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at all like roses. At the moment, they were naught but bundles of
sticks with their heads chopped off. "Indeed? My love, would you like a
bunch of these thorny stems for your hair?"
    Miriel's
lips twitched with amusement, and she raised a defiant chin to
Sung Li. "Perchance I would."
    The maidservant
growled in displeasure, then resumed her tour.
    "Colewarts!"
Rand called out as they passed the famil iar white mounds that grew in
every winter garden and graced every supper table in Scotland.
    "Every
child knows colewarts," the maid sneered. "They are common."
    "Aye,
most common, unlike my fair Miriel," he cooed, half to amuse the woman on
his arm, half to annoy the maidservant. Still, 'twas not a lie. Lady Miriel was
a rare sight, with her pale-as-cream skin, her crystal blue eyes, her dark,
shining tresses, and that cherry-sweet mouth...
    "Wolfsbane."
    "Wolfsbane?"
he murmured distractedly, capturing Miriel's gaze with his own. She bit her lip
to keep from laughing, and he lowered his eyes to that succulent lip, making
his desire to kiss her evident.
    Sung
Li added with sarcastic hospitality, "Perchance you would like to try
some."
    "Mm,"
he said, still gazing at Miriel's tempting mouth. "Maybe later."
    "Hmph."
The old woman pointed to a row of strange plants with leaves like paddles.
"You do not know what that is."
    Feigning
interest, he gave her his most earnest frown. "Nay." But while Sung
Li explained that they were kailaan, an honorable vegetable from
her homeland. Rand glanced over at his beguiling companion. Her eyes had gone
soft and dreamy, and he felt a swift tightening in his braies as a jolt of
desire raced through him.
    "And
what about these?" Sung Li demanded smugly, nodding to a bed of plants
resembling large green roses.
    Growing
weary of Sung Li's game, Rand rolled his eyes, making Miriel giggle.
    Sung
Li whipped around, planted her fists on her hips, and snapped, "You zhi!"
    Rand
furrowed his brow, trying to appear serious. "You zhi," he
repeated.
    Miriel
giggled again, this time freely. 'Twas a delightful sound, and her teeth shone
as white as pearls. "Sung Li just called you a child."
    Rand arched a brow of disbelief
at the impertinent maid, who n odded in curt agreement.
    "A child?” Simple
mercenary he might be, and a bas tard by birth, but he was a proper
knight. No servant had the right to insult him.
    "You
are both children,"
Sung Li decided.
    The
impudent maid was asking for a beating.
    But
before he could chastise her, Miriel barked, "Sung Li!"
    The
maid threw her hands up in frustration. "I am done with you. You do not
listen to me today, Miriel. Tell me when you have grown up."
    With
an imperial swish of her skirts, the tiny maid brushed past them and out the
gate.
    Rand
couldn't be more glad to see the old crone go. 'Twas obvious that Lady Miriel
desired him, and the wanton wench was probably accustomed to getting what she
wanted. He was
only too happy to oblige. Particularly because it served his purposes so well.
    After
the gate slammed shut, he turned to the lovely lass, perusing her slowly from
head to toe. "You look all grown up to me."
    "Do I?”
she asked coyly.
    "Oh, aye," he
murmured, with a lazy grin. "You feel like a woman."
He raised her hand and rubbed it gently against his cheek. "You smell
like a woman." He bent close and inhaled the flowery
fragrance of her hair. "And you definitely taste like a woman." He
lowered his gaze to her mouth and hungrily licked his lips, then dipped his head
until his breath caressed her jaw. "Even if you
spy on people like a naughty child."
    He
nipped at her lips once, twice, then engaged her fully,
sinking into the kiss as she made a soft moan of pleasure. Releasing her
fingers, he cupped her face in his hands, reveling in the silky texture of her
skin, the soft sweep of her hair, the delicate shell of her ear.
    His
loins pulsed as she eagerly responded, opening her mouth for him, tilting her head,
spreading her fingers across his chest. She was