"Sharon Green - [ebel 01 - Rebel" - читать интересную книгу автора (Green Sharon)

arrangement was regret that he couldnтАЩt give Adair a piece of his mind, but then he realized that making a
scene - another scene - would probably have caused his father to explode. As soon as the meal was
over, though, Lady Adair Cantlen would certainly hear from him.
And then the ladies who would sit to either side of him were brought over, and matters immediately went
from bad to worse. Lisni, daughter of Duke Rayl, was seated to his left, between Mayne and his father,
and on his right was the blond Dinra, daughter of Duke Lemish. Neither of those ladies were meant to be
chosen for marriage, which was probably why theyтАЩd been seated near him. Mayne was already married
to Adair, so it was his brothers who had to be exposed to the eligible girls.
But Dinra didnтАЩt know that, so as soon as Mayne was seated the blonde immediately began to work on
him. The girl seemed to think that seducing him was the way to get what she wanted, and MayneтАЩs
ignoring her efforts only made her try harder. At one point Mayne turned toward Lisni, hoping to use the
girl to give him a rest from Dinra, but oddly enough Lisni was engaged in a low-voiced conversation with
MayneтАЩs father.
So that endless meal went on and on, DinraтАЩs efforts breaking off only when a new dish was served. The
blonde did no more than bat her eyelashes at him while she stuffed her face, but once her plate was
emptiedтАж Mayne felt the strong urge to take refuge in the wine that flowed so freely, but he really didnтАЩt
dare. If he got drunk he would certainly tell Dinra what he thought of her, and although the effort would
be satisfying his father would definitely have his head off even before he sobered up.
It finally came through to Mayne that the meal was dragging on so long because his father was very
obviously enjoying his conversation with Lisni. King Rodick was doing a lot of chuckling, and at one
point he even laughed out loud. Mayne didnтАЩt really begrudge his father the enjoyment, but he still
couldnтАЩt keep from wishing that Dinra had been seated next to his father rather than Lisni. If that had
been the arrangement, the meal would probably have ended with the second or third course.
Everyone got to their feet when the king finally stood up, but before Mayne could excuse himself Dinra
grabbed his arm and refused to relinquish possession of the limb. Every time Mayne thought he was free
he found that the girl had only shifted her hold to a more secure position, but then a stroke of genius
came. Pleading a call of nature finally got rid of the eight or nine-handed girl, and Mayne took immediate
advantage of his freedom by leaving the room.
His original intention had been to walk over to Adair, but that miserable female had been just about the
first to leave. Well, catching up to her in her apartment would be much better than confronting her in
public, Mayne knew, his smile grim as he strode along. He would give her the chance to apologize to his
father in the same public way sheтАЩd insulted the man, but if she refused she would find herself obeying
with an aching bottom.
One way or another she is going to apologize, Mayne promised himself silently as he approached the
door to her apartment. If she does well enough with the apology the spanking she gets afterward wonтАЩt
be too bad, but if she continues to act the way sheтАЩs been
MayneтАЩs thoughts broke off when the doorknob under his hand refused to turn. There should have been
nothing to keep him from entering AdairтАЩs sitting room, not when sitting room doors were rarely locked.
Possibly the knob was just stuck in some wayтАж
But the knob wasnтАЩt stuck. Peering closer showed Mayne that the door lock was firmly in place, and
knocking on the door brought absolutely nothing in the way of a response. The miserable female could
well have gone to bed, closing a second door between herself and her husband. A husband she didnтАЩt yet
know she had, and one she was hardly likely to greet with open arms when she did find out about himтАж
That thought stopped Mayne cold just as he was wondering what it would take to break down the
more-than-sturdy hall door. All that anger heтАЩd been feeling, the sense of insult on his fatherтАЩs behalfтАж
Being angry was a lot easier than feeling guilty, a lot easier to accept and a lot easier to admit to. This
morning, everything heтАЩd done in secret with Duke Elden had felt perfectly normal, but nowтАж
тАЬNow I feel like a sneak and a liar, not to mention a slave owner,тАЭ Mayne muttered as he stared at that
locked door. тАЬSlavery is absolutely forbidden in this kingdom, but somehow the restriction doesnтАЩt do a
thing for women like Adair. And apparently there are more like her than we knew.тАЭ