jacket as they followed in Willicombe's wake.
Nicholas said, leaning close to her ear, "I could not examine the flatness of your belly. Grayson would have surely run me through with that ceremonial sword over the mantel."
"Perhaps if we slip around behind those stairs, I can kiss you quickly even as I suck in my stomach for your inspection," Rosalind said and raced down the hallway.
He laughed. "Come back, Rosalind. I will feed you a ham slice instead."
11
During luncheon, Grayson told his parents the plot of his new novel to distract them from the Rules of the Pale. His fond parents knew what he was doing, but they loved him, and told him they adored the idea of a young Oxford student dueling with a demon who held the heart of his beloved inside a magic gem, rumored to have been ripped out of Satan's crown. It wasn't bad, Rosalind thought, particularly since Grayson was making it up as he spoke.
The moment Aunt Sophie rose from the table, Rosalind pulled Nicholas into the small room that the Countess of Northcliffe had designed for ladies some two decades before.
"No," Nicholas said as he lightly touched his fingers to her cheek. "We mustn't say anything yet to anyone, particularly your aunt and uncle. We've known each other such a short time. Give them another day at least to witness how dazzled I am with you. So soft, you are, Rosalind."
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