Her Master's Touch by Patricia Watters Read Free Book Online Page B

the
place though, just to be rid of it. Claimed the memories were more
than he could bear."
    Eliza felt her throat tighten. How could her
father have felt that way? He'd rarely visited her when she was at
Madam Chatworthy's. From his letters, he'd cared little for
anything but Shanti Bhavan . Yet, to sell the place and
return to England, he must have cared some.
    For the first time since she'd fled England,
she felt guilt for having broken with him and never contacting him
again. She also felt a need to go to him, learn from him the reason
behind her mother's sudden disappearance from her life so many
years ago. But she had no idea where in England her father lived.
Nor did she have money for ship’s passage.
    Damon rested his head against the tree and
said, musingly, "I sometimes wonder if he ever found her. He's
never mentioned it in his letters, so I assume he hasn't."
    Swallowing hard, Eliza said, "Then... you
still... correspond with him?"
    Damon nodded. "Sporadically, over the years.
More often lately, since he holds land along the river that I
planned to buy. But recently I changed my mind, and I expect to
return to England instead." He studied her closely. Although a
cooling breeze sifted through the trees, sweat glistened on her
brow, and her eyelids fluttered nervously. She was skittish as a
cat. She was also asking too many questions. Did she know who he
was? Had she been sent by authorities to verify what they'd only
suspected? After all, she'd been the one to suggest she work for
him.
    He fixed his gaze on her."Who are you?"
    She looked up. "I beg your pardon?"
    "You're clearly Eurasian. Who are you?"
    "I'm half Hindu, half British," she
replied.
    "Where are your parents?" he asked.
    "My mother's dead. I don't know where my
father is," she replied.
    "But you've obviously had a British
education," he said. "How did you come by it?"
    "After my mother died I lived with a British
family," she replied.
    Her answer came so readily, Damon found
himself believing her, believing she wasn't a spy sent to ferret
out the truth about him. But he suspected the reason she didn't
know the whereabouts of her father was because he was a seaman and
she was his bastard daughter. That touched a soft spot in him.
Covering her hand, he lifted it to his lips and placed a kiss
against her palm, then returned it to his chest, and said, "Why do
you roam with gypsies when you could find a man who could make a
proper home for you?"
    As he said the words, her face became
wistful, which surprised him. He'd thought her far too independent
for such sentiment. "Do I see melancholy in your eyes?" he asked.
"Is it a wife you wish to be instead of a gypsy hoyden?"
    The wistfulness faded, and sparks of
challenge flared in her eyes. "Haven't you heard the old adage that
one never knows what's behind a gypsy's eyes?"
    Damon studied her closely. Perhaps it was so.
She'd collected herself quickly, and now her eyes were unreadable.
"I give little credence to old adages—" he curved a finger beneath
her chin, lifting "—only new facts."
    "What kind of facts?" The look on her face
was eager, hopeful, and she made no move to stop him when he
brushed her lips with his. Rather, she kissed him back, her lips
yielding. But after a moment, she braced both hands on his chest,
and said, "I only allowed you to do that so I could try it again. I
was curious."
    "Have I satisfied your curiosity?" Damon
asked, fighting the urge to lay her back against the warm earth and
strip off her clothes and...
    "Yes and no," she said. "It didn't tickle
this time, but now I feel warm all over, my cheeks, my neck...
other places.” She fanned her face with her hand. “It's...odd."
    "Not odd. Natural," Damon said, noting the
sensual fullness of her parted lips. He brushed her bottom lip with
his thumb. "Perhaps it's true, one never knows what's behind a
gypsy's eyes," he said, "but I'll wager from the fire burning in
yours that I see passion."
    "Passions,' she replied. "It's said