Page 36 of A Translation of Desire (The Brazen Curators #2)

R ose was barely keeping her eyes open when they finally arrived at Augustus’s opulent home in Mayfair. The butler opened the carriage door and bowed at Augustus. “Your Grace.”

Rose found the action absurd after everything that had happened over the last day, but she was more distracted by the massive home. She’d been there before for a ball, but now it seemed more imposing. Was this truly where Augustus lived?

“Benson, I need you to start drafting messages for me to Sebastian Devons and the Duchess of Lusby that I located Miss Rose Calvert. In the note, tell them she will reside here with my mother acting as chaperone. Request that they call on her tomorrow so she can rest. I will look over the notes once she is settled.”

Benson bowed. “Yes, Your Grace.”

Rose frowned. “I don’t want to be an inconvenience. You could take me to Lisbeth’s.”

He glowered at her. “You will stay here until Hawley or his associates say you are safe.”

Warmth filled her at his protectiveness. Still, a strange unease drifted over her when she turned back to the mammoth building. This was Augustus’s home. It looked more like a palace than a place where a family would live.

They stepped into a large marble foyer, and Rose looked down a massive hallway to see the statue she’d gone in search of the first night they met.

She wasn’t sure how she’d missed the splendor of the grand foyer and staircase before.

It was likely because it had been filled with a crush of people during the ball.

His mother and sister raced down the stairs.

“Augustus, you made it home. I was so worried when Derry showed up with guards for the house.”

Augustus leaned down and kissed the woman on her cheek. “Mother, I’m sorry to cause you so much concern.”

She smiled at him and turned to Rose. “I’m happy to see you have been found, Miss Calvert.”

“Yes, me too.”

Rose previously met the duchess and Augustus’s sister at Derry’s house party. She awkwardly curtsied, feeling very out of place.

Augustus’s mother shook her head. “There is no need for that.”

“Miss Calvert will stay with us until the men who took her are found. Mother, I assumed you would be willing to act as her chaperone.”

His mother and sister stared at him, shocked, but neither argued. The duchess said, “Of course.”

“We will help Miss Calvert settle in a room. I’m sure you need to send word to several people,” his sister added.

Rose and Augustus looked at each other. Madly, she didn’t want to be separated from him. She wondered if he felt the same way, but he said, “Yes, I have much to do. Thank you, Willa.”

His mother smiled at Rose and said, “Come this way, please.”

Rose climbed the elaborate staircase with both ladies. The house still disconcerted her. She’d never really thought about what Augustus’s ducal life was like. It wasn’t that she hadn’t stayed in nice places, but all of her time with Augustus had been spent in less elaborate settings.

She glanced back down the staircase to see several servants bowing and curtsying as he walked by. Augustus seemed so at ease with all the pomp and so different from the man she’d grown to know. This world was so drastically different from hers.

His sister opened a door, and Rose stepped into a bedchamber designed for a queen. His mother smiled. “We always have a few of the guest bedchambers ready.”

The fact that this was a guest room shocked her. The walls were covered with white paint, trim, and, in places, gold inlays. A massive bed took up one side of the room and was covered with elaborate fabrics. The room could house a family, let alone one person.

His sister asked, “Is this fine?”

Rose nodded. “Yes, of course.

Servants entered carrying hot water and opened a door that revealed a bathing room with a large deep tub. No, Rose took it back. She hadn’t ever stayed or been in a place this nice. A maid handed Augustus’s sister a dressing gown. “Here is something to sleep in.”

“Thank you, Lady Willa.”

“Please call me, Willa, and my mother, Mary. We aren’t as formal at home.”

Rose had a hard time believing that but nodded. “Thank you, Willa and Your Grace.”

Augustus’s mother said, “Please Mary.”

She smiled. “Thank you.”

Mary said, “If you need anything, pull on the rope there, and a servant will come immediately. Would you like a servant to clean the bathing room right away or wait until after you’ve rested?”

Rose shook her head. “I think after would be best.”

Both ladies nodded and departed. A maid helped her loosen the ties of her dress but then Rose said, “I think I can manage from here.”

The maid looked as if she wanted to argue, and Rose smiled. “I appreciate your help, but I would like to be alone.”

The woman said, “Yes, Miss Calvert. If you need anything, pull on the rope.”

“Thank you,” she said to the maid’s retreating figure, worrying that she had upset her.

Rose didn’t want people she didn’t know fussing over her. She glanced around, alone in the massive room—out of place. She wandered to the bathing room, startled that the guest-chamber had one. Owners often had one in their house, but having one for guests seemed extravagant to Rose.

She removed her clothing and sighed as she stepped into the steaming bathtub.

Rose sat, feeling as if she could relax for the first time since the start of her kidnapping.

Strangely, she suddenly missed her father.

She wished he was here. Rose would need to send him a letter. He would be beside himself.

A small smile filled her face. She’d not wanted to come to London, but truthfully, it had been the right choice.

She adored the ladies in the club, and Augustus.

Her eyes flicked around the room, and she sighed.

While she’d grown close to the man, Rose realized she didn’t know this Augustus—the duke who lived in this house.

She closed her eyes, not wanting to think about their differences.

“Rose,” he said gruffly from the doorway of the bathing room.

Her eyes flew open, and he stared down at her. They quietly looked at one another, and he finally said, “My mother and sister are in the drawing room and have told everyone you are to be left undisturbed, but I wanted to check on you.”

So many emotions flowed between them, and Rose said, “Join me.”

*

Augustus removed his jacket and cravat, watching her.

Desire swam in her eyes, but something else shimmered in them.

He suspected it was the same emotion that swirled through him—something so strong and deep that no matter what happened between him and this woman, there would be no getting over it.

Rose’s eyes roamed over him as he removed his boots, shirt, and pants.

He stepped into the tub across from her, and she drew up her legs, making room for him.

They faced each other; neither said a word. She was a vision with her wet brownish-red hair dangling over her shoulders, teasing him with peeks of her rosy nipples. His cock was already hard, but he resisted the urge to pull her to him. He wanted to sit with her for a moment—make sure she was fine.

Her slender legs slid back down the length of his, closer to his shaft.

He gritted his teeth, and a slight smirk filled her face.

She was messing with him. Augustus lifted one of her legs and kissed her ankle.

She sucked in a breath, and he winked back at her.

The ease between them was special. It was something in his thirty-five years he’d never experienced with another woman.

Augustus placed her feet in his lap, and her eyes flared with desire. He again resisted the urge to do exactly what they both wanted. As much as he wanted to bury himself in her, first, he wanted to gaze upon her and let his worry dissipate. He asked, “Are you sure you are fine?”

“I am,” Rose reassured him.

Nodding, he said, “After Hawley confirms you are safe, I will return you to Lisbeth’s.”

“I don’t think they are coming back for me. The text they wanted me to decipher was cuneiform, but it wasn’t of a real language.”

“Hawley created it as some type of test for the British Secret Service.”

She shook her head. “What a strange idea.”

Augustus nodded. “From what I was privy to, I think any thoughts on pursuing its use are over.”

She snorted. “Saying that spies plan to use ancient text to send sensitive messages aloud sounds absurd.”

A bark of laughter escaped him because she was right.

It sounded like something one would read about in a fictional adventure novel.

“Hawley emphasized that we need to inform everyone that the men who took you were simply smugglers who’d heard the rumor.

He did inform the Historical Society for Female Curators about the speculation that the British Secret Service was using cuneiform, and that he thought your kidnapping was somehow connected. ”

Rose pulled her feet back and frowned at him. “I won’t lie to them. They are my friends.”

“I’m not sure it really is a lie. Some type of smuggler or notorious person did kidnap you, and we don’t know much more than that.

The only thing we would be withholding was Hawley’s involvement, and his association with the British Secret Service seems to be over. They decided not to use ancient text.”

She seemed to ponder his words, but still appeared reluctant. “What exactly would you tell the club?”

“That Bradford agreed to help a smuggler because he needed the money. He doesn’t seem to know enough to debate the point. I would leave it at that.”

Rose sat straight up. “He’s alive?”

Augustus sighed. “Only you would be happy that someone who abducted you isn’t dead.”

She shrugged one of her pretty shoulders, giving him another peek of a plump breast. His want for this woman was beyond anything he’d ever felt. She sighed, sinking into the tub and stretching her legs up the length of his torso. He kissed the top of her feet.

“I suppose if it is over, it makes no sense to reveal any more details about Hawley’s work with the British Secret Service. It will be our secret. Our night that we played with spies.”

He snorted. “I would gladly have not had such a night.”

They sat quietly, and eventually, he moved her feet to each side of him before propelling her onto his lap. “Rose, you have no idea how happy I am that you are here.”

She lifted a brow. “In this bathtub or this massive opulent house?”

“Alive,” he said.

“I’m fine, Augustus.”

He nodded. There was so much he had to say to her—Augustus wanted more from her.

Hell, he wanted forever with her. Yet, he knew it was a big ask and didn’t want to rush her after all the dramatic events that had transpired in the last twenty-four hours.

Christ. She’d almost lost her life. He didn’t need to act like a besotted fool.

“I can’t believe this is your home. When we are together sometimes, I forget you are a duke.”

Dread filled him because even though Augustus wanted Rose, her words hinted at why he’d tried so long to deny his feelings for her. Being a duke or a duchess came with responsibilities that most couldn’t imagine.

Could he foist that on Rose? This woman who did as she pleased, who was smarter than most people he knew, and who lived life like it was an adventure. Truthfully, before her, his life was very structured and scheduled.

“It can be tedious, but it is an honor.”

They sat quietly, and Augustus suspected she was pondering how different they were from each other. He asked, “You truly don’t think you could adapt to being a lady?”

“Could you live in a tent at a field site?”

Neither of them answered. Augustus found himself grateful that he didn’t confess all his feelings. As if all their thoughts were too much, Rose bowed into him, sitting astride on his lap. She pressed her lips to his, exploring his mouth hungrily.

He groaned and instinctively arched his cock against her most feminine spot. Their tongues swirled against each other, giving and taking. Augustus pulled away. “Rose, you’ve been through an ordeal—”

“Don’t tell me why we shouldn’t. There are so many reasons beyond me recovering from my kidnapping. For now, let’s not think. Just take me to bed, Augustus.”

There was no denying her. He couldn’t. “As you wish.”