The Perfect Temptation (17 page)

''Does
Miss Alex know this is what we are about?"

And it was done. They were now
fellow conspirators,

united against the
practicality and feminine fears of Alex
Rad
ford,

Duchess and Mother Hen. He'd
have
to make
sure it

didn't go too far, of course;
he was
,
the adult in
this.
But it was

time for the boy to let loose
of the apron strings and, one way

or another, Alex needed to let
him go. Aiden came out of the

stall and leaned his shoulder
against the upper
rail.
"She has

some idea.
In
a
general sense."

''Does
she approve?" Mohan asked, climbing up to sit
on

the railing on his side of the
stable.

Aiden shrugged and smiled.
"She'll eventually come

around to seeing things my
way."

Mohan looked as
if
he
wanted
to be
optimistic. "Miss

Alex can be somewhat stubborn,
you know."

Somewhat?
"I've noticed that."

"My father says that
until she learns to be less stubborn

she will not make a good
wife."

"Then it's probably best
that she hasn't married," Aiden

offered diplomatically.

"My father says that she
would make a most acceptable

mistress, though."

Aiden chuckled. "I just
can't imagine her being interested

in such an arrangement, can
you?"

"My father is a
raja," the boy countered in all seriousness.

"People must obey his
commands. Even Miss Alex. Even
if

she does not agree with
him."

Mohan thought the raja could
command Alex Radford to

be-his mistress? Obviously
~e
boy had
no realistic idea of

how those sorts of
relationships worked. A scrap of conversation

fluttered from his memory and
he smiled. "So tell me;

has he ever commanded her to
bow to him?"

Mohan beamed. "He did
Mrs. Radford, Miss Alex's

mother. She explained the
British customs and my father,

being a wise and honorable
man, decreed a solution. Miss

Alex continues with the
decision and lowers her chin to acknowledge

my father's presence and
authority."

"How very accommodating
of her," Aiden replied dryly,

thinking that the raja, to his
credit, had emerged from the

battle with as much of
his
dignity
as any man could have

hoped to salvage.

"There are some in the
court
who
think
Miss
Alex is disrespectful

and resent her presence."

Aiden's amusement ebbed away.
Mohan had offered the

words blithely, but the look
in his eyes was wary and assessing.

'Then I'll bet they were happy
to see her shipped

to England for a while,"
he offered, testing the waters into

which Mohan seemed to be
drawing them.

''They will oppose her return.
Strongly."

"If
you're trying to tell me something, Mohan, just
come

right out and say it."

It took him a moment to choose
his words. "Miss Alex

fears that my father's enemies
will
come
here to harm me. I

think
my father's friends will also come
to
London
and that

they
will
kill
Miss Alex."

His stomach slowly knotting,
Aiden turned the information

over in his mind. "Does
she know about these people?

Does she suspect that their
opposition is that strong?"

"If
you have noticed that she is stubborn," Mohan
countered,

hopping down off the railing,
''you have also no doubt

noticed that she is very
intelligent and observant."

That she was. And so,
surprisingly, was Mohan. And in

ways far beyond his years.
"Do you
think
anyone's here already?"

Aiden asked, willing to trust
the boy's assessment.

"My father's enemies,
perhaps yes. My father's friends,

not yet."

''They'll come when you're
summoned back
to
India,"

Aiden mused aloud. ''Until
then, their larger interests are

served in keeping her
around."

Mohan slowly smiled. "You
are a very intelligent man,

Mr.
Terrell," he said, the buoyancy back in his
voice. "I believe

that I
 
may be persuaded to think that it was
wise of

Miss Alex to hire you."

"Persuaded?"

"I would like a white
stallion to ride about London."

Aiden chuckled. "What
you'd like and what you'll actually

get are two very different
things."

Mohan studied him for a moment
and then shrugged his

shoulders. "One should at
least try."

“Fine. Nothing ventured,
nothing gained. Let's see if
we

can find some brooms and clean
this place up a bit while we

wait for Miss Radford to join
us."

He half expected Mohan
to
say that
cleaning the stable

was Preeya's work, and when he
didn't and headed to the

tack room instead, Aiden
counted it as a sign of sure success.

He let the boy go to explore
on his own, knowing that Mohan

would appreciate and do well
with the freedom. Still

leaning against the stall
railing, he stared down at his dusty

boots. How long would it be
before the raja called his son

and the royal tutor back to
India? A week? A month? A year?

Would the assassins arrive
after the missive or would Alex

be dead before she could
receive it?

Next week would be on his
watch; he could protect her.

Maybe he'd still be here even
a month from now. But if the

summons was issued after Lal's
replacement arrived ...

He'd just have to make sure,
before he left, that the new

guard understood that Alex
needed to be protected every bit

as much as Mohan did. Yes,
that's what he'd do. It would be

enough and he could go away
without his conscience bothering

him. But why the hell hadn't
she said something to him?

It
was
the most disconcerting ride she'd ever taken. Aiden

Terrell sat opposite her
either staring out the window or appraising

her as if she were some sort
of rare and exotic bug.

She'd thought several times to
politely inquire as to what

was concerning
him.
but hadn't been able to find so much as

a pause in the steady stream
of commentary that had been

pouring out of Mohan since the
moment the rented carriage

had started to roll.

Lord only knew what had
transpired in the stable before

she arrived there, but clearly
something rather momentous

had. Mohan was more excited
and happier than she'd ever

seen him; leading her to
think
that
whatever had happened

was generally good. On the
other
hand,
Aiden Terrell
was

quiet and decidedly pensive.
She didn't know what to think

of his behavior. It was so
different from any she'd seen from

him
so far. Although, she admitted, as the carriage
turned

and slowed, there was a
certain deliberate quality to his silence

that seemed to be typical of
him.
As
far
as she could

tell, nothing Aiden Terrell
did was less than wholehearted.

The carriage eased to a stop
and Mohan bolted for the

door, throwing it open and
bounding out before she could

catch him.

"Mohan!" she called
after him. "Slow down and be care
ful!"

Aiden stepped out and turned
back, offering his hand.

Alex took it and allowed him
to help her to the ground, her

gaze narrowing past
him
and her
stomach filling with dread.

They had arrived at a snowy
field filled with rows and rows

of carriages of every sort.
And Mohan was running headlong

into their midst. The ground
was so slippery underfoot.

He was going to lose his
footing in the snow, fall, and crack

open his head.

''Let
him
run and
climb," Aiden said softly, releasing her

hand to offer his arm instead.
"He isn't going to hurt anything."

''Other than himself,"
she protested as she accepted his

assistance and her ward
disappeared into the maze of wheels

and big black boxes.

"Boys not only bounce,
they heal quickly. Besides, the

only way he'll ever know his
limits is to push them." He

looked over his shoulder as he
led her off toward the carriages.

"Please wait for us,
driver."

''And
if
he hurts
himself
in
the
process?" Alex pressed,

trying and failing to catch a
glimpse of Mohan.

''Then he'll have something
interesting to
talk
about with

other boys. Never
underestimate the social value of a good

scar. The grislier, the
better."

"Men are very strange
creatures,
Mr.
Terrell."