Daughters of the Dagger 04 - Amethyst Read Free Page B

his match, and now the challenge was to bring her to his bed and show her that she belonged under him and on her back, not staring him in the eye with her hands on her hips. He couldn’t wait to do it.
    “Of course,” she said softly, holding out the sides of her gown and showing a grand air of respect as she lowered her head and curtsied.
    He nodded, pleased by her action. Mayhap she could be trained after all. This sudden act of respect was to his liking.
    “Earl North Dumberland, ” she muttered, her eyes fastened to the ground before her.
    “What did you say?” he snapped, not believing what she’d just called him.
    She came out of the curtsy and held out her hand to him. “Earl Northumberland, what do you mean?”
    “Just call me Earl Montclair,” he growled, not liking any of this.
    “But isn’t that the name of your father?” she asked. “I f your new home is here now, ’tis proper for me to call you Earl Northumberland.”
    “ Northumberland is a vast area and I am not earl over the whole shire. Besides, I don’t like that title, Master Assistant.”
    She kept her hand out, waiting for his kiss as was proper, but challenging him all the while.
    “And neither do I like to be called Master Assistant,” she said. “Lady Amethyst will do.”
    “All right,” he said pulling off his leather gloves slowly, one at a time, all the while keeping his eyes fastened to her. He handed them over his shoulder to his squire who eagerly took them in two hands and stepped back behind him quickly. Marcus then reached out and took her hand in his, her eyes sweeping slowly upward and interlocking with his gaze once again. “You call me Earl Montclair or Lord Montclair and I shall call you Lady Blackpool.”
    He kept his eyes fastened to her face as he lifted her hand and placed his lips upon the back of it in a slight kiss. Her hand smelled like rose water, even though she’d been traveling, and her skin was so soft and supple. She obviously had never done a bit of manual labor in her life. It excited him, as he hadn’t had an actual lady in a long time now. The women he’d been bedding were peasants, and had work-roughened skin and smelled nothing like rose water, but rather like sweat, the earth and the outdoors.
    He co uldn’t help himself. He needed to taste her. His tongue darted between his lips and touched the skin on the back of her hand briefly. Heaven. And when he felt the stirring in his loins he knew he never should have done it.
    She pulled her hand back so fast it nearly set him off balance. She glared at him with angered eyes and a turned-down mouth. Then, making a big show of her next action, she wiped the back of her hand against her gown. “I will not tolerate inappropriate behavior either, my lord. And I do not want your money. Instead of paying me, give my uncle a better earning, as he deserves twice his wages, as your demands and what you expect of him are inappropriate as well.”
    “Amethyst, please, silence your tongue,” warned her uncle in a low voice.
    “Nay, she is right,” said Marcus, with a slight chuckle, thinking that no one had ever stood up to him before in this manner, though he knew he was paying them all pittance. Well, he would show her that he wasn’t the tyrant she obviously thought he was. “I will give your uncle more money since I won’t be paying you at all. Master Mason, you will be paid three shillings a day from now on, as I have been happy with your work so far. But I warn you, if your niece cannot pull her weight and prove to me she deserves this chance, than I will request an audience with the archbishop myself and demand she is sent back to her father in Blackpool. I own this castle, and I assure you, I will not have anyone slowing down this project. If I say this castle will be finished by Christmas, than there is no debate. It will be done.”
    “Of course, thank you, my lord,” said Clement with a deep bow.
    Then, leaving her standing there gaping,