Virginia beamed. "Then all I have to do is make a few phone calls, and—oh, damn." Her face fell. "It's Sunday. I won't be able to get hold of anyone until tomorrow morning." For some reason, she cast a worried glance in the direction of the bedroom. "That gives Bertram a whole day."
"Then I won't leave your side for a single moment," Dai said firmly. "If Bertram wants your find, he'll have to get through me."
Abruptly, Dai's dragon reared up in his mind, roaring a challenge. At the same instant, the front door flew back on its hinges with an ear-splitting crash, revealing a tall, slender figure in a pale grey suit.
"That could be arranged," said the other dragon shifter.
Chapter Seven
"Bertram," Virginia spat. Dai was already on his feet, interposing his body between her and the dragon shifter. "What are you doing here?"
"Mainly, being appalled." Bertram came through the doorway as though forced to step into a swamp, glancing around her small apartment with a look of disdain. His nose wrinkled as his gaze fell on Dai. "Really, Virginia? I had such low expectations of your taste, and yet you still manage to disappoint me."
"You are trespassing," Dai said. His voice had dropped into a deep growl, with a distinct feral edge. He stalked toward Bertram, every muscle in his shoulders and arms tense and ready. "I think you should leave now."
Even though Bertram was at least four inches shorter and a good deal lighter than Dai, he didn't back down. Then again, he could turn into a fifty-foot dragon, after all, so Virginia supposed he had no particular reason to be intimidated by the firefighter's greater size. He met Dai's eyes coolly, lifting his chin a little.
"I possess a flawless four carat princess-cut diamond," Bertram said, his own voice holding a hint of contained snarl.
Virginia blinked, but Dai halted as abruptly as if he'd just run into an invisible wall. His back straightened. "I possess an unworked nugget of Gwynfynydd gold, exceedingly fine."
Bertram's lip curled. "Hah. I possess four ingots of pure gold, each one a kilogram in weight."
"What's going on?" Virginia asked, looking back and forth between them.
The two men ignored her. They circled each other like cats preparing to fight, eyes fixed on each other.
"I possess a choker containing a dozen matched rubies of exceptional quality, set in platinum," Bertram declared.
"I possess a flawless five carat cushion-cut emerald, surrounded by twenty diamonds, set in gold," Dai countered.
Okay, Virginia thought in bemusement. Either firefighters in Britain are paid much better than they are back home in the States, or there's a lot Dai hasn't told me yet about his family.
She didn't dare interrupt again. The mounting menace between the two men was almost visible, like a heat haze in the air between them.
Bertram sniffed. "I possess a flawless eight carat emerald, mounted in platinum. Are we going to continue to trade mere baubles, or do you have even a single item of real worth?"
Dai set his shoulders like a boxer entering the ring. "I possess a silver chalice, set with cabochon rubies and worked with gold, over six hundred years old."
Bertram waved dismissively. "I possess a complete set of ten nested golden bowls, exquisitely chased, which I took myself from the burial chamber of King Cynewulf of Wessex."
"You do?" Virginia exclaimed.
Dai's jaw tightene
d. "I possess...the torc of Dafydd ap Llewelyn, first Prince of Wales."
"You do?" Virginia said again.
"I see." Bertram's eyes narrowed. "And that is your greatest treasure?" His lean form angled forward, poised for Dai's answer.
Dai's own shoulders relaxed slightly, as though he felt he had the upper hand at last. "It is."
"Oh, well then." All the tension went out of Bertram's body. He threw back his head, letting out a disdainful laugh. "I've barely even got started. I have nineteen gold torcs, some worn by kings so old their names are barely remembered. I have so many gold and silver coins from barrows, I can sleep on the pile full-length without even having to curl the tip of my tail. Little red, you could not even begin to imagine the scale of my hoard. Do you concede?"
Dai's face was rigid. "I concede."
"What on earth is going on here?" Virginia tugged at Dai's arm. He felt like an iron statue. "Dai?"