Page 21 of A Translation of Desire (The Brazen Curators #2)

R ose sat in Lisbeth’s drawing room, rereading her missive to Augustus; no, not Augustus, but the Duke of Sinclair.

From now on, everything between them would be kept at a professional level.

She flushed, still horrified about their time together in Lord and Lady Derry’s library.

What a badly behaved fool she’d been. Her eyes flicked down, and she looked at the missive one more time.

Your Grace,

The Board of the Historical Society for Female Curators would like to meet with you to discuss our next steps in finding the missing tablets. Please notify us if you can be of further assistance.

Respectfully,

Miss Rose Calvert

Perfect. There was nothing salacious or a hint of emotion in the note.

She would not think about the duke as anything more than an acquaintance.

Rose folded the letter, and just as she prepared to place it in an envelope, she heard a knock at the front door.

The hurried footsteps of Lisbeth’s butler, Morrison, echoed down the foyer.

The caller was unexpected because if not, Morrison, ever so prompt, would have already had the front door open.

“Your Grace, this is unexpected. The Duchess of Lusby is not in.”

Rose shot to her feet. It was Sinclair. What was he doing here? Her heart pounded, and she frowned at herself. Rose would not react this way. The man hadn’t spoken to her in over a week.

“I’m here to see Miss Calvert,” he announced.

“Let me see if she is in, Your Grace,” the butler said.

Morrison made his way into the drawing room and bowed. Rose would never understand how Lisbeth had adjusted to all this pomp. “Miss Calvert, you have a guest, but I can tell him to return when a chaperone is present.”

She looked at the butler incredulously. “Morrison, do you really think I need a chaperone? I have traveled alone with the duke.”

He bowed. “I will escort him in.”

Rose nodded and waited. She could have a professional relationship with this man. He was too much of a gentleman to mention the incident she suspected. The footsteps became closer, and her stomach twisted in knots.

Morrison entered first. “The Duke of Sinclair.”

She nodded at the butler and sucked in a breath as Augustus walked in.

Why does this man have to be so attractive?

He is in his mid-thirties. Shouldn’t he be paunchy or aging awfully because of the excesses of wealth?

she asked herself. But no, the man looked like temptation come alive in a starched jacket and breeches that molded to his firm thighs.

She tore her gaze away as Morrison bowed, leaving them alone. Rose curtsied. “Your Grace.”

His lips quirked up in a smirk at her formal tone. She wanted to throw something at him, but she would be civil and unaffected, no matter how firm his thighs looked in his pants. Do not look at his thighs , she told herself.

“I don’t expect such formality from you,” Augustus drawled.

Rose tilted her chin up. “It is probably best for us to keep our conversations formal.”

He stepped towards her, and she took a few steps back. He rolled his eyes. “I know you are mad.”

She walked to the desk, where her missive for him lay, and picked it up.

Rose would hand him the note and be done with the meeting.

They could talk further at Seely House. She extended her hand, dangling the paper before him.

“I’m not mad at all. I was actually just in the middle of writing you a message.

Please read this and then schedule a time to meet with me and the rest of the board. ”

He took the letter from her and opened it. Augustus read the document and then sighed while he folded it back up. “Yes, I believe I can still be of assistance, but that’s not why I’m here. Talk to me. I know you are upset.”

She pressed her lips together. Augustus was wrong.

She wasn’t upset but furious. The man had made her want things from him in an uncontrollable way, but clearly, his own feelings were not as strong.

For some reason, that thought made her furious.

Rose didn’t want him if he didn’t desire her as strongly, even if she was being absurd.

“I’m not upset.”

His eyes flashed, and he frowned at her. “Rose, I wanted to give you time to think through this. To decide if you want to give me something so special.”

“It isn’t special to me. I don’t hold my chastity as some prize,” she snapped.

“You say that, but you haven’t been intimate with someone.”

“You are such a dolt, Your Grace. Yes, I want my first time to be with someone I respect and hold in high regard, but please know that this has nothing to do with the antiquated views of wanting to stay chaste for any union.

He looked down, and Rose suspected that the man was laughing. Her fury bubbled even more fiercely. “Perhaps I will pursue a liaison elsewhere.”

His head jerked up, and his eyes simmered with annoyance. “Why would you do that?”

“Because I will not be laughed at.”

Augustus strode to her, causing her heart to flutter.

He grasped her chin. “I hold you in the highest regard, Rose. Never doubt that. My amusement comes from your shockingly modern views of women being chaste. It isn’t because I think your thoughts are ridiculous.

In truth, I find them quite refreshing.”

His eyes were filled with admiration, and Rose knew he wasn’t lying. He respected her. She saw that from him. Softly, she asked, “Why have I not heard from you?”

He dropped his hand. “I almost took you in the middle of my friend’s library. I wanted space for both of us to rationally think through if we wanted to pursue an interlude.”

“I’m not one to change my mind once I’ve made a decision. I want you,” she said.

Desire flared in his eyes. “Good, because there hasn’t been a moment since I’ve returned that I haven’t thought about us.”

A longing to lean into him and place her lips to his shot through Rose, but she knew Lisbeth could return any moment. “So, how do we begin?”

“I actually came here for two reasons. The first was because I couldn’t wait any longer to see you.”

His words shot warmth through her body. She did lean into him then. He nuzzled her cheek and neck. “And the other?”

“Devons’s investigators believe they have identified Mr. Abbas’s location.”

Rose jerked back. “Why didn’t you tell me that? We must go see him.”

Augustus shook his head. “Men are watching the inn where he is staying. It is south of London. We could travel there together. Perhaps afterward, we could spend time at my apartment at my warehouse. How seriously does Lisbeth take chaperoning you?”

“She plans to leave in three days to visit her children in the country.”

A current of desire bounced between them. Rose wanted this. She wanted Augustus to be her first. The front door opened, and Rose heard Lisbeth greet Morrison. Augustus placed a quick kiss on her lips. “I will collect you the first night she departs.”

Rose nodded as Lisbeth burst into the drawing room. “Sinclair, do you have news?”

He nodded. “I believe we have located the whereabouts of the mysterious Mr. Abbas. Rose and I will speak with him.”

Lisbeth frowned. “Do I need to be there as well?”

They both shook their heads.

*

Augustus stood on the platform outside his office at his warehouse, watching his men carrying two new crates of goods. They weren’t antiquities but spices that were all the rage right now. While his passion was antiquities, he dealt in everything.

Juliet and Richard Sampson smiled at him as they followed behind the crates, beaming.

They were two of his most successful buyers regarding consumable goods.

He’d stolen them from another import business on the cusp of going under.

They’d been considering opening their own business, upset with the shady business practices their boss had expected from them.

He’d convinced them to work for him and given them free rein to negotiate prices. That is what they’d really wanted. He suspected they would someday open a spice shop, ending his foray into exotic seasonings. Augustus would happily support them. His heart wasn’t in the market the way theirs was.

He stepped back into his office, knowing they would join him eventually. Henry sat at a smaller desk, working on financial figures for another shipment. He looked up when he re-entered. “Shall I take over the inventory for the Sampsons? I imagine they would like to speak with you.”

“Yes, I would appreciate that.”

Henry nodded. “Of course.”

Augustus needed to give his assistant a raise. He didn’t know what he would do without him. The man ran the place whenever Augustus was away from the warehouse for days. It wasn’t often, but sometimes, his ducal responsibilities required all of his attention.

Juliet Sampson burst through the door smiling, followed by her husband. “You’re in for a treat, Sinclair. We traveled the Orient, finding you some very unique spices. They will be the talk of London.”

“I’m already jealous of the places you’ve visited over the last four months, even though I don’t know where you’ve been yet.”

The Sampsons joined him in his small sitting area. The married couple were indeed two of his favorite buyers. They beamed at him. Richard said, “You should join us soon.”

His desire to travel flared in him. Long ago, when he started his import business, he’d hoped that holding and seeing all these goods from abroad would curb his interest in travel, but it backfired.

Instead, for every new item Augustus saw, he wanted to learn how it fit into a region—something he would never understand unless he traveled.

“I wish I had the time.”

Juliet rolled her eyes. “Henry would ensure everything is taken care of. The man is completely dedicated to you.”

“This place wouldn’t survive without him. I wish my other obligations didn’t detract from my work here.”

They nodded, going serious. Everyone did when he referenced the dukedom. He didn’t blame them. Changing the subject, he asked, “So, how long do you plan to be in London?”

The Sampsons looked at each other, and Richard nodded at his wife. Juliet turned back to Augustus. “We wanted to propose a different business opportunity.”

Dread filled him. They were already going to leave his business. “I will double your salary if you stay.”

They both looked at him wide-eyed before bursting into laughter. Richard said, “We aren’t leaving.”

Relief coursed through him. Juliet smiled at him reassuringly. “We would like to explore partnering with you to create a spice shop. We have the location selected, but the actual building must be designed and built.”

He silently considered it. Augustus knew he paid them enough that they could do this on their own.

Richard added, as if reading his mind, “We value working for you and don’t want to leave, but having a spice shop is our long-term plan.

We hope to partner with you rather than departing your business entirely. ”

Augustus nodded. “There is no replacement for the two of you when it comes to procuring exotic spices. If moving into a partnership is what will allow me to work with you, I will gladly take it.”

Juliet beamed, and Richard’s face filled with relief. Augustus grinned back at them. “Do you have a business plan?”

“We are drafting one now,” Richard stated.

Augustus nodded. “Once I have that, we will negotiate numbers.”

They all rose, and Juliet said, “You won’t regret this, Sinclair.”

He smiled back at her and then watched as they left.

He was glad they weren’t cutting ties with him.

A partnership sounded like a fantastic idea.

He sat back in his chair, somewhat jealous of the lives the Sampsons lived.

His mind flitted to Rose. She should want a marriage like theirs.

Why did he hate that he could never be that man?

Whatever they decided to pursue was only temporary, he reminded himself. Still, he couldn’t stop the thoughts that appeared, wondering what it would be like to see the world by Rose’s side.