She hesitated, biting her lip. 'I encountered Mr. du Mond today,' she said slowly. 'I said nothing about Magick, and he did not ask. However, he seemed quite friendly.' Her tone said more than that, and he was pleased that he had not read her wrongly.
'I should have warned you that he is something of a rake,' he replied solemnly. 'I hope he did not become overly familiar?'
'Not precisely, no.' She grimaced. 'But I did guess-that if he had any encouragement, he might.'
'He has his orders to treat you with respect,' Cameron assured her, 'but I would not believe anything he promised if I were you, nor anything he told you about himself. He once claimed to one of my maids that he was the rightful heir to the throne of Russia, and that if she would come away with him he would make her a czarina.'
She burst into laughter at that, as he had hoped she would. 'No! Not truly! Did she believe him?'
He chuckled. 'She smacked his face and told him to take his fairy tales to children, who would find them entertaining. I do my best not to employ people with more hair than wit.'
She was still laughing. 'Good for her! Well then, if he is so easily put off, I shan't worry about him. Thank you again, Jason. My diligence will be all the greater for the promised treat, I promise you!'
'I counted on that,' he said teasingly, and grinned again at her blush and wry smile.
She resumed her place and position on the couch, taking up in her book where she had left off. He watched her for a few moments more, then blanked the mirror.
He did not summon the Salamander, but it appeared anyway. 'I assume you overheard?' he asked it.
It spun lazily, once, then came to rest on its obsidian plate. 'Do you want du Mond to have free access to her?' it asked.
'He won't try anything physical-not here, at any rate,' he replied. 'Not while she is under my protection. And, quite frankly, if he intends to say anything more to her, I want to know about it, and I want to see if she says anything about it.' He thought for a moment. 'She didn't precisely report his conversation, after all.'
'One does not tell one's employer that another in his employ called him mad,' the Salamander pointed out. 'Not only would that be rude, but it might reflect badly on her and her ambitions. It could be assumed that she was angling for his position, which is a permanent one, whereas hers is only temporary-and after all, it would be her word against his.'
'True.' That was an aspect that had not occurred to him, and he was glad the Salamander had pointed it out. 'Making claims like that could actually get her dismissed if I believed him instead of her.' 'And she is no fool; she would like to continue in this position as long as possible.' The creature sounded smug. 'She sometimes talks to herself in the bath.'
Which was, of course, the one place where he would not spy upon her! Nor did he intend to start now, however relevant the information might be.
'You may continue to eavesdrop, and tell me if you hear anything interesting,' he told the Salamander. 'I would just as soon not hear girlish secrets, however.'
The Salamander grinned. 'As you wish.' It acted as if it had something it was not going to tell him now, and however much his curiosity nagged at him, he was not going to counter his previous order!
'You might as well come with me since you're here,' he told it instead. 'I'm going to select more books. We are going to intensify the search tonight.'
Because I dare not take the chance that the beast is overcoming the man, he thought, grimly, as he led the way to the bookcases. Nor can I take the chance that I can control what is happening. Perhaps this is the result of pain, perhaps the result of the narcotics I am forced to use-or perhaps it is not. I have no options.
By the time her holiday comes around, I fear that Rose will be in desperate need of it. But with luck-I may by then have found my key.
CHAPTER
NINE
