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actually. He
    put down the frame and selected
yet another. "Now if you'll
    just as ably answer the other
part. Why did he establish you
    as a merchant? Why not simply put
you in a house and support
    you and Mohan in royal
fashion?" .
     
    ''That was his intention at the
beginning. I suggested that
    Mohan would learn more of what he
needs to know if he were
    to experience a more common
reality. In the end, the raja saw
    matters my way."
     
    "Do you always get your
way?" .
     
    "No, not always." He
set down the small frame, but this
    time didn't select another.
Still, he didn't look at her. She
    found it most odd; it didn't seem
at all like him to approach
    matters in this way. "Just
usually." .
     
    His gaze snapped up to meet hers
as another of his heart jolting
    grins lit up his face. "I'm
not the least surprised by
    that."
     
    Something had surprised her,
though. Aiden could see It.m
    the nervous edge to the smile she
gave him in return. Despite
    an apparently determined effort
to appear unaffected, her gesture
    was a bit vague and shaky when
she indicated the back of
    the main floor and said, "If
you'll come this way, I'll show you
    the other rooms."
     
    There was nothing vague about the
way she turned and
    walked off. He'd seen squads of
royal sailors make less obvious
    retreats. He followed, puzzling
over what he'd done
    that had set her into flight.
She'd been answering his questions
    easily and forthrightly up until ... He'd
given her a
    compliment. Well, of sorts,
anyway. That's when she'd gotten
    flustered. And he'd smiled at
her, too.
     
    “ 'This is
one of the three fabric rooms," she said, interrupting
    his musing.
     
    Aiden stopped with the space of the
doorway separating
    them and looked inside. There
were shelves against 3ll the
    walls from floor to ceiling. all
of them packed with neatly
    folded fabric. The floor was
covered with a dark blue, richly
    patterned rug. A huge
library-type table sat in the center . of
    the room and a discreetly draped
dress form had been placed
    in the comer. Everything was
blue, green, purple, or a variation
    thereof.
     
    She didn't say anything
but he followed when she moved
    to the next room. As the first
had been stocked with fabrics
    at the cooler end of the rainbow, this one decidedly dis played
    the warmer. Reds. yellows, oranges.
From bright to
    the merest hint of color. Another
coordinating rug, another
    table, another dress form .
     
    The third room she showed him
was, to his surprise,
    something of a disappointment
after the first two. It was visually
    divided in half. Blacks and grays
were on one side.
     
    Whites to light camels on the
other. The rug was white, the
    dress form draped in black. He
frowned, realizing that, as
    strange as it was, the general
absence of color made him feel
    somehow cheated.
     
    He was still pondering his
reaction to the room when she
    moved to the next. This one she
actually entered and he dutifully
    stepped in
behind her. There were shelves in this one,
    too. But it wasn't fabric she
displayed. It was silver. Tea and
    coffee services, trays, bowls,
platters, pitchers, and silverware.
     
    God Almighty, there was enough
silverware in that room to
    set the table at Windsor Castle.
There were wooden storage
    boxes of it everyWhere; some
stacked one upon the other,
    some of them opened to display
the gleaming contents. If
    there was any stolen silver in
the mountain before him, he'd
    have one helluva time trying to
find it.
     
    "I don't
think I've ever seen a collection of silver this ...
    extensive," he ventured.
     
    She tweaked the angle of a tea
service on one of the
    shelves, saying, "It is a
bit overwhelming, isn't it? I didn't
    set out to be a silver broker,
but the opportunity presented itself
    and the profits are so
attractive, I couldn't resist. It's
    been very instructional for Mohan,
too."
     
    "I can't
imagine a raja being all that concerned over what
    spoons are used on the royal
table," he offered, hoping that it
    was