He, of course, looked at Kat, as did Lady Margaret.
“Um…I believe they had something to do at the home of Lord Daws,” Kat murmured.
“I’m sure they’ll be right along,” Hunter said.
Kat didn’t look at him. Her cheeks reddened as she stared at the fire.
“Call the house, Father,” Margaret suggested.
“Oh, blast! I hate that gadget!” Lord Avery complained.
“I’ll call,” Hunter offered, but as he approached the phone, Lord Avery’s butler appeared, announcing that the Right Honorable David Turnberry and Lord Alfred Daws had arrived.
The two young men entered the room. David appeared fine. Alfred was sporting a serious bruise on his jaw.
“David!” With her customary graciousness, Margaret welcomed the one man first, then turned to the second. “And Alfred. Welcome.”
They both greeted their hostess. David looked at Hunter with serious trepidation and shook his hand gravely. Alfred, too, approached him sheepishly. Hunter said nothing, only inclined his head, curious to see how the two would greet Kat.
They did so with gallantry. Kat, too, kept silent.
“Well, then, dinner,” Lord Avery said.
Hunter found himself seated between Eliza and Margaret that evening. He chafed.
Kat was not next to David, but she was beside Alfred. Frequently during the meal, he would see their heads come close together, their words spoken only for each other.
He caught Eliza Adair studying him gravely at one point. She flushed when he met her gaze.
“What is it?” he asked her. She hadn’t Kat’s fire, but she did have a sweet nature and her own brand of dignity.
“You’re concerned about my sister,” she said softly.
“Am I?” he asked.
“Yes, and I am, also.”
“Oh?”
“It seems we’re all blind at times. Father doesn’t see the evil in Lady Daws, and yet to so many others, she is transparent. Kat doesn’t see that David Turnberry is often petulant, and that he thinks himself above everyone else—of course, his father’s holdings are vast…. Perhaps it’s true that we see only what we choose to see.”
He smiled at her. “You are an astute young woman.”
“In her way, you know, Kat listens to you,” Eliza told him.
He laughed softly. “No, I’m afraid not.”
“Oh, she would never admit such a thing!” Eliza said. “But she does. Perhaps you might use your influence to make her drop her blinders where David is concerned. I know that you will see that her art is encouraged.”
Eliza spoke with sincerity, her gaze intense.
“There’s really not much I can do, you know.”
“Sir Hunter,” Eliza said with a laugh, “you hardly seem the type to underestimate yourself! She will be working for you, after all.”
He glanced across the table. He still could not hear the words being said between Kat and Alfred, but he was certain that Alfred was doing his best to apologize. At one point, he saw Kat smile.
“Where is Lady Daws this evening?” he asked Eliza.
“About on business. That is all I’ve been told.”
“Do you know when this business came up?”
Eliza offered him a grin. “When she heard that David’s good college chum, Lord Alfred, would be present.”
“I see,” he murmured.
At last, dinner came to an end, the men excused themselves for brandy and cheroots, and Hunter found himself in the smoking parlor with Lord Avery, William Adair and the two young men. Both, he knew, were extremely uncomfortable with him, and he was glad. They still needed to exchange words, and the occasion presented itself when Lord Avery, who had grown very fond of William Adair, insisted on showing him a Rembrandt he had in an upstairs salon.
When they were gone, a moment of silence ensued. Then both young men began to speak at once.
“Sir Hunter, I don’t know what I was doing….” Alfred began.
“There was no evil intent, I swear!” David avowed.
“It hadn’t seemed so unlikely, sir!” Alfred said. “Lord knows what the young lady in question has done in the past, and David truly believed that…that…”
Hunter shook his head, stopping them both with a look. “She is a young woman of good family. Which you’ve seen.”
“But—” David said.
“She is not to be any man’s mistress,” Hunter said flatly.
“My father would never agree to a marriage,” David said miserably.
“Well, it is a new world. If you really love the young woman, you can defy your father and marry her,” Hunter pointed out.
David flushed. “Sir, and then what?”
“Well, you are a student.”
“And you think that I might make an income at the law?” David said, his tone incredulous.
“Sir, you nearly broke my jaw,” Alfred reminded him. “Please believe, you have made your point. But please believe, too, that we were all a little hotheaded at the time. After all, sir, you barged into my house.”
“Better me than her father,” Hunter said. “Someone might have died. At any rate, lives would have been ruined.”
“There could be a way…” David murmured.
“A way for what?” Hunter demanded sharply.
“I do love her!” David said defiantly.
“If that’s the case, perhaps you should discuss the situation with Lord Avery now, and the young woman’s father afterward.”
“I can’t do that!” David said.
“Then may I suggest that you stay away from her, far away.”
“You, Sir Hunter, have seen to it that she will be on the expedition.”
“At my side,” Hunter assured him.
“I would not have hurt her!” David swore again.
Footsteps sounded from the hallway.
“See that you don’t,” Hunter warned very softly. “There will be much more than a bruised jaw to pay in the future.”
“ARE YOU PACKED AND READY to go?” Margaret asked Kat, sipping tea and looking at her with interest and kindness.
Guilt ran deep within her. In fact, the entire day had been a misery. Kat forced a smile, aware of her sister, and aware that her sister knew so much about her.
Eliza, thankfully, knew nothing about the afternoon.
“I’m afraid I’m not ready at all,” Kat said.
Margaret laughed, setting down her cup. “Well, if you should lack anything, I will surely have it! I have been preparing for this trip for some time. At first, I didn’t know if I would go or not. But if I didn’t go…well, I would be here. I’d be off to more lessons in…something. And it’s so sad. I can’t play a piano or sing, and Father is convinced that with enough teachers, I will learn to do so admirably.”
Her smile was beautiful. Contagious. Kat felt even worse.
“I, too, am certain that you can learn to do both admirably,” she said.
“Oh, no! It’s like…well, art. Perhaps classes and instructors can teach design, layout, color…but if a person has no innate talent, all the lessons in the world will not produce a masterpiece! But then, you see,” she said a bit sadly, “I’m not really expected to do anything other than become a model wife and mother, dedicated to my family, after the example set by the queen! My father is very old-fashioned.”
“Well…there’s not much wrong with being a model wife and mother,” Kat said.
“Nor in knowing that the rent will be paid, and there will be food on the table,” Eliza added.
“Oh, dear! I sounded so petty!” Margaret said. “Forgive me! It just seems that there is so much excitement going about. I would like to be useful.”
“Oh, but you will be useful, I’m sure,” Kat said.
Margaret shook her head. “Sir Hunter has told Father that your grasp of Egyptology, from no more than a few hours’ learning on your own, is quite incredible. So you will be a part of all that goes on. And, to be h
onest, I do like my creature comforts and…well, I shall probably spend most of my days in the bazaars, having tea at Shepheard’s and waiting. I’d be bored silly digging for hours and painstakingly removing sand from an object hour after hour with a tiny brush! Nevertheless, I’ll enjoy being there for the excitement. Father says that every man with a love for the ancient and a desire for treasure and adventure is there! The English come, the French come… Why, did you know that the Romans traveled to see the pyramids and temples of Egypt on their holidays? We are talking about a tourism with incredible history! Besides, Father is funding much of the expedition, along with the Earl of Carlyle, so I really should be there.”
“You could, of course, remain in England,” Eliza suggested.
Margaret laughed. “That is not, to me, an option!” She sighed. “My father so wants to see me married. He is afraid that he started his own family at too advanced an age, and he wants a grandchild before he dies, so…I have promised him that I will marry by the summer.”
Kat felt as if she were choking. Luckily, Eliza spoke. “Pardon me if I am prying. Have you decided who you will marry?”
Margaret had dimples. They showed so beautifully when she smiled. “Most likely, David. But then again…well, perhaps that is why it is so important I go. I had thought Allan to be madly in love with me, as well, but…have you noticed the way he looks at you, Miss Adair?”
She was staring at Eliza. Eliza gasped, as red as a beet.
“Oh, but…I mean, he is charming, but he is only being nice to the poor daughter of a struggling artist.”
Margaret shook her head. “Fear not, I have no interest in a man who does not love me and only me. If only you were going with us, as well!”
“I need to be here,” Eliza said, “to look after our father.”
“Is Lady Daws truly so evil, then?” Margaret demanded, leaning forward, eager for gossip.
Eliza glanced at Kat. “It is the word I use.”
“Alfred so loathes her!” Margaret said with a shudder.
“And yet…” Kat began.
Margaret looked at her gravely. “And yet people open their doors to her? Indeed, well, she is the widow of Lord Daws. Alfred says that she despises him, as well. As you’ve noticed, she is not about tonight.”
“Perhaps we should have Alfred around more often,” Eliza said lightly.
“Perhaps!” Margaret agreed.
Margaret and Eliza began to chat more about clothes. Kat pretended to pay attention. But her head was throbbing.
At last, the men rejoined them. William said that he and Eliza would be back the following day to work again, and he thanked their host sincerely for his kindness. Lord Avery was gruff, telling him that he was most welcome.
When he said goodbye, David Turnberry held Kat’s hand several seconds too long. His eyes met hers. And in them was sorrow and a plea for forgiveness. Her heart flipped. And yet…
It was different. She felt different, somehow.
Still, they had all gotten through the evening. Eliza might be suspicious, but William seemed oblivious to anything being amiss.
And Hunter…
He was no different. He took them home in his carriage, and his voice was harsh when he reminded Kat, “Nine o’clock. We will ride first and work at the museum after. You will be busy the entire day.”
She simply nodded, then walked up the stairs while he bid her father and sister good-night.
KAT WAS READY IN THE morning. He did not even have to go to the door. She was outside waiting when he arrived, leading the mare.
He started to dismount to help her.
“Please. I believe I can do this myself, and I must learn,” she said. And it seemed she had already learned, for she easily put her foot in the stirrup and swung astride. She didn’t seem particularly proud of her accomplishment, and merely looked at Hunter when she was seated, asking, “Was that acceptable?”
“Yes.”
She was subdued, silent.
After a moment, he asked, “Do you still wish to go on this expedition?”
“Indeed, yes,” she replied gravely.
He considered his next words carefully. “I would have thought that you might have realized by now that the object of your obsession will not be, indeed, cannot be what you want.”
She cast a gaze at him then, her head cocked. “Cannot, Sir Hunter?”
“His father would not allow it.”
“Perhaps he will defy his father.”
Hunter trotted on ahead. She followed, at his gait, holding her seat well. They rode on to the park, where he loped, walked, trotted and had her mount and dismount several times. She did all with excellence.
Finally, he called a halt to the exercise.
“And now?” she asked.
“We will return to your house. You may change. I’ll send the carriage for you.”
“And then…?”
“To the museum. Ethan will have already taken me there.”
She nodded. “As you wish.”
Hunter was startled when she stopped him as they neared the house. “Sir Hunter?”
Impatient, he looked back. “Yes?”
Her cheeks were pink, and not from exertion. “I…want to apologize.”
He watched her gravely. “So…you realize that you were in danger?”
She smiled, shaking her head. “Sir Hunter, I believe that you underestimate me. And that you too easily condemn David. And Alfred. But you seriously believed that I was in danger and came to my aid. So I’m sorry for causing you concern, and I thank you for acting on it.”
Hunter felt grateful for the apology, such as it was, then continued on toward the house.
CAMILLE, AS ALWAYS, WAS buried in a mountain of charts, maps and texts. She looked up when Hunter entered. “Good morning. Is all well?”
“Yes.”
“You found David Turnberry and Miss Adair without difficulty?”
He hesitated. “I found them. Miss Adair should be here shortly. I will leave her under your supervision today. Is that all right?”
“I’ll be delighted to have her,” Camille assured him.
“Then I’ll head to the basement and start with the loading sheets for the supplies,” he said.
“Excellent!” Camille said. She looked back at the work on her desk, frowning.
“What is it?”
“I still haven’t been able to find the maps and things that disappeared. How could I have been so careless, Hunter? You know what this means to me. And I may well be new at being Lady Carlyle, but I have been with the museum a long time, and I was always excellent at my work!”
“Do you want my help?” he asked. “Should I plow through some files or desks?”
“I’ve already looked everywhere,” she said. Then she shook her head. “No, Hunter, please, there are all kinds of picks and brushes that must be packed for shipping, some texts. If you’ll see to that, I’d be most grateful!”
“Camille, you’re not worried about the expedition, are you?”
She shook her head again, but a little cloud seemed to pass over her eyes. “No. I mean…there was trouble, we had tremendous troubles, but…it’s over. Still, I suppose…well, there are always those who covet gold enough to steal?”
“One must always be careful on a dig, of course,” Hunter said. “Anytime gold is involved, men can be blinded.”
“Of course. But…”
“Camille, I’m thrilled to be heading out again. I have no apprehensions.”
She smiled. “Good. I will let my excitement return, then, and let it rule my every moment. We leave so very soon!”
“Indeed we do,” he said. Then he left her to make his way through the museum to the stairs that led to the workrooms and storage rooms.
The museum was busy, odd during the week. But then, the coming expedition had been well covered in the newspapers, and people had been encouraged to come in and see what was there now so that they might ogle the new when it arrived
.
He pulled his set of keys from his pocket, heading for the workroom. When he opened the door, he sought the switch for the light—the entire museum had been wired for electricity a few years back.
The light did not come on.
He was about to turn back and find a lantern when he heard a noise from within. He stood very still, waiting. The noise did not come again. But when he started out once more, he heard a definite thud.
“Who’s there?” he called out sharply.
No answer.
He was as good as blind in the dark, of course, yet determined not to leave until he knew what was going on. He purposely walked in, closed the door, hunkered down and waited for his eyes to adapt to the lack of light. After several seconds, he thought that he heard the sound of someone breathing from across the room.
And so, trying not to make any sound himself, he began to inch in that direction. As he came around a set of shelves, one was suddenly cast down in front of him. It fell with a loud thud against the next shelf, which in turn fell, hitting the next.
The wall stopped a total collapse, but he was trapped.
Then he heard more sounds. Footsteps, flying across the floor.
He crawled over the shelves with all the haste he could manage in an attempt to follow the intruder. When he reached the door, it was open. And the culprit was gone.
Swearing, he moved through the museum, searching for anyone who looked in the least suspicious. He saw no one.
Upstairs, he found Brian Stirling, Earl of Carlyle, digging through files with his wife.
“There is something going on,” Hunter said.
They both stared at him. “There’s white powdery stuff in your hair,” Camille said. “What happened?”
“There was someone in the workroom, though God knows why—there’s nothing in there but tools.”
“Are you certain someone was in there?” Brian asked. Hunter arched a brow. “Sorry, old boy, just checking. I’ll go downstairs with you, see what repair we can manage,” Brian said. “Curious. Really curious.”
“Has anyone else been about?” Hunter asked.
Camille shook her head. “No, but there are those missing papers of mine. Though they’re really rather worthless, except to me and the expedition.” She frowned. “Brian, you don’t believe anyone would want to sabotage the expedition, do you?”
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