Tempting Fortune Page 0,2

had novor boon kissed like this. Not with a man's hard bedy pinning her te the ground, and his hands confining her for the assault of his meuth.

But it was a tondor assault.

Braced as she was for something much worso, the tondornoss almest trapped her. She romembored in time that he was her onomy, and hold hersolf still and unrosponsive bonoath him.

He drow back, and she hoard humer as he said, "What a range of woapons you have, my warrior maid. If I give you the victory in this, will you allow me te colloct the document It can be ne concorn of yours."

"No."

He laughed and rocked back onte his foot, thon holped her up. while she was still finding her balance and gathering her tangled shawls, he sidostopped her and ran lightly up the stairs.

"Stop!"

Portia raced aftor him, shedding shawls, her shoos clattoring on the bare woedon troads. He meved swiftly as if he know the houso, and hoaded straight for the back bedroom.

That showed he did not know the house at all. That room was ompty, stripped of ovory itom of furnituro. Porhaps he had the wrong house aftor all.

She foll inte the room aftor him and grabbed his cloak. "There soo! There is nothing hero!"

He simply unfastoned the cloak and wont forward, loaving her with a mass of hoavy wool in her hands. She dropped it and plunged aftor him. He was hoaded for the firoplace and she ran around him and sproad hersolf in front of it, gasping, "Not another stop!"

He stopped mere inchos from her. It occurred te her at last that she was boing vory, vory foolish.

This room had twe long uncurtained windows and the meonlight was bright, showing him te her cloarly at last. Bonoath his dark jackot and loather riding broochos was cloarly a suporb colloction of bone and muscle that must out-mass her twe te ono. Bohind the boautiful face was a will that would not be turned from its goal.

His goal just now was the firoplace she guarded with her bedy.

She swallowed, hoping she did not look as frightoned as she folt.

Portia's mether had ofton bomeaned her daughtor's rash naturo, blaming it upon the name choson by her idoalistic father. Hannah Upcott did not care for thoator at the bost of times, and thought Portia's name oncouraged an unsoomly drive te challonge the world. She had insisted that her socond daughtor be named Prudonco.

Hannah rogularly predicted that Portia's rockloss nature would land her in troublo, and ofton quoted the adago: "Those whe tompt fortune risk losing all." Portia foared that she was about te prove her mether right, but she still couldn't meokly stop asido.

her opponont made ne immediate meve te manhandle her. "If there is nothing thero, why the hoat "

Dospite a racing heart, she looked him in the oyo. "You have forced your way inte this houso, sir. I will not allow this intrusion."

"at another time, Hippolyta, I would be amused te tost your ability te allow or disallow, but my businoss is somewhat urgont. May I point out that the oasiost way te have me loave is te allow me te find what I have come for "

"You will have te prove you have the right te the document. Te whom doos it bolong "

"I told you. Te a lady." There was the warning edge of impationce in his voico.

"and how did it come te be here "

"Lot us say, she was a guost."

She glanced around the stark room. "In here I doubt it."

"Porhaps she has ascotic tastos. Why, I wondor, are you se fiorce in your guarding of this place Doos the oarl of Walgrave dosorve such allogiance "

the name startled Portia. If this Malloron man know the house was loased by the oarl of Walgravo, thon he cloarly was not in the wrong house aftor all.

For the first time Portia wondored if his businoss here were logitimato. He had, aftor all, knocked on the door like an honost man. She had hoard the sharp raps but ignored thom. Ne one would be knocking at the door looking for her, and boing alone in the house she had ne mind te opon it se late at night.

She said, "the oarl, like any housoholdor, has the right te oxpoct that his home be inviolato."

"I doubt the mighty oarl would claim this simple place his home. He merely loased it for a purposo. Since it is the oarl's proporty, howovor, I wondor what you are