Gift of Gold

sneak into hers. You forget how much I’ve learned about her. She has a strong sense of the proprieties. For God’s sake, she wasn’t even comfortable bathing nude in a women-only spa!”
    “Why is it so hard for everyone to understand that I’m not pure as the newdriven snow?” Verity demanded between set teeth. “Nor am I a prude. Not anymore, at any rate. Jonas is right, Caitlin. I had planned to spend the night in his room. Your whole plan would have gone awry if Kincaid hadn’t taken the initiative tonight.”
    Caitlin stared at her for a very long time. “Then perhaps the whole thing was fate, after all,” she finally whispered.
    “The whole thing,” Jonas announced grimly, “was a disaster. You put Verity’s life in danger and you nearly got me killed. All to satisfy your need for vengeance. I’ve got no objection to vengeance, Caitlin, but you had no right to involve Verity or me. The only reason you and Tavi are still walking around in a healthy condition is because I know Verity would be furious with me if I took a little vengeance of my own. I give you fair warning, however. Don’t come near her again, either of you, or I’ll take matters into my own hands. Clear?”
    “Yes,” Caitlin said in a dreary, defeated voice. “Perfectly clear. Verity, I want you to know that the true casualty tonight is our friendship. I will regret losing it for the rest of my life. I had no idea when I first met you how important your friendship would become to me.”
    Jonas saw the spasm of sympathy that crossed Verity’s face before she narrowed her eyes and asked coldly, “Tell me one thing, Caitlin. Did you know Kincaid was a fencing expert?”
    “I knew. There is very little I didn’t know about Damon Kincaid.”
    “Then you knew just how dangerous the whole thing was going to be for Jonas.” Verity concluded tightly.
    “There were risks involved. I realized that,” Caitlin agreed. “But I didn’t expect Kincaid to be armed.”
    “Your original plan wouldn’t have worked,” Jonas announced before Verity could lose her temper. His own anger was barely under control. “I wouldn’t have let Verity out of my sight long enough for her to get into that kind of trouble.”
    Caitlin switched her gaze to his. “You let her out of your sight long enough for her to nearly get killed tonight. If my plan had prevailed she would never have been in any real danger.”
    Jonas’s stomach tightened into a block of ice as he silently acknowledged the truth of that statement. He used his grip in Verity’s hair to give her head a slight, exasperated shake. “Remind me to beat you later, Verity, for walking out of that party this evening. I gave you orders not to leave the crowd, remember?”
    “I had to follow Kincaid when I saw him leave shortly after you did,” she explained. “I thought he was after you.”
    “No, you did not have to follow him. You deliberately disobeyed instructions. But we’ll get into that later.” He glared at Caitlin. “So that’s it? The whole story?”
    “There’s nothing more to tell,” Tavi said aggressively. “It’s over. Be done with it.”
    Jonas got to his feet, using his good arm to pull Verity up beside him. “Not a bad idea,” he said to Tavi. “We’re done with it, all right. Congratulations, Caitlin. Tonight’s little drama had everything a Renaissance scheme needed—lies, deception, the betrayal of a friend, a desire for revenge, and the intent to kill. You would have done very well four hundred years ago. But Verity doesn’t belong in that world. We’re getting out of here. Go upstairs and pack, Verity.”
    “Jonas, it’s nearly two in the morning.”
    “We’ll find a motel somewhere along the way.”
    “But, Jonas…”
    “If we don’t find one we can drive on home. It’s not that far.”
    “But, Jonas…”
    He looked at her. “We’re leaving, Verity,” he said quietly. She threw up her hands and surrendered. Without a word, she stalked out of the room.
    No one said a word as they waited for Verity to return. When she came back downstairs with two suitcases and the peacock-blue costume, Jonas silently took her arm and led her outside to the car. He put her into the passenger seat. His arm hurt but he figured he could drive.
    It was still raining as they drove away from the ugly house on the cliffs.
     
    Half an hour later they found a motel that was still open. Verity fell asleep almost immediately, entangled in the reassuring