Page 23 of A Translation of Desire (The Brazen Curators #2)

R ose sat across from Augustus, tempted to blurt out that she’d seen his true love at a ball the night before, but she hesitated.

She didn’t want things to change between them just yet.

Still, she knew they would. Augustus was hunting for a bride this Season, and the one woman he wanted to wed was now available.

“Why are you staring at me like that?” he said dryly from across the carriage.

She flushed and was grateful the darkness of the carriage concealed some of it. “I’m not.”

He leaned forward so he could see her better. “Are you nervous about speaking with Mr. Abbas or spending time with me?”

She snorted. “Neither.”

He placed a hand on her knee, preventing it from bouncing up and down. “You do that when you are agitated.”

Rose threw herself against her seat, scowling at him. “You don’t know me as well as you think, Augustus.”

“Of course not. We’ve only spent time together for the last few weeks,” he said, his voice emanating with amusement.

Should I tell him about Lady Gillings? Why is it even my responsibility to bring it up? she wondered.

“Which is it?” he asked again.

The man thought he understood her so well. He was so bloody wrong. She was sitting here, trying to decide whether to do the right thing and tell him that his first love was back in London.

“Come here, Rose,” he commanded.

She wrinkled her nose. “I don’t like that tone.”

“Come.” He held out his hand.

Why did a bossy Augustus make him so much more tempting? Sighing, she stood, planning to sit beside him, but he pulled her onto his lap. Rose gasped, looking down at him.

“That is better,” he murmured.

Her body hummed as he ran a hand down her back and along the curve of her hip. She would wait to tell him about his lost love and allow herself this time with him.

“Kiss me, Rose,” he begged huskily.

Any thoughts of Lady Gillings fled from her mind, and she lowered her head, pressing her lips to his, reveling in the connection that flared between them. She wanted her time with Augustus. Rose wanted this.

His tongue swiped across her lower lip, and he whispered, “Open your mouth for me, love.”

She happily obliged, leaning into him as he cupped her neck, teasing her with every stroke of his tongue. This proper duke was sin-personified when he wanted to be, and Rose loved it. Finally, he pulled away and said, “Now, answer me. Are you nervous, or have you changed your mind? You can.”

She jokingly frowned at him. “About meeting Mr. Abbas?”

He sighed, and she grinned. “I know what you’re asking, and I want this night with you, Augustus. One night where neither our identities nor our responsibilities matter.”

“I want that too,” he confessed.

She smiled at him. “Are you truly looking for a bride this Season?”

He was surprised by her question. Augustus lifted a brow. “Why have you changed your mind about being a duchess?”

A mad part of her wished that she had. Yet, she hadn’t, and Rose also knew that someone was available who was perfect for the role. She forced herself to giggle. “No. Simply curious.”

He didn’t respond but pulled her in for another kiss. One that left her wanting more. His tongue sparred with hers, and she moaned, leaning into him. His hand slid her skirts up, and heat pooled in Rose’s belly.

Augustus pulled his mouth away before sitting her on the bench across from him. She stared at him, shocked, and he tipped his head back, laughing. “What is it about you, Rose, that tempts me to hike your skirts up in unusual places such as libraries and carriages?”

“You’ve never tupped a lady in a carriage or a library?”

He grinned wickedly. “Not yet, but never say never, especially with you around.”

She flushed, enthralled that he was finding it hard not to touch her. She wanted him to. The carriage came to a stop, and he nodded. “It was good we stopped when we did.”

While rationally she agreed with him, she would have gladly continued.

“Why don’t you let me speak with Mr. Abbas first?”

The fog of desire disappeared at his words. She frowned at him. “Augustus, I will not sit in the carriage while you speak with the man. That is ridiculous.”

He scowled at her. “It could be unsafe. It could be associated with something much more nefarious than just thieves.”

They’d still been unable to speak with Hawley about his blasted associates. “Did you inform Hawley about what happened at Seely House?”

Augustus sighed. “I sent a note, but I received a message from his assistant that he is away.”

Rose frowned, concerned that Hawley and his associates might be connected to what was happening, even though the scholar had denied it. Still, she wouldn’t let Augustus see the mysterious Mr. Abbas alone.

“You said Hawley believes the theft has no association with his dealings,” she said.

He frowned. “You and I are both still unsure if his word can be trusted.”

“So, we don’t know what you could be facing. I should join you,” Rose stated.

“One of the drivers will go with me.”

Rose shook her head. She would not allow him to go alone. “No, we go together.”

He sighed and surprised Rose by pulling her towards him and placing a frustrated kiss on her lips. “At some point, you will have to learn to listen.”

“Perhaps, but not today,”

He shook his head. The driver knocked on the carriage door, and Augustus looked down at her mouth one more time before saying. “We are ready.”

*

Augustus and Rose stepped into the inn, with the carriage drivers flanking them. They weren’t only his drivers but also guards he used when needed. The man at the front desk looked at all of them nervously.

He’d intentionally taken a carriage without his crest, not wanting to alert those in the area who he was, but there was no mistaking he was someone of importance. He stepped forward and said, “I’m looking for a lodger you have staying here, a Mr. Abbas.”

The innkeeper frowned at him. “Is he in some kind of trouble?”

Rose smiled at him. “No, we just want to have a conversation with him.”

The innkeeper snorted. “I don’t want any trouble here. This is a decent place.”

Augustus slid coins across the front desk. “No trouble. I promise. We only want to speak with him.”

The man quickly picked up the money, his concerns vanishing. He nodded towards a door behind them. “He is in the tavern having a meal. He is the only one in there right now.”

“Thank you,” Augustus said.

Augustus hoped this man had the tablets.

If that wasn’t the case, he was unsure what their next step would be.

They stepped down through the tavern doorway just as Mr. Abbas looked up.

His face was filled with concern, but not that of someone who had just been caught.

He stood. “Your Grace, I didn’t expect to see you here. ”

Rose leaned in and said, “Maybe your guards are a bit much. I didn’t realize Mr. Abbas was shorter than me.”

Augustus felt slightly foolish but didn’t know what to expect after her attack. He nodded to the men with him, and they stepped back out of the door into the inn’s entryway. Mr. Abbas’s gaze darted between him and Rose, still looking lost.

“Is something wrong?”

Rose shook her head. “Please sit. We would like to speak with you.”

He sat back down but fidgeted nervously. “And you are?”

“I’m Rose Calvert. I—”

His eyes filled with excitement, and he leaned over the table to shake her hand. “I know who you are. You are the world-renowned philologist. It is an honor.”

Rose blushed at the praise. Augustus smiled at her, amused by her bashfulness. This woman’s talent was known throughout the world. He didn’t know too many people who could say that.

She and Augustus sat, and Mr. Abbas said, “What can I help you with?”

“Miss Calvert is deciphering cuneiform tablets for the opening of the Historical Society for Female Curators. Two of them have recently gone missing.”

The man nodded, waiting for them to continue, but when neither said anything, he gasped. “You can’t believe I had something to do with it.”

“You are the only person I know who has inquired about those types of relics. The innkeeper at your last lodging mentioned that you left in a hurry around the same time they were taken,” Augustus pointed out.

The man shook his head and leaned down to his satchel, pulling papers out and placing them on the table.

“I left because someone had broken in and threatened me. They took a tablet I’d acquired—it wasn’t yours.

They insinuated there was a collector who would pay handsomely for anything with cuneiform text.

I left because I planned to catalog and acquire more artifacts and didn’t want them to return. ”

Augustus frowned. “Then why all the secrecy?”

The man sighed. “As a solicitor, I work on behalf of the original owners of various artifacts, ensuring they are properly compensated or have the option to have them returned. There are those who get angry about my work, especially when I confront them about how their tablets were acquired.”

Augustus and Rose looked at each other, confused, before turning back to him. Rose said, “Please continue.”

He nodded and said, “My father is English, but my mother is from southwest Syria. Since I was a child, I’ve spent a few months a year there.

Since becoming a solicitor, I take on a few cases where artifacts have been acquired illicitly or by mistake each year.

As a boy, I often witnessed these transactions, and it has always bothered me. ”

Rose frowned. “Are you saying that my tablets were acquired nefariously?”

Mr. Abbas shook his head vehemently. “No, but they were never meant to be sold. The tablets you have are considered precious and are suspected of telling one of the oldest stories handed down in the southwestern area of Syria. The village elders I’m working for hope you will allow them to repurchase them. ”

Augustus was in a bit of shock. He’d expected the man to be associated with Hawley, not this. Rose said, “I had no idea they were so important. They were one of many tablets found in a cave. Of course, I will return them.”

Augustus glanced at her, impressed that she was so willing to give up artifacts that he knew meant so much to her. She glanced at him before turning back to Mr. Abbas. “We have great relationships with most of the villages in the region. I don’t want to ruin that.”

The man smiled. “They are excited about your translation and want you to complete it. The story inscribed on them has been passed down for decades, but until now, no one has determined how much that story has evolved over time.”

Rose smiled, excited. “I have part of the story. It is an epic about a man who falls in love with the king’s wife and is sent on a quest.”

Mr. Abbas beamed. “In the story passed down, this man, who comes from nothing, becomes a ruler after an epic battle with the king.”

Rose sighed. “I think I don’t have all the tablets then. I have three. Do you know how many there are?”

“There should be five. They were in two separate locations.”

Augustus sat listening to the conversation, impressed with Rose for so many reasons. Her brilliance, understanding, and excitement were a few. This woman never ceased to amaze him.

Mr. Abbas sighed. “But you said the tablets are missing. How many do you have? The village elders’ ultimate hope is to have them returned.

They wanted to propose that, after your translation, you could display them in London for a specified amount of time, and then the tablets could be purchased back. ”

“I will return them for free,” Rose insisted. “I would have never taken them had I known their value.”

“Currently, there is only one,” Augustus said, ruining some of the excitement.

“I wouldn’t be surprised if the man who took them was the same one who took the tablet I had with me. It isn’t associated with yours, but he demanded that I tell him who else might have anything to do with cuneiform text,” Mr. Abbas explained.

Augustus asked, “Do you think the collector is simply someone who wants to own this type of relic?”

Mr. Abbas looked at him, puzzled. “What else would it be? It happens often. Someone with too much money will become attached to artifacts that no one else is interested in, and then they hire men to acquire them by any means necessary.”

While it wasn’t good, Augustus was happy it wasn’t likely related to whatever Hawley was dealing with. “We are actively looking for them.”

Rose nodded. “If you have any contacts, we would be grateful if you could ask around as well.”

Mr. Abbas nodded. “I will try to see what I can discover.”

Augustus rose. “I’m sorry if we worried you, but we thought you might be somehow associated with the theft.”

Rose joined Augustus and asked, “We are leaving?”

“I think we’ve taken up enough of Mr. Abbas’s time.”

She nodded and turned back to the solicitor. “I would love for you to meet the Historical Society for Female Curators board members.”

Mr. Abbas nodded. “I agree. I will send a missive with some possible dates.”

Rose smiled at the man so brightly that it almost took Augustus’s breath away. Jealousy shot through him; he wished that beaming look was bestowed upon him instead of the man they barely knew.

“I can’t wait for our meeting. I would love to discuss if you have any ideas where the last two tablets may be.”

Mr. Abbas said, “I look forward to it, Miss Calvert.”

Augustus and Rose made their way to the carriage. When they were settled inside, she asked, “What are you thinking?”

He shook his head. “I’m glad Hawley was likely right, and this may simply be a theft, but I’m worried we won’t find them.”

Rose nodded. “I hope they can be found.”

The driver reopened the door. “Where to next, Your Grace?”

He looked at Rose and then turned back. “The warehouse.”

The man nodded, shutting the door. Rose lifted a brow.

“I have an apartment there for nights I want to stay. I can still drop you off at the duchess’s townhouse.

She perused him and shook her head. “No, to the warehouse we go.”