Page 87 of Ravished

She found nothing but crates in two of the dark chambers. But at the end of the hall she opened the last door and discovered a shadowed room full of looming skeletons, some of them very large.

The lighting was quite poor. Two sputtering candles burned in wall sconces outside the last chamber. Harriet selected one and carried it inside. She used it to light the half-burned tapers in the wall sconces in the chamber. It was obvious no one came into the room very often.

The chamber was not only dark, it was cold. A thick layer of dust lay over everything, but Harriet paid no attention to that. Dirt and grime were part of fossil collecting.

She saw at once that there were several rows of tall cabinets in the dark room. Each cabinet contained dozens of drawers.

There was a fair chance she would find some teeth in drawers the size of these, Harriet decided happily.

But before she began investigating the cabinets, she paused to examine some of the strange relics that littered the room. There was a large chunk of stone sitting on a cabinet at the end of one aisle. Harriet looked closely and saw the delicate outline of a strange, spiny fish embedded in it.

Farther along that same aisle she found the dusty bones of several bizarre creatures that featured both fins and legs. Harriet studied them in wonder. She had never seen anything quite like them.

She found a chair in one corner and dragged it over to one of the cabinets which contained the strange fossils. She climbed up to get a better look at the skeletons.

A cloud of dust puffed upward as she leaned forward to touch an oddly shaped fin. Then she spotted the small pins holding the fin to the skeleton.

"Ah-hah," she muttered in satisfaction. "A forgery. I knew it. No wonder Mr. Humboldt has consigned you to the nether regions," she told the poor creature. "He probably paid good money for you, only to discover he had been fleeced."

She noticed the dust stains on her yellow pelisse as she climbed down from the chair. Belatedly she wished she had brought along an apron. Next time she would make it a point to do so.

She was standing on tiptoe to examine the skeleton of a very strange fish when she heard the door open behind her. It closed again very softly. Another museum visitor had found his way into Humboldt's last storage room. Harriet paid no attention until the newcomer started down the aisle of tall cabinets in which she was standing.

"Good afternoon, Harriet," Bryce Morland said from the far end of the aisle.

Harriet froze, not only because his voice was the last one she had expected to hear, but because of the undercurrent of menace in it. She turned to face him.

"Mr. Morland. What on earth are you doing here in Mr. Humboldt's Museum? I did not know you were interested in fossils."

"I am not interested in them." Morland smiled, but in the shadows it was a travesty of an angel's benign expression. "I am, however, extremely interested in you, my sweet little Harriet."

A trickle of dread raced down Harriet's spine. "I do not understand."

"No? Do not concern yourself. You soon will." He started down the aisle toward her. The dim light from the wall sconce gilded his blond hair, but his handsome face was in shadow.

Harriet instinctively took a step back. She was suddenly very much afraid. "You will have to excuse me, sir. It is very late and I must be on my way."

"It is very late indeed. The museum closed ten minutes ago."

Harriet's eyes widened. "Gracious. How the time has flown. My maid will be waiting for me."

"Your maid is well occupied flirting with the lad who sells the tickets. Neither of them will miss us for some time."

"Nevertheless, I am leaving now." Harriet lifted her chin. "Please stand aside, sir."

Morland kept walking slowly toward her down the narrow aisle. "Not just yet, little Harriet. Not just yet. I should mention that I saw your husband today."

"Did you?" Harriet moved slowly back.

"We had a pleasant chat during which he told me to stay away from you." Morland's eyes glittered with fury. "He knows that you are attracted to me, you see."

"No." Harriet retreated another step. "That is not true and you know it, Mr. Morland."

"Oh, 'tis true enough. You are just like Deirdre. She could not resist me, either."

"Are you mad? What are you talking about?"

"You and Deirdre, of course. St. Justin lost her and he will lose you. His pride will be crushed completely this time. He has always been so damned arrogant, so bloody proud, even when all of London whispered behind his back. But this time he will not be able to endure the gossip the way he did the last time."

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