The Perfect Temptation (19 page)

What would be would be.
Whatever lesson there was to

be taught would have to be
learned. Intentions and logic and

rationality were pointless
exercises; destiny wasn't going to

be evaded or denied. "God
help me," Alex whispered, closing

her eyes and putting herself
in the powerful hand of fate.

It
was
as close to a
"yes"
as she was going to give him.

Aiden resisted the urge to
plant a grateful kiss on her cheek.

Instead, he covered her hand
with his. "You won't be sorry,"

he offered softly, sincerely.
"I promise, Alex."

She managed a tremulous smile
but didn't look at him.

Her obvious doubts gently
tugged at his heartstrings and

added to his resolve. She
wasn't going to regret letting him

past her reserve. He'd make
sure of it. In the end, Alexandra

Radford was going to think he
was the very best thing that

had ever happened to her.

"Why don't you have a
seat?" he said, leading her to a

nearby carriage and depositing
her on the running board. She

glanced up at him and he
winked and added, "And watch a

master at work."

"Mohan!" he called,
turning away. "Climb down from

there for a minute."

"Is it not perfect,
Mr.
Terrell?"

Alex leaned her back against
the carriage door, waiting and

watching. A master? A master
at what? she wondered.

"Well," Aiden
drawled. "looks are only part of perfection,

Mohan.
If
it
doesn't roll right and true, it doesn't matter

how pretty it is. It's always
wise to inspect the structure

before you make a decision.
Let's walk around and take a

careful look at it, shall we?”

They made a slow circuit,
neither of them saying a word,

both of them seemingly intent
on memorizing every hideous

turn, curve, and filigreed
scroll.

"Oh, now
this
is
troubling," Aiden said as they returned to

their starting point. He
reached out and traced a fingertip

across the top of the wheel.
"Look here, Mohan. See the dent

in the band?”

Mohan moved closer and ran his
fingertip over the wheel,

too. ''There must have been an
object in the road."

"It could be from
that," Aiden agreed. nodding. "Or it

could be from something a bit
more serious." He pointed to

the spokes of the same wheel.
"Notice how the paint's a

slightly different color on
some of those?"

"Yes. Does that mean
something of great significance?"

"It
could
,
" Aiden replied, squatting down so that the
wheel

was at eye level. He trailed
his fingers over the length of the

spokes and shook his head.
"Oh, that's not good. Not good at

all. Feel along this spoke,
Mohan. And this one, too."

Mohan did as instructed.
knitted his brows, and then examined

several others before saying,
''These three are

bumpy. These others are not.
Why?"

''I
can't say for certain, of course, but I suspect
that they

were broken and not mended
very well."

"It must have been a very
large object in the road,"

Again Aiden nodded.
"Let's crawl underneath and take a

look at the axles."

A master manipulator. That's
what Aiden Terrell was.

Smooth and flawless, he chose
his path and moved others

along to the destination he
wanted to reach. Mohan was completely

unaware that the carriage was
being pulled out from

beneath
him
inch by
deliberate inch. Alex smiled, knowing

that by the time Aiden
finished the inspection, Mohan would

abandon the notion of owning
it and
think
that the decision

was his own. And that it had
been freely made.

Yes, absolutely flawless. She
considered the wheel and

the two of them rolling under
the carriage to peer at its underside.

Odds were good that Aiden had
noted the dent in

the wheel the instant they'd
walked up to it. Which, of

course, meant that he'd
negotiated terms with her knowing

full
good and well that the carriage was unacceptable

whether she surrendered or
not. She'd been manipulated,

too.

She should be angry about it.
She certainly had every reason

to be. And yet she wasn't.
In
fact,
if
anything,
she ad
mired

his ability to achieve his
ends without being the least

bit heavy-handed. Where so
many men were bullies, Aiden

was charming. Where so many
would have smirked and decreed,

Aiden had smiled and cajoled.
Yes, he was indeed a

master. She'd have to remember
that in the future.

''That bend is not good, is
it?" Mohan asked.

"No, I'm afraid it's not.
It rather strongly suggests that

this carriage has been
wrecked. And look along here. Do you

see this crack? That's not
good, either."

She watched them climb out
from under the carriage to

stand side by side, their arms
folded across their chests
,

studying it in silence.

"Can it be
repaired?" Mohan finally asked. "Better than it

has been already?"

''Not without a great deal of
expense," Aiden answered,

sounding ever so regretful.
"And, quite frankly, it hasn't really

been repaired at all. They've
done nothing more than try

to hide the problems in the
hope the buyer won't notice the

damage until after the sale is
done."
.

Mohan's jaw slowly sagged and
he looked up at Aiden,

his eyes huge. ''They hoped to
cheat me?"

"Not necessarily you
personally;' he qualified with a shrug.

“Anyone
who comes along and doesn't look past the red paint

and the gilt will do."

"I will not be
duped."

Alex grinned. Aiden was far
more controlled in recognizing

his victory. He nodded solemnly.
"A very good attitude

to have, I think. Perhaps we
should look a bit further?"

"I shall go over this
way," Mohan announced, moving

down the row, "and report
what I find."

Aiden turned to her, his smile
broad and his eyes

sparkling, and bowed ceremoniously.

"Very well done,
Mr.
Terrell,"
she offered, clapping in

sincere appreciation of the
performance. "Very well done."

''Aiden. Remember?"

"Aiden," she
corrected, gaining her feet. He was instantly

in front of her, presenting
his arm. "You've not only spared

me the embarrassment of being
seen in a rolling monstrosity,

but given Mohan useful
knowledge in the process.
If

your career as an investigator
doesn't go well, you might

consider teaching. You're very
good at it."

"Well, the truth is that
I'm not an investigator. And I'm a

temporary protector only
because I owe Barrett a favor. A

rather large one, in fact.
When the debt's paid ... " He

shrugged and snorted softly.
"I'll probably have
to
go back

to
sea."

"You don't sound too
terribly excited about the prospect."

"It's a long story,"
he replied, his voice suddenly taut. His

smile was still in place but
the brightness of it was gone and

it no longer reached his eyes.
Looking over his shoulder, he

said, "I think he's found
something that might actually be

worth a closer look. Shall
we?"

Alex allowed
him
to guide
her through the maze, sensing

that he'd opened a personal
door without thinking. Then,

realizing what he'd done,
neatly sidestepped the blunder and

slammed it closed again. It
was an artful dodge, but certainly

not perfect. She decided it
was rather nice
to
know that he

wasn't always in control. It
made
him
decidedly human and

quite likable.

"I hope this next
carriage is a bit more appropriate than

the last," she ventured.
"As for stories ... I've always found

that longer ones are always so
much more interesting than

shorter ones."

"Not in this
instance."

Firm and final. He wasn't
going to willingly share it with

her. Alex studied
him
askance,
noting the hard line of his

jaw, the way the muscle at his
temple pulsed in hard, steady

rhythm.

"Miss Alex! Look over
there!" Mohan called.

She found
him
off to
their right, perched in the driver's

box of an old-fashioned
carriage. He was pointing off toward

a copse of trees and a little
cottage tucked deep into the

shadows.
.

“At
the very far edge of the field!" he added,
fairly jumping

up and down.
"In
the low
growth! It is Preeya's peacocks!”

Peacocks? Alex let go of
Aiden's arm and quickly stepped

around
him,
straining
to see, trying
to
find amid the underbrush

the birds Mohan said were
there. A quick movement, a

flash of bright, familiar
color.

"Of
all the places;' she whispered, her heart racing.
She