'You'd best help him to his feet,' Nathan said. 'He's as weak as a… child.'
The two men started laughing again. 'You'd best assist him, Sterns,' Caine said. 'He suffered more
blows than I did.'
'You never give up, do you, Caine?' Nathan asked. 'You know good and well I won this fight.'
'Like hell,' Caine argued, using Nathan's favorite expression. 'You barely scratched me.'
Jade had heard enough. She whirled around, determined to get as far away from the two imbeciles as possible. Caine reached out and grabbed the hem of her gown. 'Sit down, Jade.'
'Where?' she cried out. 'You've destroyed every chair in this room.'
'Jade, you and I are going to have a little talk. Nathan and I have come to an agreement.' Caine turned
to Nathan. 'She's going to be difficult.'
Nathan nodded. 'She always was.'
Caine put his goblet down on the floor, then slowly stood up. 'Nathan?' he said as he stared at the woman glaring so prettily up at him. 'Think you can crawl out of here and give us a few minutes' privacy?'
'Crawl, my arse,' Nathan growled as he stumbled to his feet.
'I don't want to be alone with you,' Jade interjected.
'Too bad,' Caine countered.
'Your parents are upstairs,' she said when he tried to take her into his arms.
She waited for that statement to get a proper reaction and was unhappy to see that Caine didn't seem the least bit bothered. 'They heard all the noise,' she said then. 'Sterns told them you were disputing the issue of crops.'
'The issue of crops?' Caine asked Sterns.
The butler nodded, then turned to walk out of the room with Nathan at his side. 'The rotation of crops,
to be more specific, mi'lord. It was the best I could think of given the circumstances.'
'They didn't believe him,' Jade whispered, sounding as though she were confessing a grave sin.
'I would imagine they wouldn't,' Caine answered dryly. He noticed that she suddenly looked close to tears.
'And that upset you, Jade?'
'No, that doesn't upset me,' she cried out. She was so angry with him she couldn't even come up with
a suitable insult. 'I'm going up to my room,' she whispered. 'I need a few minutes of privacy.'
She didn't mention she was going to pack her belongings, certain Caine or Nathan would try to waylay her. She simply wasn't up to another confrontation.
Without a hint of a farewell, Jade turned and hurried out of the room. Lord, how she wanted to weep. She couldn't, of course, until after she'd had a long talk with her uncle. Harry needed to understand.
She didn't want him to worry about her.
She found Harry in the dining room, carefully examining the silver collection. He tucked a fork in his
sash when she called out to him, then turned to smile at her. 'I'm taking all the silver with me, girl.
Caine would want me to have it for my collection.'
'Yes,' she answered. 'I'm certain he would want you to have it. Uncle? I need to speak to you alone, please.'
The men immediately filed out into the hallway. Jade sat down next to her uncle, took hold of his hand, and quietly told him what she was going to do. She also told him about the last two weeks, though she deliberately left out mention of her nightmares and her intimacy with Caine. Both of those facts would only upset Harry. Besides, he couldn't do anything about either now. No, he couldn't ward off her nightmares, and he couldn't make her quit caring about Caine.
Her uncle grunted several times during her explanation, but finally agreed. He didn't have any doubts in his mind that she'd be able to take care of herself. She was his protegee, after all, and as good as the best of them.
'I'll be waiting for you at the cottage,' he promised. He pulled her over to kiss her cheek, then said, 'Watch your backside, girl. Vermin like to sneak up on a person. Remember McKindry.'
She nodded. Harry was referring to the pirate who'd marked her back with his whip. He had been vermin and he had snuck up behind her. Her uncle liked to use that memory as a lesson. 'I'll remember,' she promised.
Jade left her uncle taking inventory of Caine's possessions and went upstairs to pack. She passed Colin's room on her way to her own. The door was closed, but she could hear the Duke's booming laughter interspersed with his wife's loud, inelegant sobs. Colin's mama was obviously overcome with emotion
and was probably weeping all over her son.
Colin's safety wasn't her concern any longer. She'd finished her task, she told herself. It was over now, finished.
Jimbo and Matthew were waiting for her in the hallway. Jimbo handed her the farewell gift she'd asked Harry to have him fetch.
'We'll be going with you, won't we?' Matthew asked, his voice a low whisper.
Jade nodded. 'I'll meet you out back.'
'I'll get Caine's horses ready for the ride,' Jimbo whispered.
