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Here.
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A QUEEN S DOWRY
Luke glanced down at the cup, brows raised, and Conall said
gruffly, I figured it might, and that you d be wound tight as a
spring by the time you made it here. Thought you could use
something to help you relax.
Wine before supper? Luke said mildly, but reached out to
take the offered drink all the same. The court would be positively
scandalized.
The court can go to hell, Conall snapped, his expression
turning livid. It s none of their damned business how you cope
with the demands that they ve put upon you.
Of course it is. Faint bitterness turned Luke s words harsh.
He pushed away from the door and strode past Conall, dropping
into a chair on the other side of the room. He took a long sip of the
wine, then twisted the stem of the cup between his fingers,
watching the gleaming silver spin in the lamp light. I m their
king. Everything I do is their business.
It doesn t have to be. Conall came over to stand near him.
Sitting, Luke had to crane his neck back to look up at him. Conall
noticed and dropped down to a crouch before his chair. His fingers
dug deep furrows in its upholstered arm. You could tell them to
mind their own business.
Luke laughed and drank some more from the goblet. No. I
could not. I could tell them, but they would not heed me.
Conall sat back on his heels, his brows lowered. Well, that s
no way to rule.
Luke glanced up at him, and Conall blew out his breath on a
sigh.
Lad, you don t think my men knew everything about my
business, do you? It s not their place. They knew their tasks, and
they knew they could trust me to steer them true. They don t need
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A QUEEN S DOWRY
any more than that.
You ran a ship, Luke said softly, trying to keep his words
gentle so Conall would not take offense. I run a country. It is not
the same.
It s not so different as you might think.
No? You can leave any of your men who displease you at the
nearest dock to look for other work. What am I to do with the ones
who displease me? I cannot purge the country of them. I must
endure and work with them, despite it all. He sighed and rubbed
the heel of his hand over his brow, but it did little to ease the
tension that was making his head throb. And I cannot afford to
speak my mind and give insult to those who I am meant to be
entering diplomatic negotiations with. Conall He dropped his
hand and looked at the other man. What were you thinking?
Conall rocked back on his heels, his brows climbing high. I m
not sure what you mean.
Luke checked his impatience and studied Conall s face. You
mean it, he muttered, and brought his hand up to his brow again.
Gods, that s almost worse. Conall, you can t go around insulting
the people who upset you. Now they ll be less willing to make
concessions when it comes time to negotiate, and my job will be
ten times harder. He brought his other hand up, too, and pressed
their heels against his eyes. He drew a shuddering breath. I am
trying to send them away satisfied despite the fact that I will not
give in to their ridiculous demand that I forsake you. You are not
making this any easier for me.
You heard about that, did you?
Luke dropped his hands to his lap and stared at Conall. You
didn t really imagine that word wouldn t have gotten around, did
you? You threatened that man
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A QUEEN S DOWRY
I did no such thing. Conall surged to his feet. And I sure as
hell hope you didn t hear the whole story, for I d not have
expected you of all people to criticize me for coming to her
defense.
Luke raised his head. What? he said quietly. Her? I m afraid
you ve lost me.
Conall snorted and shook his head. Well, you haven t even
heard the half of it, then.
Will you tell me?
Conall dropped into another chair and drank from the open
bottle. Your sister, lad. Addy. He called her
Luke waited, but Conall s mouth screwed up and he didn t
continue. Luke straightened, leaning forward. What? What did he
say about her?
Gods. Conall dropped his head against the chair s back.
You re as bad as she is, forcing me to repeat it.
The corner of Luke s mouth turned up, but he could not
summon a terribly bright smile. A pirate unwilling to curse?
Laughter lurked in his voice. Who would ever believe it?
Conall glowered across the distance between them. I ll swear
all I please, but not about your sister.
Just tell me, Luke said softly. I ve a right to know what s
being said.
Conall grunted, then gave a half-laugh. That s what she said,
too. You re more alike than I sometimes give you credit for. The
look he sent Luke was reluctant and appraising. A loud-mouthed
cunt, he said, like a child gulping down a vile medicine just to be
done with it. That s what he called her, and more besides, but that
was the worst of it.
Shock washed over Luke first, followed quickly by anger. His
62
A QUEEN S DOWRY
spine straightened, and his hands clenched on the arms of the chair.
He said that? To her face?
In Ilian. Conall watched him warily. I don t think he
intended her to even realize that she d been insulted. From the look
on his face, it obviously never occurred to him that a pirate might
have some familiarity with the saltier phrases of his language.
Gods. Luke leaned forward, resting his brow on his palms.
Gods damn. Now I shall have to deal with them, for I cannot let
an insult to my sister stand. But we are meant to have our first
meeting for negotiations tomorrow, and it will sour everything
when I do. We need this to be a friendly meeting, not a hostile
one.
What s left to be dealt with? He s apologized, and she s
accepted. Gods know he didn t mean it, but I suspect that fight
would be a losing battle. I took care of it, lad, he said, softer.
That s why they re so upset with me.
Luke lifted his head, just enough so that it was his chin propped
in his hands, rather than his brow. He looked across the room at
Conall. You ve no sense of propriety at all, he said, his words
gentle and warm so Conall would not take it for an insult before
Luke had made his point. But you re better at this than you think
you are. He drew a deep breath and admitted, Than I thought you
would be.
Well. Conall sat back, nonplussed. That s high praise.
Luke smiled at him. You earned it. He watched as the
warmth of his smile lit up Conall s face. He rose, walking across
the rug to where Conall sat. Conall shifted back in his chair as
Luke approached. Luke climbed up onto it with him, into his lap.
He spread a hand on either side of Conall s face and leaned in for a
slow, soft kiss.
63
A QUEEN S DOWRY [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]
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59
A QUEEN S DOWRY
Luke glanced down at the cup, brows raised, and Conall said
gruffly, I figured it might, and that you d be wound tight as a
spring by the time you made it here. Thought you could use
something to help you relax.
Wine before supper? Luke said mildly, but reached out to
take the offered drink all the same. The court would be positively
scandalized.
The court can go to hell, Conall snapped, his expression
turning livid. It s none of their damned business how you cope
with the demands that they ve put upon you.
Of course it is. Faint bitterness turned Luke s words harsh.
He pushed away from the door and strode past Conall, dropping
into a chair on the other side of the room. He took a long sip of the
wine, then twisted the stem of the cup between his fingers,
watching the gleaming silver spin in the lamp light. I m their
king. Everything I do is their business.
It doesn t have to be. Conall came over to stand near him.
Sitting, Luke had to crane his neck back to look up at him. Conall
noticed and dropped down to a crouch before his chair. His fingers
dug deep furrows in its upholstered arm. You could tell them to
mind their own business.
Luke laughed and drank some more from the goblet. No. I
could not. I could tell them, but they would not heed me.
Conall sat back on his heels, his brows lowered. Well, that s
no way to rule.
Luke glanced up at him, and Conall blew out his breath on a
sigh.
Lad, you don t think my men knew everything about my
business, do you? It s not their place. They knew their tasks, and
they knew they could trust me to steer them true. They don t need
60
A QUEEN S DOWRY
any more than that.
You ran a ship, Luke said softly, trying to keep his words
gentle so Conall would not take offense. I run a country. It is not
the same.
It s not so different as you might think.
No? You can leave any of your men who displease you at the
nearest dock to look for other work. What am I to do with the ones
who displease me? I cannot purge the country of them. I must
endure and work with them, despite it all. He sighed and rubbed
the heel of his hand over his brow, but it did little to ease the
tension that was making his head throb. And I cannot afford to
speak my mind and give insult to those who I am meant to be
entering diplomatic negotiations with. Conall He dropped his
hand and looked at the other man. What were you thinking?
Conall rocked back on his heels, his brows climbing high. I m
not sure what you mean.
Luke checked his impatience and studied Conall s face. You
mean it, he muttered, and brought his hand up to his brow again.
Gods, that s almost worse. Conall, you can t go around insulting
the people who upset you. Now they ll be less willing to make
concessions when it comes time to negotiate, and my job will be
ten times harder. He brought his other hand up, too, and pressed
their heels against his eyes. He drew a shuddering breath. I am
trying to send them away satisfied despite the fact that I will not
give in to their ridiculous demand that I forsake you. You are not
making this any easier for me.
You heard about that, did you?
Luke dropped his hands to his lap and stared at Conall. You
didn t really imagine that word wouldn t have gotten around, did
you? You threatened that man
61
A QUEEN S DOWRY
I did no such thing. Conall surged to his feet. And I sure as
hell hope you didn t hear the whole story, for I d not have
expected you of all people to criticize me for coming to her
defense.
Luke raised his head. What? he said quietly. Her? I m afraid
you ve lost me.
Conall snorted and shook his head. Well, you haven t even
heard the half of it, then.
Will you tell me?
Conall dropped into another chair and drank from the open
bottle. Your sister, lad. Addy. He called her
Luke waited, but Conall s mouth screwed up and he didn t
continue. Luke straightened, leaning forward. What? What did he
say about her?
Gods. Conall dropped his head against the chair s back.
You re as bad as she is, forcing me to repeat it.
The corner of Luke s mouth turned up, but he could not
summon a terribly bright smile. A pirate unwilling to curse?
Laughter lurked in his voice. Who would ever believe it?
Conall glowered across the distance between them. I ll swear
all I please, but not about your sister.
Just tell me, Luke said softly. I ve a right to know what s
being said.
Conall grunted, then gave a half-laugh. That s what she said,
too. You re more alike than I sometimes give you credit for. The
look he sent Luke was reluctant and appraising. A loud-mouthed
cunt, he said, like a child gulping down a vile medicine just to be
done with it. That s what he called her, and more besides, but that
was the worst of it.
Shock washed over Luke first, followed quickly by anger. His
62
A QUEEN S DOWRY
spine straightened, and his hands clenched on the arms of the chair.
He said that? To her face?
In Ilian. Conall watched him warily. I don t think he
intended her to even realize that she d been insulted. From the look
on his face, it obviously never occurred to him that a pirate might
have some familiarity with the saltier phrases of his language.
Gods. Luke leaned forward, resting his brow on his palms.
Gods damn. Now I shall have to deal with them, for I cannot let
an insult to my sister stand. But we are meant to have our first
meeting for negotiations tomorrow, and it will sour everything
when I do. We need this to be a friendly meeting, not a hostile
one.
What s left to be dealt with? He s apologized, and she s
accepted. Gods know he didn t mean it, but I suspect that fight
would be a losing battle. I took care of it, lad, he said, softer.
That s why they re so upset with me.
Luke lifted his head, just enough so that it was his chin propped
in his hands, rather than his brow. He looked across the room at
Conall. You ve no sense of propriety at all, he said, his words
gentle and warm so Conall would not take it for an insult before
Luke had made his point. But you re better at this than you think
you are. He drew a deep breath and admitted, Than I thought you
would be.
Well. Conall sat back, nonplussed. That s high praise.
Luke smiled at him. You earned it. He watched as the
warmth of his smile lit up Conall s face. He rose, walking across
the rug to where Conall sat. Conall shifted back in his chair as
Luke approached. Luke climbed up onto it with him, into his lap.
He spread a hand on either side of Conall s face and leaned in for a
slow, soft kiss.
63
A QUEEN S DOWRY [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]