may I escort you to the grand saloon, Miss Delaney?“
She slipped her arm in his. „I’m not nervous, you
understand.“
„No, of course not,“ he said gently. „But I am. So perhaps
you’ll be persuaded to bear me company this evening. A man
always feels more confident with a pretty woman at his side.“
She tried to hide the relief that cascaded through her. „I
don’t see why not.“ She didn’t look at him as she permitted
him to escort her from the stateroom. „You’ve been very kind
to me.“
She was glad for his polite chatter as well as his silent
support as they traversed the long, glittering expanse of the
saloon. The chandeliers shimmered with color, borrowing
brilliance from the stained-glass skylights and casting a festive
glow on the scene at the opposite end of the saloon. The long
dinner table was covered with a rich lace cloth and set with
fine china and tall white candles in silver holders. Four
musicians played on a raised circular platform a few yards
away from the dinner table. They were quite skilled but no one
was paying any attention to their music, Silver noticed. The
men and women seated at the table were too involved with one
another, their laughter and conversation so loud the music
could scarcely be heard. Dinner was already in progress and
four white-coated servants were bustling around the table
filling wineglasses and serving roast chicken from a silver
tray.
Her gaze flew to the head of the table. Nicholas was
dressed entirely in stunning black and white, his golden hair
shining with light as he bent to speak to the lovely red-haired
woman sitting on his left. He seemed very amused by the
woman, she noticed with a pang that she permitted to last only
until the instant she identified its nature. She swiftly shifted
her glance to Valentin. „I don’t see Mikhail.“
„Mikhail feels uncomfortable at most social functions and
Nicky seldom insists he attend.“
No one appeared to notice their arrival, and Valentin was
unobtrusively seating her near the foot of the table when
Nicholas’s voice rang out over the hubbub of conversation.
„Not there, Valentin.“ He casually gestured to a chair farther
up the table. „Seat her beside our good friend Bassinger, and
then come and sit by me. We want our newcomer to get
acquainted with our other guests, don’t we?“
„Do we?“ Valentin murmured. He shrugged resignedly, but
whispered in Silver’s ear as he escorted her to the chair
Nicholas had indicated, „Be careful, Bassinger is…“ He
trailed off. „I’ll see you after dinner!“
Silver nodded as she seated herself between a plump, pretty
woman in a violet taffeta gown and a slim elegant gentleman
with pale green eyes. „Thank you, Valentin.“
Valentin hesitated and then muttered something beneath his
breath before stalking toward the head of the table. He threw
himself into the chair at Nicholas’s right and immediately
reached for the wine goblet beside his plate.
„Count Marinov appears to be disturbed at being forced to
share you with the rest of us.“ The man at Silver’s left leaned
toward her and smiled intimately. „Who could blame him?
You’re very lovely, Miss…?“
„Silver Delaney.“ She glanced at him briefly. She judged
him to be middle-aged; his features were nondescript and gray
threaded his dark hair like winter frost. His light green eyes
reminded her also of frost. Even though his lips were smiling,
his eyes were cold. „And there’s no reason why Count
Marinov should be disturbed.“
„I’m Lee Bassinger.“ The man’s smiled remained intact.
„I’ve heard a number of very interesting things about you. I
understand you’re Savron’s property, but tonight you appear
with Marinov. Is Nicholas sharing you?“
„I’m no man’s property.“ Silver watched as a servant
placed a chicken breast on her plate with silver tongs. „I’ve
heard of you too, Mr. Bassinger.“
Bassinger’s lips tightened. „Really? His highness has
spoken of me?“
She shook her head as she picked up her knife and fork and
cut into her chicken with exquisite precision. „Robert Danfold.
He said you were a very rich man with many riverboats in
your shipping company and offices in St. Louis, Memphis, and
New Orleans.“
His smile deepened. „That’s true. I’m as rich as you could
wish, and I can be very generous if a woman pleases me.“
She took a bite of her chicken. It was delicious, delicately
flavored with herbs. „He also said you were stupid enough to
lose this fine riverboat to Nicholas in a poker game.“
He stiffened, a flare of anger twisting his nondescript
features to ugliness. „Stupid? I don’t like being called stupid
by a whore.“
„I’m not a whore.“ She didn’t look at him as she began
eating in earnest. „But youmost certainly are stupid, if what
Robert says is true.“
His hand suddenly fastened on her wrist with painful force.
„I’m not – “
„Let me go.“ She glanced at his now livid face with eyes as
cold as his own. „Or I’ll skewer you instead of the chicken
with this fork.“
He glared at her with a venom greater than any she had
ever encountered. Then his hand slowly released her and he
smiled again. „You have spirit and I admire that in a woman.“
He was lying. Silver thought. He was an easy man to read
and was obviously one who liked only fear and respect to
surround him.
„I’m sure we’ll get along very well.“ Bassinger patted the
wrist he had so recently grasped with such cruelty. „You can
always count on me for any assistance you may require.“
Silver began to eat again. „I need no assistance.“
She proceeded to ignore him as the servant brought another
course and set it before her.
„Why did you do it?“ Valentin lifted his brooding gaze
from his wineglass to Nicholas’s face. „It would have done no
harm to let me sit beside her. I would have – “
„Protected her,“ Nicholas finished for him. He smiled and
shook his head. „But I don’t want her protected.“
„I know,“ Valentin said sourly. „But why Bas-singer?“
„She appears to think I’m Satan incarnate. I wanted her to
see there are a few men more degenerate than I.“ Nicholas
lifted his wineglass to his lips, his dark eyes dancing over the
rim. „Besides, she’s obviously come to no harm. She seems
more interested in her dinner than anything going on around
her. The lady has a hearty appetite.“
„I’ve noticed.“ Valentin’s tone was abstracted as his gaze
followed Nicholas’s to rest on Silver. „She was nervous about
coming here tonight.“
Nicholas paused in the act of setting his glass back on the
table. „Really? I find that difficult to believe. She appears
quite composed.“
„She has courage.“ Valentin’s hand tightened on the stem
of his glass. „Dammit, Nicky, I tell you there’s something
wrong. She told me she’d never met a count before. How
could that be, if she knew Andre in Hell’s Bluff?“
„I have no idea. Perhaps Andre was hesitant about
confiding his title to the citizens of such a democratic society.“
„Andre?“ Valentin’s tone was unbelieving.
Nicholas shrugged. „Perhaps he had changed from what we
knew of him. Men do change.“
Valentin nodded and then was silent for a moment before
bursting out, „But just look at her, Nicky. She doesn’t belong
here.“
Nicholas had been avoiding looking at Silver all evening