not belong to me. There is no profit in it."
"How dare you, sir? You are certainly not the man I believed you to be."
"Who did you believe me to be?" Gabriel called back over his shoulder.
The lady urged her mare after his stallion. "I thought that the man who wrote The Quest would be at least as noble and as valiant as the hero in his book," she yelled.
"Then you are a fool. Chivalry is for novels. I admit it sells well, but it is useless in the real world."
"I am exceedingly disappointed in you, my lord," she announced in ringing accents as her mare drew alongside his stallion. "Apparently everything I believed about you is nothing more than an illusion. You have ruined everything. Everything."
He glanced at her. "What did you expect of me, my Veiled Lady?"
"I expected you to put up a fight. I expected you to protect that manuscript. 1 did not expect you to give it up so easily. How could you be so cowardly?"
"How badly do you want that manuscript back, madam?"
"Quite badly. I paid a great deal of money for it. But that is the least of my concerns at the moment. What I really need is a genuine knight-errant."
"Very well, I will get the manuscript back for you.
When I bring it to you, I will tell you whether or not I will accept your quest."
"What?" She was plainly dumbfounded. At the same time, Gabriel sensed her renewed hope. "You mean you will think about taking on the task of helping me find the pirate who has my copy of The Lady in the Tower?"
"I will give the matter my closest consideration. But I must warn you, my Veiled Lady, that if I do undertake the quest and if I am successful, there will be a price."
That news appeared to startle her. "A price?"
"Yes."
"As it happens," she said, sounding disgruntled, "I had intended to give you that book you just handed over to the highwayman, as I'd hinted. It was to be a sort of memento of the quest. If we were successful, that is."
"I'm afraid the price will be a great deal higher than that, madam."
"You expect me to pay you to help me bring the villain to justice?" she demanded.
"Why not? When you send a man out on a quest, it is only fair to reward him."
"You should be ashamed of yourself," she shot back. "This is a matter of justice and honor. It is not as though I am asking you to help me find a lost treasure or a cache of jewels."
"Justice and honor are commodities that can be bought and sold just as freely as jewels and gold. I see no reason why I should not be paid for finding them."
She drew a breath. "You are very cynical, my lord."
"I am very practical, madam."
"I see. Very well. If you prefer to do business as a common tradesman rather than as a chivalrous knight, so be it." Her chin came up proudly. "What is the cost of your services?"
"As I do not yet know how much trouble this particular quest will cause me, I cannot set the price in advance. I must wait until the task is completed," Gabriel said.
After weeks of growing fascination with this outrageous female, he was feeling well satisfied with himself at last. He had finally gained the upper hand. A useful advantage, he thought. He would certainly need it, judging by what he had learned of her thus far.
"You will not name your price in advance? That's ridiculous. What if I cannot afford your fee?" she said.
"Never fear. You will be able to afford my price. The question is whether or not you will be honorable enough to pay it. Can I trust you to be true to your word, madam, or will you continue to play your little games?"
She was incensed. "How dare you question my honor, Wylde?"
"You certainly have not hesitated to question mine. You went so far as to call me a coward a few minutes ago."
"That's different," she sputtered.
"Is it? Men have been known to kill each other for less insult. But I am prepared to let bygones be bygones."
"How very decent of you," she got out in a choked voice.
"Do we have a bargain, my Veiled Lady?"
"Yes," she said instantly. "But first you must
"How dare you, sir? You are certainly not the man I believed you to be."
"Who did you believe me to be?" Gabriel called back over his shoulder.
The lady urged her mare after his stallion. "I thought that the man who wrote The Quest would be at least as noble and as valiant as the hero in his book," she yelled.
"Then you are a fool. Chivalry is for novels. I admit it sells well, but it is useless in the real world."
"I am exceedingly disappointed in you, my lord," she announced in ringing accents as her mare drew alongside his stallion. "Apparently everything I believed about you is nothing more than an illusion. You have ruined everything. Everything."
He glanced at her. "What did you expect of me, my Veiled Lady?"
"I expected you to put up a fight. I expected you to protect that manuscript. 1 did not expect you to give it up so easily. How could you be so cowardly?"
"How badly do you want that manuscript back, madam?"
"Quite badly. I paid a great deal of money for it. But that is the least of my concerns at the moment. What I really need is a genuine knight-errant."
"Very well, I will get the manuscript back for you.
When I bring it to you, I will tell you whether or not I will accept your quest."
"What?" She was plainly dumbfounded. At the same time, Gabriel sensed her renewed hope. "You mean you will think about taking on the task of helping me find the pirate who has my copy of The Lady in the Tower?"
"I will give the matter my closest consideration. But I must warn you, my Veiled Lady, that if I do undertake the quest and if I am successful, there will be a price."
That news appeared to startle her. "A price?"
"Yes."
"As it happens," she said, sounding disgruntled, "I had intended to give you that book you just handed over to the highwayman, as I'd hinted. It was to be a sort of memento of the quest. If we were successful, that is."
"I'm afraid the price will be a great deal higher than that, madam."
"You expect me to pay you to help me bring the villain to justice?" she demanded.
"Why not? When you send a man out on a quest, it is only fair to reward him."
"You should be ashamed of yourself," she shot back. "This is a matter of justice and honor. It is not as though I am asking you to help me find a lost treasure or a cache of jewels."
"Justice and honor are commodities that can be bought and sold just as freely as jewels and gold. I see no reason why I should not be paid for finding them."
She drew a breath. "You are very cynical, my lord."
"I am very practical, madam."
"I see. Very well. If you prefer to do business as a common tradesman rather than as a chivalrous knight, so be it." Her chin came up proudly. "What is the cost of your services?"
"As I do not yet know how much trouble this particular quest will cause me, I cannot set the price in advance. I must wait until the task is completed," Gabriel said.
After weeks of growing fascination with this outrageous female, he was feeling well satisfied with himself at last. He had finally gained the upper hand. A useful advantage, he thought. He would certainly need it, judging by what he had learned of her thus far.
"You will not name your price in advance? That's ridiculous. What if I cannot afford your fee?" she said.
"Never fear. You will be able to afford my price. The question is whether or not you will be honorable enough to pay it. Can I trust you to be true to your word, madam, or will you continue to play your little games?"
She was incensed. "How dare you question my honor, Wylde?"
"You certainly have not hesitated to question mine. You went so far as to call me a coward a few minutes ago."
"That's different," she sputtered.
"Is it? Men have been known to kill each other for less insult. But I am prepared to let bygones be bygones."
"How very decent of you," she got out in a choked voice.
"Do we have a bargain, my Veiled Lady?"
"Yes," she said instantly. "But first you must
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