slender. There was a sweet elfin delicacy to what he could see of her face below the mask. He wondered at the colour of her hair beneath the white wig and he knit his brows as he studied her. She was studying him with equal measure. Drawn to her eyes, peering at him through the holes in her mask, he’d never seen such incredible eyes—they were indeed the unusual shade of tawny, he thought, and they had depth and glowed, almost as if they had hot coals burning behind them. When he had made his presence known, she had looked agitated and her expression had been one of intense fear.
‘I haven’t made up my mind.’
Suddenly a thought occurred to Linnet and her eyes opened wide. ‘Why are you here, sir, in this room? Are you by any chance a thief also?’
‘All I will say is that I am here to claim what is rightly mine.’
‘Which is?’
‘This,’ he replied, indicating the necklace.
‘How do I know you are telling me the truth? People are not always what they seem—and not to be trusted.’
‘You will simply have to take my word for it.’
‘I can’t do that.’
‘I give you my word as a gentleman.’
‘A gentleman does not steal other people’s property.’
‘I told you. I am not a thief.’
‘Then I can see we find ourselves in something of a dilemma.’
‘Why? Because you are here for the necklace and you do not like to be cheated out of it? You may not be so eager to take possession of it if you knew more about it,’ he remarked, with a quiet casualness as he admired his possession.
‘What is there to know?’
‘That a curse is believed to be cast upon any person who seeks to own it. The curse does not differentiate between archaeologists or common thieves. Allegedly it can cause bad luck, illness and even death.’
Linnet blanched. Even though the knowledge of the curse terrified her, she refused to let that terror overtake her. ‘You are only telling me this to scare me.’
Shrugging his shoulders, the man shook his head. ‘Not at all. I am merely stating a fact. Ancient Egyptians believed that they should protect their tombs by magical means or curses. Curses are placed on sacred objects and possessions to stop people from disturbing them. Inscriptions on tombs often speak of the deceased coming back to life to seek revenge should anyone dare to desecrate their resting place. The curse is what will happen to anyone who does not heed the warning.’
‘Do you believe the curse exists?’
‘I know of at least two men who took possession of the necklace who met untimely deaths—one violently and the other died of a mysterious disease.’
A cold tremor trickled down Linnet’s spine. The stranger turned his dark eyes on her. She looked away, biting her lip—there was something unpleasant about what he said that put a different slant on the necklace. Telling herself it was all mumbo-jumbo, she shook herself and looked at him. The line of his jaw was hard and behind the cold glitter of his dark eyes lay a fathomless stillness.
‘It is an interesting tale, but I think it is just superstitious nonsense. I do not believe that beings can exact revenge from beyond the grave.’
‘Beings that possess unknown and seemingly evil qualities,’ he stated flatly, keeping his voice soft, knowing he was deliberately trying to make her question her desire for the necklace.
‘Nevertheless, it was all a long time ago and Egypt is a long way away. I am not afraid of such things. I refuse to let them scare me.’
‘Then does that mean you are unwilling to relinquish your claim?’
‘Yes.’
His voice was condescendingly amused as he tried not to look too deeply into her eyes, eloquent in the fear she was trying so hard to hide. He smiled. ‘Then I suggest we play for it. Would that be agreeable to you?’
Christian knew he should not give her the impression that he was a thief, that he should explain his reason for taking the necklace, which was completely innocent and that he was its rightful owner, but he found he was enjoying teasing her and could think of nothing that would please him more just then than to prolong their encounter. There was something about her that touched a hidden spot within him that he had not felt for a long time. It would give him no pleasure to have her arrested. No pleasure at all.
‘If you refuse to relinquish it to me, then I will have to. What do you suggest?’
‘A wager,’ he suggested.
Linnet’s eyes narrowed. If playing for the necklace was the only way she could secure it and put it back in its box, then that was what she must do. ‘What kind of wager?’
A leisurely smile moved across the stranger’s face. ‘By your actions you seem to be hell bent on self-destruction.’
Linnet’s eyes flashed with a feral gleam. ‘That is my affair.’
‘I agree, but you cannot deny that you have got yourself into an impossible situation. You are too reckless by far.’
‘What is life without a little danger?’ she replied wryly.
Christian laughed lightly. ‘My feeling exactly. So—let us play a game of chance. The best of three.’ Putting the necklace back into its box and placing it on top of the chest, he produced two dice from his pocket.
* * *
Raising her eyebrows, Linnet gave him an ironic look. The man was infuriatingly sublime in his amusement. She was self-willed, energetic and passionate, with a fierce and undisciplined temper, but her youth, her charm and her wit had more than made up for the deficiencies in her character. She was proud and spirited and so determined to have her own way that she had always been prepared to plough straight through any hurdle that stood in her path—just as she was about to do now. It dawned on her that she was making an idiot of herself, but her wits had been put somewhat out of sorts by their exchange so far. If she weren’t so desperate to replace the necklace that Toby had stolen, she’d cheerfully tell the man to go and jump in the Thames.
‘You even came prepared, I see.’ Linnet glanced at the dice suspiciously. Should she ask to inspect them? she wondered. On second thoughts, perhaps not. They looked quite ordinary, yet she was hardly an expert in these matters—Toby would have been able to tell if they were loaded at a glance. It would appear that she would have to trust this infuriating stranger.
The handsome stranger stepped towards a table. She followed, feeling his eyes intently upon her. His hands were the hands of a gentleman, his fingers long and tapering. But if he was a gentleman—a nobleman for all she knew—then what had turned him into a thief? She looked up at him, meeting eyes as black as his mask. He was tall, lean, muscular, giving the appearance of someone who rode, fenced and hunted. She recognised authority when she met it and his personality was so strong that she was certain that with a lift of one of his arrogant eyebrows, or a flare of a nostril, he could make one tremble with fear. She guessed him to be in his late twenties.
There
