Amaryllis

"How do you do." Amaryllis gave the three a gracious smile.

"Miss Lark." Calvin tipped his silvermaned head in a patrician gesture. His voice was crisp and formal.

"A pleasure," Beatrice murmured. Several generations of good breeding hid most but not all of the cool reserve in her voice.

"Nice to meet you. Miss Lark," Dillon said cheerfully. "Aren't these artifacts like totally synergistic? Leave it to Lucas to find them in the middle of a jungle. Dad says Lucas has the luck of the devil."

"They're incredible." Amaryllis seemed oblivious to the undercurrents that were flowing back and forth between Lucas and the older Ryes. "Absolutely fascinating."

"You must excuse us." Calvin grasped Beatrice's elbow. "I want to have a word with Senator Sheffield."

"Of course," Amaryllis said. "Nice to meet you."

Beatrice favored Lucas with a measure of silent condemnation before she moved off into the crowd with her husband.

Dillon hung back. He waited until his parents were out of earshot before he took a step closer to Lucas. "Can I stop by your office next week? I need to talk to you. It's really important."

"Sure." Lucas glanced at the retreating Ryes. A whisper of the old sense of loss flickered through him. He squelched it with ruthless will.

There had been a time when he had been welcomed into the Rye household. He had valued the tenuous ties of quasi-adopted kinship far more than the Ryes had ever realized. Intellectually, he had acknowledged that Calvin and Beatrice's acceptance of him was prompted by pragmatic business considerations, not true affection. Nevertheless, they had been warm and cordial. Lucas had settled for the reasonable facsimile of a family that the Ryes had provided.

He had tried to be realistic about the situation. He knew that they had all been bound together by the brilliantly successful partnership between Jackson and himself.

But three years ago, Jackson Rye had been murdered by the pirates who had invaded the Western Islands. His mother had made it clear that the Ryes held Lucas morally responsible. After all, Lucas had been the one with experience in the islands. He had been raised amid their dangers.

Dillon leaned closer with an air of urgency. "Listen, Lucas, do me a favor and don't mention this to Mom and Dad, okay? I don't want them to know that you and I are going to talk business. I want to handle this on my own."

Lucas raised his brows. "What kind of business are we going to talk about?"

"I'll explain later." Dillon lifted a hand in a quick, casual farewell. "See you around. Miss Lark." He hurried off into the crowd.

Amaryllis glanced at Lucas. "Rye. Wasn't that the name of your partner?"

"Jackson Rye. He was Calvin and Beatrice's oldest son. Dillon is their youngest."

Amaryllis frowned. "Jackson Rye was killed at the start of the Western Islands Action, wasn't he? The news accounts called him a hero."

"Yes."

"Did the family inherit their son's share of Lodestar Exploration?"

"The Ryes are no longer involved with the company," Lucas said bluntly. "I bought them out eight months after Jackson was killed."

"I see."

The Ryes had wanted nothing from Lodestar except money after Jackson was killed, Lucas reflected. They certainly hadn't wanted their quasi-adopted relative. Lucas had politely unadopted himself.

Two more people emerged from the crowd. They homed in on Lucas with the skill of experts. Several heads turned to follow the handsome, sleekly coiffed man. The extremely thin blonde at his side carried a camera.

Amaryllis made a tiny, excited sound. "Is that Nelson Buriton?"

"Yeah. Try to contain yourself."

"Trent." Nelson came to a halt. "Knew you'd be around here somewhere. Hell of a crowd, hub?" He waved a manicured hand at his companion. "Elaine Crew. Friend of mine. Photographer with the New Seattle Times. Here on assignment. Me, I'm not working tonight."

"Amaryllis Lark, friend of mine," Lucas said.

Nelson Buriton turned the full power of his famous smile on Amaryllis. He held out his hand. "Miss Lark. A pleasure."

"It's wonderful to meet you in person. I feel as if I already know you." Amaryllis blushed furiously. "I suppose everyone tells you that, don't they?"

Nelson winked. "Hey, comes with the territory." He turned back to Lucas. "I told Elaine here that I'd talk you into letting her get a shot of you standing next to the display case. What d'ye say?"

Elaine smiled. "I'd really appreciate it, Mr. Trent. My editor at the Times will be grateful."

Finding himself cornered by reporters and photographers did not usually fill Lucas with delight, but tonight he was almost relieved by the interruption. He needed something to force his thoughts back to the business of the evening.

"Why not?" Lucas said. He set the glass of watery punch down on a nearby table and waited with stoic patience while Elaine unsheathed her camera.

Just as she was about to snap the picture, Amaryllis slipped gracefully out of range.

"No, wait, I want you in the shot, too. Miss Lark." Elaine lowered her camera and motioned Amaryllis back to stand beside Lucas. "Please."

Amaryllis shook her head politely but firmly. "I don't think that would be right. Mr. Trent is the one who found these wonderful relics. I had nothing to do with it."

"But you're with Trent, aren't you?" Nelson gave Lucas a speculative glance. "Someone said that you had recently registered with a marriage agency. I assumed that Miss Lark was a date."

"She is," Lucas said.

"But this is just an initial, get-acquainted date," Amaryllis interjected hastily. "Lucas and I hardly know each other." She gave Lucas a meaningful look. "Isn't that right?"

Her determination not to be photographed standing next to him exacerbated Lucas's simmering irritation. She was happy to gush over Madison Sheffield and Nelson Buriton, he thought, but she didn't want to appear in the newspapers with the man who had brought her to the party.

He gave her a deliberate smile. "I'm sure we'll be much better acquainted before the evening is over. After all, our agency claims to hit a perfect match on the first date ninety-four point six percent of the time. That's one of the reasons I registered with them."

Nelson uttered his famous, well-modulated chuckle. "After covering Trent all these years, I can assure you that he doesn't believe in wasting time. The Iceman is a man of action. Miss Lark."

Amaryllis turned a vivid shade of pink. She did not exactly breathe fire, but Lucas was almost positive he could see the flames in her spectacular green eyes. For some reason, her glare did wonders for his mood.

"So the rumors are true, Mr. Trent?" Elaine asked. "You are registered?"

"It's time," Lucas said. "I'm not getting any younger."

Nelson nodded. "I know what you mean. I'll be registering myself one of these days. Will you be staying here in New Seattle after you get married, or will you return to the Western Islands?"

"I intend to run my business from the city." Lucas watched Amaryllis. "It's time for Lodestar Exploration to diversify and expand its scope beyond the search for jelly-ice. I'll need to be here at company headquarters to oversee that change in direction."

"Sounds like new horizons for Lodestar." Nelson gave Lucas a speculative look. "Any chance that one of those new ventures might be a shot at politics? Your name has come up as a possible candidate for city-state senator. Any interest?"

"None whatsoever," Lucas said. "If you want to talk politics, I suggest you corner Sheffield."

"I spoke to him earlier." Nelson winked. "He's on an agency date, too. I have a hunch he'll be announcing his engagement soon."

"Not much of a surprise there," Elaine muttered as she made an adjustment on her camera. "Everyone knows that the voters will never go for an unmarried governor. Especially not one who's so big on founders' values." She gave Amaryllis a determined smile. "Now then, Miss Lark, if you'll just step a little closer to Mr. Trent, I'll get this shot, and then Nelson and I will stop pestering you."