Chapter Four
From the rear of the building, came a howl of outrage. A moment later Barrons exploded through the connecting doors, dragging a Persian rug behind him.
"What is this?" he demanded.
"A rug?" I batted my lashes, thinking what a stupid question.
"I know it's a rug. What are these?" He thrust it beneath my nose, stabbing a finger at the dozen or so burn marks.
I peered at them. "Burns?"
"Burns from dropped matches, Ms. Lane? Matches one might have dropped while flirting with a pernicious Fae, Ms. Lane? Have you any idea the value of this rug?"
I didn't think his nostrils could flare any wider. his eyes were black flame. "Pernicious? Good grief, is English your second language? Third?" Only someone who'd learned English from a dictionary would use such a word.
"Fifth," he snarled. "Answer me."
"Not more than my life, Barrons. Nothing is worth more then my life."
He glared at me. I notched my chin higher and glared back.
Barrons and I had a unique way of communicating. We have these little nonverbal conversations, where we say all those things we don't say with our mouths with our eyes instead, and we understand each other perfectly.
I didn't say you are such a stuffy asshole.
And he didn't say, if you ever burn one of my quarter-of-a-million dollar rugs again I'll take it out of your hide and I didn't say, oh honey, wouldn't you like to? And he didn't say grow up, Ms. Lane, I don't take little girls to my bed and I didn't say I wouldn't go there if it was the only safe place from the Lord Master in all of Dublin.
"You might reconsider that one day." His voice was low, fierce, on the verge of gutteral.
I gasped. "What?" Intrinsic to our wordless free for-alls was a tacit agreement never to elevate those conversations to a verbal level. It was the only reason either of us was willing to participate.
He gave me a cool smile. "That nothing is worth more than your life, Ms. Lane. Some things are. Don't put too high a premium on it. You may live to regret it."
He turned and walked away, dragging the rug behind him.
