The Christmas Spirit Read Free Page B

her task would be all the easier.
    She waited until he had reentered, scratching the back of his head below his turban, then followed him up the stairs to a door near the landing. Judging by its position in the house, she had no doubt it was the door to Sir Matthew's library.
    As the Pathan knocked and entered, her heart gave a leap of anticipation.
    "Ahmad, who was at the door?"
    Out in the corridor, Trudy heard Matthew speak for the first time and was astonished by the depth of his voice. She had not expected a seriously ill man to produce such a resonant tone, but Matthew's words filled the air with a low vibrancy, betraying none of the weakness his illness implied.
    "It was a lady, Matthew saab," the Pathan answered. "She asked to see you."
    "A lady? For me?" A hint of anxiety entered his voice.
    Trudy tensed to learn its meaning, but all Matthew said next was, "Did she leave her card?"
    "No, saab--" Ahmad's questioning tone revealed that he must have been more disconcerted by her presence than he had shown--"I am afraid I did not think to ask her."
    "No matter. It was not--"
    "No, saab." The Pathan's voice softened but a notch. "It was not the mem'saab."
    The silence that followed his statement made Trudy squirm with a rare uneasiness. Though she couldn't see Matthew, she somehow sensed his embarrassment.
    But all he said when he did resume speaking as lightly as before was, "I cannot imagine that it would be, but neither can I think of any other lady who might call. Must have been an error."
    "Yes, undoubtedly, saab."
    Trudy waited for some time after Ahmad had withdrawn before lifting her hand to the knob. Matthew's acceptance of her story would depend very much upon her timing.
    "Sir Matthew?" She pushed the door open with a falsely timid knock, making sure not to speak so early as to have her entrance denied.
    As she advanced into the room, he looked up startled, and instantly his brows snapped together over a lean, haggard face. Then, as her beauty, fully released, struck him with its powerful force, his lips parted and all time seemed to suspend.
    Trudy had meant to use these moments of enchantment to satisfy her own curiosity. But her study became not so much a conscious design as a mirror of Matthew's wonder.
    She had seen many men before. She had observed them all her life in countless situations, but none had struck her with the sheer force of character that Matthew did. He was free of his ague today. She had purposely waited until his last bout of malaria had passed, knowing she would not be received if he were genuinely ill.
    Now, she wondered how even that dreaded disease, which affected all humans who traveled in the tropics, could keep such a strong man pinned to his chair. Determination seemed to reside in the long cut of Matthew's jaw. Mental energy issued from his deep, dark eyes, betraying the lightning quickness of a profound intellect. Even dazed as he was by her magic, he seemed to see right through to her very core.
    Trudy wondered nervously if perhaps Francis had not underestimated the strength of their mark.
    But then, even as she stood there, other details about him worked their own fascination, so that Trudy forgot for a moment her purpose in coming. His hair had the rich, wavy texture of meadow grass, the kind that made her want to sink her toes right in. His forehead was prominent over a set of well-defined eyebrows. And even with the ravagement of illness on his face and the scar, which made her cringe from the savagery that had caused it, she couldn't miss the fact that he was a stunningly handsome man.
    A man she would like to lure into the mists, to place at her feet, and to feed with her own hand.
    Surprisingly, Matthew was the first to break the trance that had fallen between them.
    “Who the devil are you?" he said with a spare shake of his head, as if to clear a momentary dizziness.
    Trudy gave a similar start. "I am Faye," she said without thinking.
    A sudden glimmer lit his eyes.