that I'm extremely annoyed with you, madam."
"You do not understand," she wailed. "I was trying to capture your interest, not make you angry. I thought you would enjoy the adventure of it all. It was the sort of mystery the hero of your book would have enjoyed."
"The hero of The Quest is a much younger man than I am," Gabriel said. "He still has a decidedly unhealthy amount of knightly idealism and youthful naivete."
"Well, I like him that way," the Veiled Lady flung back. "He is much nicer than you are, that is for certain. Oh, never mind. It has all gone wrong. I regret I ever embarked on this stupid venture. What a disaster it has been. A complete and utter waste of time. I do not even have The Knight and the Sorcerer to show for all my efforts."
"The next time I see you," Gabriel said softly, "I shall return your manuscript and give you my decision concerning your quest."
The Veiled Lady urged her mare away from Gabriel's stallion. "You do not know who I am. You will not be able to find me."
"I shall find you." He knew even as he spoke the words that he was making a vow to himself and to her. Tonight's venture had done nothing to satisfy his curiosity about the Veiled Lady. Indeed, it had only whetted his appetite. He had never met a woman like her and he knew now that he would not be content until he had possessed her. "It is you who began this business, madam, but be assured that I am the one who will end it."
"I am convinced you have already ended it," she said bleakly. "I must tell you again that you are a grave disappointment thus far, my lord."
"I am, of course, stricken to hear that."
"It is not amusing, damn you." The Veiled Lady struggled to calm her mare. The beast was reacting nervously to the emotion in her rider's voice. "I do not know why I ever started this."
"Neither do I," Gabriel said. "Why don't you try explaining it to me?"
"I thought you were another sort of man altogether," the Veiled Lady said accusingly. "I thought you were a true knight who understood about things like quests. You may recall that when I first wrote to you, I mentioned the possibility of an important venture. But you were completely unresponsive to my initial inquiries."
"Hardly surprising, considering all I had were a couple of cryptic letters from an unknown woman who asked me if I wanted to play knight-errant. When I ignored those, I found myself dueling with the lady for every medieval romance I wished to acquire. The entire experience was extremely irritating."
"I told you, I wanted to create a mystery that you would wish to solve."
"You achieved your goal, madam. But the mystery is still not entirely solved, even though I have seen your face. I don't know your name."
"And you are never going to discover it," she assured him. "I am finished with this nonsense. I shall pursue my quest by myself. I find I do not need or want your help, after all. Good night, my lord. I apologize for bringing you out at midnight on a fool's errand."
The Veiled Lady abruptly gave a signal to her mare. The horse leaped forward at full gallop and tore off down the moonlit lane.
Gabriel waited a moment before following at a more sedate pace. He could hear the mare's hoofbeats pounding away in the distance, but he made no effort to catch up to his quarry. He did not want to overtake her, but merely keep track of her until she was safely home. He had a fairly good notion now of where she was going.
A few minutes later he rounded a bend in the lane and saw that his hunch was correct. He sat watching from the shadows as the Veiled Lady and her mare turned into the drive of the massive country house belonging to Lord and Lady Amesbury.
From the number of carriages in the lane, it was apparent the Amesburys were holding one of their famous house parties this weekend. Music and light poured from the open windows of the great house. Lady Amesbury never invited less than a hundred guests to her affairs.
It was obvious his Veiled Lady had
"You do not understand," she wailed. "I was trying to capture your interest, not make you angry. I thought you would enjoy the adventure of it all. It was the sort of mystery the hero of your book would have enjoyed."
"The hero of The Quest is a much younger man than I am," Gabriel said. "He still has a decidedly unhealthy amount of knightly idealism and youthful naivete."
"Well, I like him that way," the Veiled Lady flung back. "He is much nicer than you are, that is for certain. Oh, never mind. It has all gone wrong. I regret I ever embarked on this stupid venture. What a disaster it has been. A complete and utter waste of time. I do not even have The Knight and the Sorcerer to show for all my efforts."
"The next time I see you," Gabriel said softly, "I shall return your manuscript and give you my decision concerning your quest."
The Veiled Lady urged her mare away from Gabriel's stallion. "You do not know who I am. You will not be able to find me."
"I shall find you." He knew even as he spoke the words that he was making a vow to himself and to her. Tonight's venture had done nothing to satisfy his curiosity about the Veiled Lady. Indeed, it had only whetted his appetite. He had never met a woman like her and he knew now that he would not be content until he had possessed her. "It is you who began this business, madam, but be assured that I am the one who will end it."
"I am convinced you have already ended it," she said bleakly. "I must tell you again that you are a grave disappointment thus far, my lord."
"I am, of course, stricken to hear that."
"It is not amusing, damn you." The Veiled Lady struggled to calm her mare. The beast was reacting nervously to the emotion in her rider's voice. "I do not know why I ever started this."
"Neither do I," Gabriel said. "Why don't you try explaining it to me?"
"I thought you were another sort of man altogether," the Veiled Lady said accusingly. "I thought you were a true knight who understood about things like quests. You may recall that when I first wrote to you, I mentioned the possibility of an important venture. But you were completely unresponsive to my initial inquiries."
"Hardly surprising, considering all I had were a couple of cryptic letters from an unknown woman who asked me if I wanted to play knight-errant. When I ignored those, I found myself dueling with the lady for every medieval romance I wished to acquire. The entire experience was extremely irritating."
"I told you, I wanted to create a mystery that you would wish to solve."
"You achieved your goal, madam. But the mystery is still not entirely solved, even though I have seen your face. I don't know your name."
"And you are never going to discover it," she assured him. "I am finished with this nonsense. I shall pursue my quest by myself. I find I do not need or want your help, after all. Good night, my lord. I apologize for bringing you out at midnight on a fool's errand."
The Veiled Lady abruptly gave a signal to her mare. The horse leaped forward at full gallop and tore off down the moonlit lane.
Gabriel waited a moment before following at a more sedate pace. He could hear the mare's hoofbeats pounding away in the distance, but he made no effort to catch up to his quarry. He did not want to overtake her, but merely keep track of her until she was safely home. He had a fairly good notion now of where she was going.
A few minutes later he rounded a bend in the lane and saw that his hunch was correct. He sat watching from the shadows as the Veiled Lady and her mare turned into the drive of the massive country house belonging to Lord and Lady Amesbury.
From the number of carriages in the lane, it was apparent the Amesburys were holding one of their famous house parties this weekend. Music and light poured from the open windows of the great house. Lady Amesbury never invited less than a hundred guests to her affairs.
It was obvious his Veiled Lady had
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