Page 19 of A Translation of Desire (The Brazen Curators #2)

R ose was still grinning from having bested Sinclair earlier in the day when she entered the great hall, where others were gathered for drinks before dinner.

She spotted him speaking with Lisbeth. They were an elegant pair standing together.

She wondered if Lisbeth would ever be a consideration for him.

Distaste filled her, but she tried to remind herself she would be leaving soon. Her thoughts were irrelevant.

She made her way to them. Lisbeth beamed at her. “Sinclair was telling me that your win was lucky. I told him I disagree.”

Rose snorted and shook her head at him. “You wish. I beat you because my team was better.”

His lips turned up at the corners, amused. He jokingly lifted his arms and said, “I concede. I can’t fight with you both.”

She and Lisbeth giggled. The duchess smiled. “It has been a nice reprieve from all the problems in London.”

Rose grimaced, remembering that she’d told Lisbeth she’d explain the situation to Sinclair, but she hadn’t. His brows drew together in confusion. “What problems?”

Lisbeth glanced at Rose. Sinclair’s frown deepened. She sighed. “There was another break-in at the Seely House.”

“It wasn’t a break-in. She was chased from the building, and our guard was hit over the head,” Lisbeth countered.

Sinclair clenched his jaw and swung his gaze to Rose. “You didn’t think to tell me this over the last few days.”

Rose hated his stern voice. She stubbornly tilted her chin up. “I was planning to tell you. I just hadn’t found the right time.”

He gave her a knowing look because she’d had plenty of time to explain in the kitchen, but she didn’t. She added, “It has nothing to do with you.”

Sinclair glowered more. Lisbeth looked between them. “I think I see Lady Derry. I will give you a moment to talk with each other.”

The clench in Sinclair’s jaw made it obvious he wasn’t happy. He said, “You should have told me.”

“I planned to, but then I figured you had your own problems.”

His blue eyes narrowed, and he leaned forward. “What problems? No one in my life, other than you, is being chased out of a building.”

She rolled her eyes. “That is rather dramatic. I wasn’t chased. He wasn’t after me but my research.”

That seemed to fill him with even more alarm. Before he could ask anything else, Lady Viviene appeared with her mother. “Your Grace, may we join you?”

He forced himself to smile. “Of course, Lady Viviene.”

This was Rose’s opportunity to escape. She smiled sweetly at the ladies. “Enjoy your conversation. I have something to speak with the Duchess of Lusby about.”

They both beamed and turned their attention to Sinclair.

Lady Viviene fluttered her eyelashes dramatically.

Annoyance flared in Rose, and she pivoted, heading as far away from them as possible.

Behind her, Sinclair said to Lady Viviene and Lady Baston, “I will fetch you champagne and return in a moment.”

Her annoyance intensified as she sensed the duke behind her. She stopped and glanced back. “Stop following me.”

He scowled. “Our conversation isn’t done.”

“Why? Why does this matter to you?”

“Because I care about you,” he snapped.

She gasped, shocked. He gritted his teeth and took a deep breath.

“We have become friends. I want to make sure you are safe. Additionally, there are other things we need to discuss. This theft may have some unusual connections. Meet me in the library later tonight, after everyone has gone to sleep. We need to talk.”

Rose nodded, confused by his statement. What did he know that she didn’t? She hated to admit it, but she would have met him even without the added intrigue. She wanted to spend time with him. It was that simple.

He sighed. “I have to fetch champagne. I’ll see you later tonight.

She watched him stalk to a table filled with glasses of the bubbly liquid.

Confusion swarmed through her. What was she doing with the duke?

An image of him running his lips along her jaw flashed in her mind, and she flushed.

Stop it , she told herself. She swore they would just be friends.

Rose needed to stop fantasizing about him.

“Sorry if I caused trouble between the two of you,” Lisbeth said, joining her.

She shook her head. “It’s fine.”

A smirk formed on the duchess’s face. “He is rather protective of you.”

“We are just friends,” Rose said.

Lisbeth lifted a brow as if she didn’t believe her. “You can like him.”

“For what purpose?”

The duchess walked to a smaller sitting area along the wall of the great hall and motioned for Rose to join her. She plopped down in a wingback chair across from her.

“He seems to like you,” Lisbeth said. “A duke would be a wildly great match.”

“I didn’t come here to find a husband. I came here to decipher the tablets.”

Lisbeth shrugged. “Why can’t you do both?”

“We don’t suit,” Rose insisted.

“Why?”

“He is a duke, and I’ve spent most of my life living in tents. He told me he has never even left England. What do we have in common?” Rose hissed.

Lisbeth frowned at her, seemingly shocked at her temper. “He never shows anyone attention, and yet, when you are around, he can’t help but seek you out.”

Why did Lisbeth’s words fill her with both hope and concern? “Practically, we would never work.”

The duchess shrugged. “All is possible if the people it affects want it bad enough.”

Rose’s gaze drifted to where Sinclair still stood with Lady Viviene. The lady was perfect for him. She liked history, understood all of society’s rules, and seemed to truly care for him. She was a sound choice. Friends was the wise option for Rose and Sinclair.

*

Augustus couldn’t believe Rose had been attacked at Seely House. He paced back and forth in front of the fireplace of the Derry Hall library. He took a sip of his brandy, impatiently waiting for her. She was likely waiting for more of the house to settle before venturing back to the first floor.

He scowled into the fire, not understanding why Rose hadn’t told him about the attack in the kitchen.

The door of the library clicked, and he turned to see her entering, dressed in her wrap and nightgown.

His hand tightened on the glass, and he pulled it to his lips.

She is wrong for you , he reminded himself.

She smiled at him. “Sorry if I kept you waiting.”

“Would you like a drink?”

Nodding, she sat in one of the wingback chairs. Augustus poured her a glass and joined her, sitting on the sofa. “So, tell me about this attack.”

Rose rolled her eyes as if it were nothing, and he said, “Tell me.”

She took a deep breath. “I went to Seely House early one morning to work on the text and my decipher key. It was so quiet when I arrived, and the front door was unlocked.”

“You entered,” he said with steel in his voice.

“I assumed the guard accidentally left it unlocked. Anyway, I heard a window being broken in the research room, so I rushed upstairs. Once there, I saw a man running down the alley.”

Augustus couldn’t believe she had gone into the building. A surge of protectiveness raced through him.

“I know it was reckless,” she said, “but it’s my life’s work they’re destroying.”

He nodded. “Was he the man who chased you?”

She frowned and shivered. “No, once I found the guard, I had the strangest feeling I was being watched. The guard told me to go and find help. I left, but then I remembered my satchel, which contained my research. I ran back in and saw the other man. He was headed towards my bag. I reached it first and ran.”

Augustus hated that she’d gone through all that and been alone. She grimaced. “I know it sounds awful, but it isn’t the first time I’ve found myself in an unsavory situation.”

Her words reminded him of how different she was from any other lady he knew. He asked, “Did you see his face?”

Rose shook her head. “He had a scarf tied around his head.”

Augustus stood and walked back and forth.

Hawley stated that the British Secret Service didn’t believe the thefts were connected to what they were working on, but Augustus wasn’t so sure.

It was becoming increasingly apparent that it wasn’t the artifacts themselves that were of interest but rather how they could be deciphered.

Not once in the last year had anyone asked him to acquire a relic with cuneiform, and his customers’ interests were far more diverse than most. Still, the requested items were typically popular or made a more opulent statement than what Rose worked on.

Cuneiform tablets were neither of those. He needed to speak with Hawley again.

“Something is happening that we are not aware of. The man who approached me about the tablets can’t be found, and Lord Hawley also seems to have a peculiar interest in them.”

“Do you think Hawley is connected?”

He needed to tell Rose the truth. “I spoke with Hawley. He informed me that the British Secret Service is interested in cuneiform text.”

Rose’s eyes widened. “Why?”

Augustus shook his head. “He wouldn’t say, insisting that he couldn’t because it was a matter of national security.”

A snort escaped her, and he added, “That is what he told me.”

“Do you believe him?”

He did. “Yes. Hawley shared the details with me because he wanted me to inform him when you and the Historical Society for Female Curators may find yourself in an unsafe situation.”

Outrage flickered across her face, and he held up a hand. “He said his interest was only in ensuring you were all safe. He also insisted that the British Secret Service thinks the theft of your tablets is not connected.”

“I need to tell Addie.”

Augustus shook his head. “I shouldn’t even be telling you this.

I must speak with him first to determine if your missing tablets are connected.

I would hate to interfere with something the British Secret Service is working on.

Still, I’m struggling to understand why anyone in the espionage field would go to all this effort. ”

“There are rumors that ancient text, not cuneiform specifically, is used to send coded messages.”

His gaze flew to her, a look of shock on his face. “Truly?”

Rose shrugged. “Think about it. Only a select few would know how to decipher such messages.”

Only Hawley and Rose knew how to translate cuneiform fully. Augustus realized Hawley hadn’t been completely forthcoming. He had to be more involved.

Fury festered in him. If Hawley and his government contacts put Rose in danger, he would pummel them. “I will arrange a meeting.”

“I want to be there.”

Augustus hesitated—not because he wanted to keep anything from Rose, but to protect her. She walked to him and placed a hand on his forearm. “It affects me, and you are asking me not to share this with the club.”

“I know. You are right. I will set up a time for both of us to speak with him and ask Devons to increase his efforts in finding the solicitor I met with. I do think this is all connected, even if Hawley’s associates don’t.”

She squeezed his arm. “Thank you.”

They stood only a foot apart, looking into each other’s eyes. Augustus wanted to kiss her. Again. What was wrong with him? Why did he have this uncontrollable need to touch this woman?

She sighed, and he asked, “What is it?”

She thumped him playfully on the chest. “For a man trying to safeguard my reputation, we do certainly spend a good deal of time alone.”

“Yes, we do,” he said, desire still throbbing through him. “I only asked you to meet so we could have a private discussion. I do want to protect your reputation.”

“I’m twenty-eight, Augustus, and have traveled the world. Do you think I care what London thinks of me?”

No, he knew she didn’t. Rose didn’t give a damn about society gossip. “Why come? Is it truly for the tablets?”

Her eyes dimmed slightly. “Mostly, but my mother was a lady and had a Season. She always wanted me to have one. She passed away years ago, but my father wanted me to come to London. You could say he forced the issue. So here I am.”

“Lucky London,” he said.

Her eyes widened, and then she laughed. “I’m not sure that is the case.”

He lifted a brow in question.

“I’m an odd duck here,” she said, blushing.

Shocking both, Augustus gently grabbed her chin, looking down at her. “That isn’t how I would describe you.”

Rose Calvert was so much more than that.

She smirked and said, “Yes—”

He stopped any other words from her by placing his finger across her lips. “You are the most challenging, alluring woman I’ve ever met.”

Their eyes connected, and the attraction they both were resisting didn’t just flare but ignited between them. He dropped his finger from her lips, and she whispered, “Duke, you should be careful who you call alluring. They may think you want to take them to bed.”

The word bed on her lips caused his cock to strain against his breeches.

Could they have an interlude? Rose wasn’t like all the other ladies on the marriage mart.

Yet, he hesitated, and surprisingly, it wasn’t because of her innocence, but he wondered if he could let her go if they continued whatever this was. The thought was startling.

“Wanting to take you to my bed has already been established,” he said huskily.

Rose grasped his shirt, pulling him closer. God, he wanted this woman.

“How would we keep this uncomplicated?” he asked, surprising her.

She bit her plump lower lip, pondering his question. Finally, she said, “We agree it’s only an affair. Once I’m gone, it’s over—no keeping in touch.”

He nodded, knowing that it wouldn’t be that simple. Yet, Augustus couldn’t fathom making the proper or practical choice. Still, he didn’t want it to be like this. If he had her only for a short amount of time, he wanted more than a stolen moment in a library.

“Not like this or here, though. I want more than a quick tupping,” he said, running his hand up and down her back.

She smiled at him. “That is very considerate of you, duke.”

“Augustus,” he insisted. “If we are going to do this, use my given name.”

She leaned into him as he continued to stroke her back. He wanted to strip her down and admire every part of her body.

“Where then, Augustus?”

“In London. I will find a place.”

A door slammed nearby, and Augustus knew they had to leave.

Fuck! He didn’t want to leave her. He pulled her in for a demanding kiss.

One that promised all types of wickedness.

She moaned, and he hungered for more but stopped himself.

Tearing himself away, he frustratedly ran a hand through his hair.

“We will talk more when we’re both in London. Now go before someone sees us together.”

She sighed, and he kissed her one more time before she departed. He sat in a chair in the library, wondering what he was doing.