The Art Of Deception: the classic story from the queen of romance that you won’t be able to put down

“Cards…” She smiled at him, and though his face remained inscrutable, Adam would have sworn he came to attention. “I know it’s rude, but give them to Polly. I can’t bear to look at another red rose.”

“As you wish, miss. And the card?”

“Details,” she muttered, then sighed. “Leave it on my desk, I’ll deal with it. Sorry, Adam.” Turning, she started up the stairs again. “I’ve been bombarded with roses for the last three weeks. I’ve refused to become Jared’s mistress, but he’s persistent.” More exasperated than annoyed, she shook her head as they rounded the first curve. “I suppose I’ll have to threaten to tell his wife.”

“Might work,” Adam murmured.

“I ask you, shouldn’t a man know better by the time he hits sixty?” Rolling her eyes, she bounced up the next three steps. “I can’t imagine what he’s thinking of.”

She smelled of soap and was shapeless in the sweater and jeans. Moving behind her to the second story, Adam could imagine very well.

The second floor was lined with bedrooms. Each was unique, each furnished in a different style. The more Adam saw of the house, the more he was charmed. And the more he realized how complicated his task was going to be.

“The last room, my boudoir.” She gave him the slow, lazy smile that made his palms itchy. “I’ll promise not to compromise you as long as you’re aware my promises aren’t known for being kept.” With a light laugh, she pushed open the door and stepped inside. “Fish fins.”

“I beg your pardon?”

“Whatever for?” Ignoring him, Kirby marched into the room. “Do you see that?” she demanded. In a gesture remarkably like her father’s, she pointed at the bed. A scruffy dog lay like a lump in the center of a wedding ring quilt. Frowning, Adam walked a little closer.

“What is it?”

“A dog, of course.”

He looked at the gray ball of hair, which seemed to have no front or back. “It’s possible.”

A stubby tail began to thump on the quilt.

“This is no laughing matter, Montique. I take the heat, you know.”

Adam watched the bundle shift until he could make out a head. The eyes were still hidden behind the mop of fur, but there was a little black nose and a lolling tongue. “Somehow I’d’ve pictured you with a brace of Afghan hounds.”

“What? Oh.” Giving the mop on the bed a quick pat, she turned back to Adam. “Montique doesn’t belong to me, he belongs to Isabelle.” She sent the dog an annoyed glance. “She’s going to be very put out.”

Adam frowned at the unfamiliar name. Had McIntyre missed someone? “Is she one of the staff?”

“Good grief, no.” Kirby let out a peal of laughter that had Montique squirming in delight. “Isabelle serves no one. She’s… Well, here she is now. There’ll be the devil to pay,” she added under her breath.

Shifting his head, Adam looked toward the doorway. He started to tell Kirby there was no one there when a movement caught his eye. He looked down on a large buff-colored Siamese. Her eyes were angled, icily blue and, though he hadn’t considered such things before, regally annoyed. The cat crossed the threshold, sat and stared up at Kirby.

“Don’t look at me like that,” Kirby tossed out. “I had nothing to do with it. If he wanders in here, it has nothing to do with me.” Isabelle flicked her tail and made a low, dangerous sound in her throat. “I won’t tolerate your threats, and I will not keep my door locked.” Kirby folded her arms and tapped a foot on the Aubusson carpet. “I refuse to change a habit of a lifetime for your convenience. You’ll just have to keep a closer eye on him.”

As he watched silently, Adam was certain he saw genuine temper in Kirby’s eyes—the kind of temper one person aims toward another person. Gently he placed a hand on her arm and waited for her to look at him. “Kirby, you’re arguing with a cat.”

“Adam.” Just as gently, she patted his hand. “Don’t worry. I can handle it.” With a lift of her brow, she turned back to Isabelle. “Take him, then, and put him on a leash if you don’t want him wandering. And the next time, I’d appreciate it if you’d knock before you come into my room.”

With a flick of her tail, Isabelle moved to the bed and stared up at Montique. He thumped his tail, tongue lolling, before he leaped clumsily to the floor. With a kind of jiggling trot, he followed the gliding cat from the room.

“He went with her,” Adam murmured.

“Of course he did,” Kirby retorted. “She has a beastly temper.”

Refusing to be taken for a fool, Adam gave Kirby a long, uncompromising look. “Are you trying to tell me that the dog belongs to that cat?”

“Do you have a cigarette?” she countered. “I rarely smoke, but Isabelle affects me that way.” She noted that his eyes never lost their cool, mildly annoyed expression as he took one out and lit it for her. Kirby had to swallow a chuckle. Adam was, she decided, remarkable. She drew on the cigarette and blew out the smoke without inhaling. “Isabelle maintains that Montique followed her home. I think she kidnapped him. It would be just like her.”

Games, he thought again. Two could play. “And to whom does Isabelle belong?”

“Belong?” Kirby’s eyes widened. “Isabelle belongs to no one but herself. Who’d want to lay claim to such a wicked creature?”

And he could play as well as anyone. Taking the cigarette from her, Adam drew in smoke. “If you dislike her, why don’t you just get rid of her?”

She nipped the cigarette from his fingers again. “I can hardly do that as long as she pays the rent, can I? There, that’s enough,” she decided after another drag. “I’m quite calm again.” She handed him back the cigarette before she walked to the door. “I’ll take you up to Papa’s studio. We’ll just skip over the third floor, everything’s draped with dustcovers.”

Adam opened his mouth, then decided that some things were best left alone. Dismissing odd cats and ugly dogs, he followed Kirby back into the hall again. The stairs continued up in a lazy arch to the third floor, then veered sharply and became straight and narrow. Kirby stopped at the transition point and gestured down the hall.

“The floor plan is the same as the second floor. There’s a set of stairs at the opposite side that lead to my studio. The rest of these rooms are rarely used.” She gave him the slow smile as she linked hands. “Of course, the entire floor’s haunted.”

“Of course.” He found it only natural. Without a word, he followed her to the tower.

Chapter 3

Normalcy. Tubes of paint were scattered everywhere, brushes stood in jars. The scent of oil and turpentine hung in the air. This Adam understood—the debris and the sensuality of art.

The room was rounded with arching windows and a lofty ceiling. The floor might have been beautiful at one time, but now the wood was dull and splattered and smeared with paints and stains. Canvases were in the corners, against the walls, stacked on the floor.

Kirby gave the room a swift, thorough study. When she saw all was as it should be, the tension eased from her shoulders. Moving across the room, she went to her father.

He sat, motionless and unblinking, staring down at a partially formed mound of clay. Without speaking, Kirby walked around the worktable, scrutinizing the clay from all angles. Fairchild’s eyes remained riveted on his work. After a few moments, Kirby straightened, rubbed her nose with the back of her hand and pursed her lips.

“Mmm.”

“That’s only your opinion,” Fairchild snapped.

“It certainly is.” For a moment, she nibbled on her thumbnail. “You’re entitled to another. Adam, come have a look.”

He sent her a killing glance that caused her to grin. Trapped by manners, he crossed the studio and looked down at the clay.

It was, he supposed, an adequate attempt—a partially formed hawk, talons exposed, beak just parted. The power, the life, that sung in his paints, and in his daughter’s sculptures, just wasn’t there. In vain, Adam searched for a way out.

“Hmm,” he began, only to have Kirby pounce on the syllable.

“There, he agrees with me.” Kirby patted her father’s head and looked smug.

“What does he know?” Fairchild demanded. “He’s a painter.”

“And so, darling Papa, are you. A brilliant one.”

He struggled not to be pleased and poked a finger into the clay. “Soon, you hateful brat, I’ll be a brilliant sculptor as well.”