The door to Olympia's bedchamber was closed. Jared's mouth thinned. He raised his hand and knocked loudly.
"Go away," Olympia called in a muffled, distracted tone. "I am very busy."
"Olympia, I wish to speak with you."
"I really do not have time to chitchat about who is in charge around this house, Mr. Chillhurst. I have work to do."
"Hellfire and damnation, woman, you will cease ordering me about as though I were a member of your staff."
Jared dropped his hand to the knob. He twisted it violently, half expecting to find the door locked.
To his surprise, it was not.
The door opened with a great deal more force than Jared had intended. It slammed against the wall with a crash that made Olympia start in her chair.
She glowered at him from her writing desk. "I told you I was busy, sir."
"Too busy to speak with your husband?" Jared closed the door and strolled into the room with a nonchalance he did not feel.
Olympia's brows drew together in a repressive scowl. "I am not feeling very much in charity with you at the moment, my lord. I cannot believe that you did not tell me the truth about yourself."
"Devil take it, Olympia, I have been attempting to put that nonsense about my being the Guardian behind me for years."
Olympia's eyes went to his black velvet patch and her expression softened. "I realize that the title must bring back terrible memories. But it is an important piece of the puzzle. It may be a key to this entire project."
"It is not the key. How could it possibly be the key? I admit I am known as the Guardian within the circle of my family but I do not give a damn about the diary or the treasure. The warning about me is a lot of foolish nonsense. You must not take it seriously."
Understanding lit Olympia's gaze. "That was why you did not tell me the truth in the beginning. You were afraid of how I would interpret the warning. You thought I would assume the worst about you."
"I did not want you to fear me. Bloody hell, madam, I am not the ghost of Captain Jack."
Olympia tapped her pen against a sheet of foolscap. "I never said you were. I do not believe in ghosts, my lord."
"Then how can I possibly have anything to do with the riddle of the diary?" Jared demanded.
Olympia's gaze grew thoughtful. "That is the problem I am attempting to sort out at the moment, sir. I must discover the connection between the warning and the Master of the Siryn and the rest that I have learned. Kindly take yourself off. I know you are not interested in this and I cannot concentrate when you are standing about yelling at me."
"I am not yelling at you."
"Yes, you are. Honestly, Jared, your emotional nature is making this very difficult. I understand, of course, but I really must insist that you remove yourself from my bedchamber."
Outrage washed over Jared. "Do not dare to throw me out of your bedchamber, madam."
"Why not?" She eyed him warily. "It is my bedchamber and at the moment I do not want you in it."
"Is that right?" Jared swooped down on her and plucked her from the chair. "In that case, we shall adjourn to my bedchamber."
"Mr. Chillhurst, put me down this instant." Olympia grabbed her cap as it started to slide off her hair. "I have work to do."
"Indeed you do. It is high time you performed a few of your wifely duties." Jared stormed through the connecting door that linked his bedchamber with Olympia's.
He stalked to the vast bed and tossed Olympia lightly down on top of it. Her cap slipped off and her brilliant red hair spilled out across the pillows. Her gown had climbed above her knees, revealing the enticing length of her stocking-clad legs.
"Siren," Jared whispered. Desire surged through him, a powerful wave that threatened to sweep him away.
He fell on top of Olympia, pinning her to the counterpane. His body was already hard. He could feel the fire in his veins and the driving need in his loins.
Olympia's eyes widened in astonishment. "Good heavens, Mr. Chillhurst, it's the middle of the day."
"Allow me to inform you, madam, that it is the custom in certain lands to make love in the middle of the day."
"Really?" The astonishment in Olympia's eyes turned into sensual speculation. "In broad daylight?"
"The notion would no doubt shock certain dull, narrow-minded people who are not of the world. But we are different, Olympia."
"Yes." Olympia's smile was slow and infinitely tender. Her eyes filled with sensual welcome. "We are different, sir."
He kissed her throat and felt her melt. She thrust her fingers into his hair and arched against him.
A hot, pulsing joy seized Jared. Olympia's intoxicating response to him opened the floodgates of his own passion. She was his, he thought exultantly. She could not resist him even when she was annoyed with him.
She must love him. She had to love him.
With sudden, searing understanding, he realized that he had been waiting to hear the words from her. Why had she never spoken them aloud? he wondered.
Surely she loved him.
He pushed the matter aside as passion had its way. Olympia smiled her siren's smile and drew her slippered foot up along his leg.
"It is very fortunate that we found each other, is it not, my lord? I do not believe there is another man on the face of the earth who would be in tune with me as you are."
"I am pleased that you think so." Jared cupped one soft breast possessively. "Because there is certainly no other female on the face of the earth who understands my nature as you do."
A long while later Jared reluctantly rolled off Olympia and relaxed against the pillows. He put one arm behind his head and contemplated the ceiling with a sense of bone-deep satisfaction.
Olympia stirred and stretched beside him. "Making love in the middle of the day is a very pleasant custom, sir, is it not? We shall have to experiment with it again soon."
"We will most definitely do so." Jared cradled her close against his side. "I trust you will not attempt to throw me out of your bedchamber again in the near future."
"I shall certainly think twice about it," Olympia said very seriously.
Jared scowled. "I meant what I said earlier, little siren. You may bewitch me with a glance or a smile, but you will not order me about as though I were still in your employ. I will be master in my own home just as I am the master of my business affairs. And I will be master of my wife. Is that quite clear?"
"That's it." Olympia sat straight up in bed, heedless of her nudity. She looked down at Jared, her eyes alight with excitement. "Master of your wife."
"I am glad you agree, madam." Jared studied the beautiful curve of her bare breasts. "A man's got to put his foot down at some point."
"Master of your wife. Jared, you have always called me a siren."
"So I have." Jared traced the outline of her left nipple with the tip of his thumb. "That is because you are one."
"Do you not understand, sir?" Olympia knelt beside him amid the tumbled bedclothes. "You have just called yourself the master of the siren. Captain Jack was the Master of the Siryn and you are his descendent. You are the new Master of the Siryn."
Jared belatedly comprehended the direction of her logic. He groaned. "Olympia, you have stretched logic too far."
"No, I have not been stretching it far enough." Olympia bounced out of bed. "I must get back to work immediately. Be off with you, Jared. You distract me."
"Madam, I happen to be in my own bedchamber."
"Oh, yes. So you are. Then you must excuse me. I must get back to my bedchamber." Olympia whirled about and rushed through the open door.
Jared contemplated the view of her sweetly curved derriere until it vanished around the edge of the door. Then he sighed and sat up slowly.