Shadow's Kiss by Amii Lorin

Author:Amii Lorin [Lorin, Amii]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Western Historical Paranormal Romance
Publisher: Belgrave House
Published: 1994-12-15T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter 10

The women looked bored, restless, edgy.

Darcy felt edgy as well. The turbulent emotions aroused by her discussion with Jonathan continued to churn inside her, disrupting her thoughts.

And from the expressions on the faces of every one of the women, Darcy knew the instant she walked into the dining room, where they had gathered for the meeting, she needed to be alert and clear-headed.

“I sure hope you called this meeting to tell us you’re going to reopen the house.” Sally took the initiative as first to speak. “The customers are getting mighty damned impatient about this long mourning period.”

Relegating the disrupting considerations of love for an elusive shadow to the very fringes of her mind, Darcy stared into the shrewd, hard eyes of the fresh-faced, sweet-looking young woman and knew she had been robbed of the opportunity to gradually present her case, hoping thereby to win their acceptance of her plans. Challenged, she drew a quick breath, exhaled, and slowly shook her head from side to side. “No. As long as I own this house, it will never be reopened as a house of ill repute.”

Her pronouncement was met with incredulous stares and stunned silence for some seconds, then the room reverberated with the sounds of their exclamations.

“What?”

“But why didn’t you say somethin’ sooner?”

“It’s been two weeks!”

“How are we supposed to earn a living?”

“You shoulda told us!”

“Well, goddamn!” This came from Sally, and had surly, intimidating connotations.

Feeling under siege, Darcy took a step back, then was brought up short by a spectral voice inside her mind.

Do not retreat now. Tell them of your intentions.

Drawing a vision to her mind of her mentor, Darcy straightened her spine, squared her shoulders, and lifted her chin. “If you will give me the courtesy of your attention,” she said in perfect imitation of Miss Reinholt’s sternest and most austere tones, “I will endeavor to explain.”

The effect of Darcy’s voice, the intonations, on the women, mirrored precisely the effect Miss Reinholt had maintained on her staff and students; it cut through the babble like a knife through butter. The women were rendered wide-eyed, slack-jawed, and silent.

“Thank you.” Sparing a cool smile, Darcy proceeded into the room, to take her seat at the head of the long dining room table. “Please, if you will be seated?” She inclined her head, inviting the two women still standing to join the assembled group. Then, while Sally and Katie moved to comply, Darcy raised her voice a notch to summon the cook from the kitchen and Clancy from the bar-gaming room.

“Dora ... Mr. Dugan, please join us. This concerns the two of you as well as the ladies.”

Darcy ignored the exchange of mutters around the table, and the silent shadow hovering by her side, sitting erect, hands folded on the gleaming tabletop, drawing the fluttering shards of her composure together as she waited with what appeared to be calm and limitless patience.

The heat in the room bore down upon her; beneath her dress, perspiration trickled along her breastbone to pool under her breasts.

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