Wizard's Daughter (Sherbrooke Brides 10)

Grayson struck a thoughtful pose and grinned at Rosalind as he said, "When she was fourteen, she decided to visit the band of gypsies camping on the eastern corner of my fa­ther's fields. I refused to go with her, and since she was afraid to go alone, one evening she took a dozen of the chil­dren to the gypsy camp, all of them wearing kerchiefs on their heads and banging cymbals and bells and hitting sticks on bottles, and whistling. The gypsies were surprised and amused and, luckily, welcomed them.

"My father was even more surprised when at the stroke of midnight several of the gypsies appeared at our door leading the children, who'd all drunk some gypsy punch Rosalind had given them. The children were vilely ill for the remain­der of the night. As I recall, my father spanked you good and proper, the one and only time, as I remember."

"Yes, he did, but it wasn't fair. There were so many other times when it would have been fair, but not that one. I in­tended us to have a marvelous lesson, perhaps sing songs with the gypsies, learn how to dance as they did, you know, twirling about the huge campfire, skirts swinging. Then I saw a little gypsy girl drinking punch out of a big barrel. When I told her we were thirsty, she gave us all some. How was I to know that it would make everyone so sick?"

"You were sick as well, Rosalind ?"

Grayson said, "No, she was the only one who wasn't ill. I was certain you didn't drink any of the punch. You didn't, did you, Rosalind ?"

"Yes. I drank at least three cups and it tasted so good. I don't know why I didn't get sick." She was aware Nicholas was giving her a brooding look. There was calculation in that look, she was sure of it, and what did that signify?

18

Tuesday afternoon, Nicholas, Rosalind , and Grayson were seated in Nicholas's small drawing room at Grillon's Hotel, cups of tea on a silver tray next to Rosalind's elbow, brought to them by Lee Po, Nicholas's man of all affairs. The two men had spoken quietly in what Nicholas told them was Mandarin Chinese. When Lee Po had bowed himself out, Grayson said to Nicholas he'd never before heard sounds like that coming from a human throat.

Nicholas laughed. "Lee Po says the same thing about En­glish, though he speaks the King's English like a little Eton­ian." He shrugged. "Since I lived and traded in Macau, it was necessary that I learn Mandarin. Lee Po corrects me regu­larly. However, I'm not able to correct his English."

Rosalind laughed. "Why didn't he speak English to us?"

"He tells me no civilized tongue should sound like a knife chipping ice."

"Where did he learn English?" Grayson asked.

"He was married to an Englishwoman, ten years, he told me, before she died in childbirth with their only child. She'd been a missionary and a teacher."

"How very sad," Rosalind said. "Why is he so completely loyal to you?"

Nicholas looked off into the distance, seeing something neither Grayson nor Rosalind could see. "I saved his life when a Portuguese governor wanted to hang him."

Rosalind gave him a shrewd look. "What did you do to the Portuguese governor?"

He smiled at her. "I merely told him what would happen if he attempted anything like that again."

Rosalind said thoughtfully, "Lee Po was looking at me rather pointedly. Does that mean he knows we will marry?"

Nicholas nodded.

"It's time to see if my tongue can form these strange sounds. How do I say thank you to him?"

"Shesh shesh is how you would pronounce it."

Rosalind said it over a couple of times, then called out, "Shesh shesh, Lee Po!"

She heard him mumble something and grinned at Nicholas. "What did he say?"

"He said you are welcome, redheaded soon-to-be lady­ship of his vaunted lordship."

"You made that up!"

He gave her a crooked grin that made her knees lock. It was powerful, that grin of his.

Grayson asked, "Does Lee Po know about the book?"

Nicholas nodded. "I believe Lee Po knows about every­thing that is important to me."

"Speaking of the book," Rosalind said as she opened the Rules of the Pale, "we haven't much time. I must be fitted for my wedding gown in two hours. I believe we have time to finish."

Grayson said, "Lorelei told me she is to accompany you. She told me she helped select the pattern."