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daughters she had spoken of. They were virtuous girls, just as she had said they would be. He had done everything, and the queen had made Robert strong and handsome—and whole.
    â€œYour heir enjoys a rather rich and healthy life, does he not?” the man asked as he settled into the chair. “I hear he has recently married.”
    Lennox didn’t care for the tone in the man’s voice. Hackles raised, he met the stranger’s gaze. “State your business.”
    â€œIt is time the tithe was paid.”
    â€œHow much?” he asked, reaching into his desk drawer for a bank draft.
    The man laughed and crossed his long leg over his knee. “The queen has no need of your mortal money. What she desires are your daughters.”
    â€œAll of them?” he demanded, his eyes narrowing.
    â€œAll four of them.”
    Reaching for the brandy, Lennox swallowed the contents of the goblet in one swig. Bloody hell, this was going from bad to worse. Never had he thought the queen would demand his daughters. Damn it. He’d already bargained with another of their kind for one of his daughters. That was where his wealth had come from. He wanted the best for his daughters, and before the feyhad come, his purse was light, the debts heavy. So, he had made another bargain—one for gold, and his daughter’s happiness and comfort.
    Christ, he was a man who had been visited by the fey not once, but twice in his lifetime. And both times the blasted creatures had known what he had wanted.
    â€œThe queen demands that you take the girls to London. They are not safe here.”
    â€œNow, see here,” Lennox roared, “I take very good care of my daughters and there is nothing on this green earth that I would allow to harm them.”
    â€œYou, Your Grace, will have no power to stop the ones who are coming for them.”
    â€œBah,” he grumbled, waving off the concern. “There is nothing that wealth and influence cannot buy. My girls are safe here under my protection.”
    â€œOthers are coming for them. I assure you, they will not be bought off. Your wealth and influence will mean nothing to them. You must take your daughters and leave. At once. Your son and his wife are hosting a ball tonight, are they not?”
    Lennox narrowed his eyes, unnerved that this stranger—this…creature could know something so mundane, yet personal, about his son and the masked ball he was giving.
    â€œI am correct, am I not? Your son is having a grand party.”
    â€œNow, see here. I’m not packing up the house and leaving for London today. Besides, we won’t make it to the ball in time.”
    â€œDo you know who I am?” the stranger asked. He appeared bored, but his voice was sharp, full of warning.
    â€œOne of them, ” Lennox found himself grumbling as he searched for a way out of this tangle. “Like her.”
    The stranger smiled. “Indeed. I am Crom, the queen’s son.”
    â€œIt was a pleasure to meet you. Salisbury will see you out.”
    Two large palms slammed down atop the shiny rosewood, making Lennox nearly jump out of his skin. “Your Grace, you do not amuse me. I am at the length of my patience. You will take your daughters, and you will leave Glastonbury. Today .”
    â€œWe won’t make it in time for the ball,” he repeated, “and I am not having my family on the roads in the dark of night. Thieves come out when the moon rises in the night sky. Infidels, sir. Highwaymen with whom I do not wish to cross paths. Imagine what the bastards will do if they discover my daughters and wife in the carriage.”
    â€œYou would risk my temper and my considerable powers to a weak roadside thief?”
    Lennox bristled at the dangerous tone. “It cannot be done. Not today.”
    â€œI have many powers, and getting you to London before the ball will be no great trial.”
    â€œAnd what do you expect me to tell my