the inscription."
Jade shook her head. She thrust the platter into Sterns' hands. "Hide it."
"I beg your pardon?"
"Hide it, Sterns," she repeated. She looked around the room, then asked, "Are there any other special things Caine would rather keep?"
"The silver tea set on the side bar," he said. "I do believe it has special meaning to mi'lord."
"Did the King give him that, too?"
"No, the set came from his grandmother."
"Hide it as well, Sterns. Put the things under Caine's bed. They'll be safe there."
"Mi'lady?" Sterns asked. "Are you feeling ill?"
"No."
"You look ill," Sterns announced. "And you're walking around as though you're in a trance. I know something's wrong…"
Jade walked over to the door, then turned back to Sterns. "You have been very kind to me, sir. I will always remember that."
Sterns looked startled. Jade was about to close the door behind her when Caine's command reached her.
"Jade!"
The bellow made the crystal goblets rattle. Jade showed no reaction to the summons, but Sterns jumped
a foot.
"I believe your employer has just heard some distressing news," she said. "I had hoped that my uncle would wait… it doesn't matter."
Sterns followed her into the entrance. When she started up the stairs, he called out to her. "I believe mi'lord would like you to go to him, Lady Jade."
She continued up the stairs. "I would be happy to stand by your side," he promised. "I know his temper can be frightening at times."
Sterns waited until she was out of sight, then rushed inside the drawing room.
The butler had difficulty maintaining his steely composure when he spotted Colin. "My God, is that you, Colin?" he stammered out.
"Hello, Sterns," Colin said. "It's good to see you again. Are you still ordering your lord around?"
Sterns was slow to recover. "I give it my best," he whispered.
"Is this one a servant, Caine?" Harry asked.
"He's a dictator, not a servant," Colin announced with a grin.
Sterns turned to the older man with the obvious poor eyesight. He tried not to gape.
"Is me supper ready yet?" Harry bellowed.
Sterns decided this one had to be Jade's uncle. The stranger sitting next to Colin was too young. "It is almost ready," he told him before finally turning to Caine. "I must speak to you at once in the foyer, mi'lord. It is a most important matter."
"Not now, Sterns," Caine said, his tone weary. "Talk to me later."
"Perhaps you didn't hear me," Sterns countered. "There is a problem that must be resolved immediately. It concerns Lady Jade."
Caine wasn't at all surprised. "What's she burning now? The kitchens?"
"Mi'lord, this isn't the time for jests," the butler snapped.
"Do I look like I'm jesting, Sterns?"
The butler folded his arms across his chest. "Lady Jade isn't burning anything at the moment," he said. "She's leaving."
That announcement got just the reaction Sterns was hoping for. He moved out of his lord's way when
he bounded to his feet, and nodded with satisfaction when Caine roared, "The hell she is!"
The butler waited until his employer had left the room, then turned back to Jade's uncle. "Dinner will
be served in just a moment," he announced, his haughty tone of voice fully restored.
Caine took the stairs two at a time. His heart was pounding. The thought of her leaving him was untenable. For the first time in his life, he was in a panic. He didn't like the feeling at all.
As soon as he threw the door open to her bedroom, he saw her. The panic left in a rush. He slammed
the door shut behind him and leaned against it.
He took a deep breath to try to calm himself. She was pretending he wasn't there. She stood by the side of the bed, folding a gold-colored gown. Her satchel was open and nearly filled to the top.
"You might as well quit packing," he said, amazed that his voice sounded so forceful. "You aren't going anywhere."
Jade turned to confront him. She was determined to give him a piece of her mind before taking her leave, but when she caught his expression, her heart fell to her stomach and she couldn't remember any of the words she wanted to say to him.
He was so furious, the muscle in the side of his jaw flexed. She stared at it in fascination while she tried
to find her courage again.
"I'm never going to let you leave me, Jade," he said. "Never. Do you hear me?"
She thought everyone in the village was hearing him. Her ear rang from his roar. It took all her strength
to stand up to him. She slowly shook her head. "You called me a whore," she whispered.
The anguish in her voice got through to him. Some of his anger eased away. "No, I did not call you a whore."
"You thought it," she countered. "You were about to shout it to the world."
"I wasn't," he returned. "Jade, we have more important issues to discuss now."
She let out a gasp. "More important than calling me a whore?"
He moved away from the door and started toward her. She immediately backed up a space. "Don't
come near me. I never want you to touch me again."
"Then you're going to be damned miserable for the rest of your days, Jade. I'm going to be touching
you all the time."
"You don't really want me," she shouted. "You want the vulnerable, weak woman I pretended to be, Caine. You don't know the real me. No, you don't," she continued when he shook his head at her. "I'm really very strong, determined, too. I just pretended to need you, you daft man, so that you would feel honor bound to stay by my side. I used all the ploys a weak woman would use, too. Yes, I did! I complained at every opportunity, and I wept whenever I needed to get my way."
He grabbed hold of her and jerked her up against him. "I'm leaving," she cried out. "Can't you get that through your thick…"
"You're staying."
"I hate you," she whispered before she burst into tears.
He rested his chin on the top of her head. "No, you don't hate me," he whispered.
"I hate everything about you," she wailed between racking sobs. "But most of all I hate the way you contradict me."
"Jade?"
"What?"
"Are your tears a pretense now?"
She couldn't quit crying long enough to give him a clear answer. "They most certainly are," she stammered out. "I never, ever cry," she added a moment later. "Only weak women cry."
"But you're not weak, are you, love?" he asked. His smile was gentle, his voice as well, but his grip continued to be as strong as iron, even after she quit her struggle to get away from him.
He wanted to hold her in his arms for the rest of his days. "Jade?"