High Stakes Chattel Read Free

manmade lake. Square towers formed the corners, with long casement windows that looked down upon the entrance.
    Samantha had never seen Bentley Park up close, although she had heard from many who had. Their descriptions had not even come close to the breathtaking beauty of the place. Nico heard her breath catch in her throat as they rounded the corner, and after a questioning glance, he began to tell her a little about its history.
    “The land has been in my family since the late sixteenth century and the house was built in 1685 by an ancestor who was an attorney.”
    “Not a Baron like you?”
    “No. The family started out as a dynasty of solicitors and eventually were given various titles of nobility.”
    Samantha noticed the beautiful, but unfamiliar-looking trees that lined the edge of the driveway, framing the house. There were five on each side, huddled together with twisting branches and long, thin, silvery-green leaves. She asked about them and Nico chuckled . “Those were part of my mother’s condition for coming to live in England.” She looked at him curiously and he continued, “My mother was Greek, and those are olive trees.”
    He laughed at her surprised expression. “Those things have caused our groundskeeper more headaches, with him not knowing how to care for them and claiming that they are ‘unnatural’. But there they are. They have survived splendidly so far, and the olives are quite good, actually.”
    As he strode up the marble steps to the portico, his muscles shifted beneath her, and she felt a bit guilty for pretending to be hurt.
    She shouldn’t have told him she’d sprained her ankle, but she’d been desperate to spend a bit more time with him, and somehow convince him to take on her cause. Unfortunately, the brief conversation she’d had with him on their walk to the house had made her realize there was no persuading him. He truly had outgrown the Chattel game, and she couldn’t imagine him putting off the research that was obviously so important to him to help her with her admittedly wild plan.
    “We’re here,” he told her unnecessarily as he gently set her down so he could open the front door. While his back was turned, she scrambled to remember which ankle she’d been limping on out in the park. Left, she decided, just as he turned back around and put his arm around her shoulders, helping her into the house.
    “Joseph,” he called, as he led her into the foyer. “I need your help.” He guided her to an oak bench and helped her sit, then turned around, seeming surprised that his words hadn’t instantly summoned whoever Joseph was.
    “Joseph!” he bellowed once more. He turned back to her with an embarrassed shrug. “I don’t actually keep many servants. Joseph is my butler, but now that I think about it, he may have gone into the village to do the weekly shopping. Maybe I can find a maid to help you with your ankle.”
    As he moved toward the stairs, she reached out and caught his hand. “It’s all right,” she told him guiltily. “I’m sure I’ll be fine.” It certainly wouldn’t help her cause any to have to sit still while a maid wrapped her completely unharmed foot.
    He sighed. “Stay right there. I’ll do it myself.”
    As he strode off toward the stairs once more, she remembered that he’d had some medical training and her relief that he wasn’t dumping her off on the help was tempered with unease. Hopefully, he wouldn’t be able to tell she was faking it.
    When he returned, he had a length of cotton cloth with him. Sitting on the bench beside her, he lifted her right ankle into his lap. She feigned a wince and hoped he hadn’t been paying attention when she’d limped into the house.
    “I’ll try and be gentle,” he told her, as he carefully slid off her boot and then her stocking. She shivered as he drew one strong, elegant finger across her ankle. He had beautiful hands, and his touch was warm on her skin. “Did I hurt you?”
    She bit her