Kiss of the Dragon (10 page)

“If that is what you wish, my lady.” Duke Rodolfo made to
stand, so far into his cups that he was willing to take on the challenge
without a thought to his pride. Embarrassed that she had brought the nobleman
to this pass, Bianca grabbed his hand to stop him from making a fool of
himself. The duke took full advantage of the contact and held her hand in his
as he whispered loudly, “Perhaps you would care to accompany me to someplace a
little more private, sweet maiden. I would then be able to pay proper homage to
your beauty in more secluded surroundings. I am sure that there are more lovely
things about you that I could give adulation that these foolish bards have
missed. I am sure, your lovely white breasts would easily fill my—”

A shocked, embarrassed Bianca broke in to end the outrageous
prattle of the libidinous Spaniard gallant.

“It would be most improper for us to leave the hall, Your
Grace.” Bianca yanked her hand out of the duke’s grasp and reached for her wine
cup yet again, this time to regain her composure after being so thoroughly,
tactlessly propositioned. Never had she come across a suitor so full of
himself, caring little for convention. He actually expected that Bianca would
agree to accompany him to the nearest darkened, secluded corner and allow him
to lift her skirts for his pleasure. Though she was shocked at the turn of
events this evening, Bianca feared that this would not be the last time she
would have to fend off such lewd behavior. For this reason, she would double
her efforts to gain Lord Draco’s attention.

The warm touch of Lord Draco’s fingers over hers as they
both reached for the wine cup that sat between them was barely a whisper of a
caress, a mistake, she was sure. But it thrilled her nevertheless. Just having
this great warrior sitting beside her gave her the strength to stay for the
entire meal.

Bianca found herself looking into the dark, warm eyes of
Lord Draco for the first time since the meal began and with his gaze solely on
her, everyone around her faded away and only the two of them existed for that
moment in their own small world. But as quickly as that feeling of contentment
spilled over her, warming her, soothing her, it vanished. In its stead came the
unmistakable sounds of tinkling bells and the thrumming drum beat filled the
hall followed by scantily clad women and brilliantly dressed men who flowed
into the hall and began to dance. Gypsies had arrived and with them, a cold
panic washed over Bianca, freezing her in place with fear.

Draco watched the change in the lovely young woman at his
side and wondered at it. Fear seemed to swallow Bianca up and all color washed
from her face, leaving large, haunted eyes staring through him. And then she
shook herself out of her temporary daze and turned to look upon the
entertainers who filled the hall. Her fear was so palpable that he knew it was
no dream, but in the next moment, she looked calm and collected.

Thinking that perhaps he had been mistaken, that perhaps his
instincts were wrong, he reached out and tipped her chin slightly so that she
was forced to look him in the eye. There he saw the truth. Her deep violet eyes
held dark panic and anxiety even as she sat deathly still and stared out at the
performers who filled the hall with loud, boisterous music and laughter.

A dark scowl covered his face as Draco turned his attention
to the weakling duke sitting beside Bianca. Something was wrong here and he
wanted to know what the gallant had done to offend Bianca. He heard every word
of their conversation as the meal had proceeded and as far as he could discern
Bianca seemed to be holding her own against the overzealous, over-amorous
Spaniard, but he perhaps he had missed something.

“
Santa Maria
! The Duke de Neige has an eye for good
entertainment.” Duke Rodolfo’s hoarse exclamation could be heard down the table
where his two sisters sat staring at the exposition of exotic dancers, jugglers
and musicians that moved around the guests. Their shocked eyes flew to their
brother and they blushed at his open appraisal of exposed flesh and sinful
dancing.

Draco frowned fiercely at the Spanish duke for his
contemptible behavior, trying to catch his eye, but the man was too enthralled
staring at the gypsy dancers to heed him. Draco would get no explanation as to
Bianca’s change of attitude from that quarter. Duke Rodolfo was suddenly much
too preoccupied with his own immediate gratification to give another thought to
coax an unwilling innocent into a darkened corner to ease his lust. Before him
was a bevy of willing partners in eroticism.

“What is it that troubles you, Bianca?” Draco spoke in
hushed tones so that nobody else at the table could overhear them. She blinked
twice. She had been staring blindly at the entertainers in the middle of the
hall, seeing none of it.

At his voice, Bianca turned her head to look at the large,
darkly handsome man at her side. She was startled to find him so attuned to her
feelings. Even so, she had been so lost in her thoughts that she had not heard
his question. So Draco repeated himself.

“Forgive me for being so inattentive, my lord. I am not
quite myself.” When he opened his mouth to speak, she raised her hand and
placed her fingers over his lips. Surprised at her own actions in a public
place, she jerked her hand back and dropped her gaze, missing his slight smile
and then frowned at her next words. “It is nothing, really, Lord Draco. I was
but reminded of a dark dream that sometimes troubles me at night.”

“Ah, I thought all fair young maidens dreamed of a white
knight in shining armor coming to rescue her from dark demons. It is not so
with you?”

“I regret to say that I have no such dreams, my lord. Mine
are dark and gruesome; nightmares in which there is no hero, only specters to
be feared. In truth, it is not a prince that I seek, nor would I want such a
man.” Fearing that she might scare him away if she told him what it was she
truly needed to keep the horrors away, not wanting him to delve too deeply into
her private fears, Bianca decided to turn the subject.

“Do you not find the gypsy dancers fascinating? My father
invites them every year to perform for his guests. He has a certain fondness
for this particular Rom band.”

“They are very colorful,” Draco replied noncommittally as he
glanced around. In truth, he was not paying much attention to the entertainers.
His focus had been solely on Bianca. He had run the gamut of emotions this
evening, starting with a burning anger toward the Spanish noble who dared to
even think he was good enough for the sweet, innocent Bianca. He was furious
that she spoke to the little worm. Earlier he had suppressed his laughter at
her obvious sarcasm to the Spanish duke and the indifference she showed to all
his flattery and that of every bard singing her praises or the soulful eyed
swain who had come to court her. When he realized that she held herself above
it all he had settled back to be amused. And finally, he felt relieved that
Lady Bianca de Neige was not one bit interested in His Grace, Rodolfo, Duke Del
Jara of Spain. It was then that he realized she had, in fact, been endeavoring
to make him jealous throughout the whole evening and, woefully for him, had
given up.

If Draco were totally honest, he would admit that after
watching every man in the hall following Bianca with his lustful gaze, he was
nearly crazed with jealousy. He knew deep down that he had no right to such
feelings, but his heart refused to listen to his logical mind on this matter.

“I think you have lost your Spaniard to that gypsy girl.”

Turning at his words, Bianca blushed at the sight before her.
Duke Rodolfo embraced one of the more scantily clad gypsy women and he had his
hands on her full, lush breasts, squeezing them in fascination. And then to her
horror he lowered his head and began to kiss her bared flesh. The sultry beauty
squealed when his face disappeared into the cleavage between her full white
breasts. Before her shocked eyes, the Spanish nobleman moved his hands to her
thighs and he attempted to raise her skirts. A slap on his wrist stopped him
momentarily as he glanced around, remembering where they were.

“Come, my little gypsy, I want you all to myself.” He
latched on to her slender wrist and dragged the protesting wench into the
shadows at the back of the hall and disappeared up the back stairs toward his
rooms.

“What a pity.” Bianca’s sigh of resignation was loud and
feigned. “And he was at the front of the pack of contenders for my hand. I
really had high hopes for that one. Ah well,
que sera, sera
.” Her
refreshingly bold laughter startled Draco. He looked at the lady and was surprised
that she was not insulted by the behavior of the Spaniard or his obvious lust.
His lips twitched in mirth and then he let out a bellow of laughter.

“Have you been besieged by many such crass suitors?” Draco
finally calmed his robust laughter long enough to ask. His dark eyes took on a
suddenly intense look that wiped the smile from her lips.

“He is an example of the usual type of scoundrel who has
shown up these last few weeks seeking my hand. You see now why I am not all
that responsive to my stepmother’s active pursuit to find a suitable match for
a husband.”

“Yea, I can see that you have a problem.” He became quiet as
he watched the gypsies whirl about the hall entertaining the crowd. After a few
moments, he turned and looked down at her. “What you need is a matchmaker, my
lady.”

“A matchmaker?”

“Yea. You need somebody who has the ability to muck out the
undesirables and recognize only the true contenders for your hand.” He signaled
the page to bring forward his offering and partook of the dessert being served,
giving Bianca a berry pastry before choosing one for himself.

They munched their treat in companionable silence while
Bianca’s mind worked furiously for a solution to her dilemma. But it was the
baron’s suggestion that sparked a brilliant inspiration in her head. It was a
truly exceptional notion and she had him to thank for giving it to her.

“I have taken your fine suggestion under consideration and I
have decided that you are right, Lord Draco.”

Pleased with her compliment, Draco was congratulating
himself for his intelligence when her next words nearly knocked him over.

“I think you would be the perfect one for such a task, my
lord. By your own words, you could protect me by mucking out the rabble. You
would be helping me to choose a fine husband from the cream of the crop. Yea,
it is a grand notion.”

“No, Bianca. I cannot be your matchmaker!”

“Oh, but you must. It is your scheme after all and I know
that it will work. Trust me, Lord Draco.”

“But I have no concept of what kind of husband you are
looking for. I would do you no good in the capacity as your matchmaker.”

“But you would be perfect at it. All you need do is whisper
in my ear your thoughts on any suitor who comes seeking my hand. You would be
protecting me from any inappropriate advances as well.”

“Men have attempted to assault you before? Did you tell your
father this?” Draco’s ire rose at the thought of any other man touching her.
The knowledge of his own actions did not seem to bother him. He would run his
sword through any gallant who dared come within two arm-lengths of Bianca.

But then he remembered his resolution to leave with the new
dawn and told himself that it was none of his concern that she would eventually
wed. He would be gone and Bianca would go on with the task of finding a
husband. But the image of a sordid horse’s ass like Duke Rodolfo, who had the
audacity to openly proposition Bianca at the dining table kept Draco from
refusing her request.

“So far, I have managed to fend them off on my own, but with
you by my side, they would not even attempt anything untoward with my person, I
would wager it.”

“I could assure you, Bianca, they would not even get close
enough to try.”

“Good! Then it is settled. I will bid you a good evening,
and I expect to see you in the morning. Until then, Lord Draco, sleep well.”

She was gone before Draco could stop her. A wry smile
twisted his mouth, making his scar stand out more prominently. He found that he
did not dread the prospect of spending time with Bianca. He supposed he would
have to postpone his departure for a few days at least. At the rate her suitors
were arriving daily and taking into consideration the famed beauty of the lady
in question, he figured he could find her a suitable husband by week’s end.

“I wonder if I will be able to give her up to another man,”
he murmured under his breath as he accepted another cup of wine.

Modesta rose to her feet to follow her cousin from the hall,
but Bianca motioned her to sit and finish her meal. She seemed to be having a
splendid time in Lord Charles’ company and it warmed Bianca’s heart to know
that her cousin may have finally found a caring, thoughtful man who seemed
genuinely interested in her. If all went as planned, Bianca would also have a
splendid husband in the person of Lord Draco d’Ensoleille.

“Bianca, dearest, I noticed that you have been enjoying the
company of His Grace. Is it too early to tell your father you have chosen a
future husband?”

Duchess Heloise must have been lurking in the shadows near
the staircase. She caught Bianca completely off guard as she made her way from
the hall. She thought furiously for a polite way of telling her stepmother that
the duke was an appalling disappointment and she would not care if she ever saw
the man again.

“I am afraid, Duchess, that the Spanish duke and I have
nothing in common. I would never satisfy such a great man.” The last was said
with open sarcasm but Bianca did not care if her stepmother noticed.

“Oh come. Surely, you have not given him the opportunity to
prove himself. He only just arrived this afternoon. Why some of the best
catches out there are just diamonds in the rough. You cannot judge a man solely
on first impressions.”