Page 25 of A Little Bit Dangerous
“You look beautiful,” he said before engaging his brain.
She didn’t reply but hurried from the room, leaving him alone with his thoughts and a heart heavy with regret.
ChapterSix
The British Museum
Great Russell Street
For the third time in as many minutes, Isabella stared at the list of Egyptian items purchased by the museum. The words blurred on the page as her mind drifted from her studies to thoughts of the charismatic Mr Chance.
She glanced at the empty chair opposite the desk, the dreaded ache of loneliness filling her chest. The void left by his absence seemed huge. Working alone on the case proved less thrilling. But she understood the need to avoid each other, and what happened in the quaint room had complicated matters.
Five days had passed since he’d kissed her passionately. Five days since she’d behaved like a wanton and permitted him to take liberties. Her heart should weigh heavy with remorse. She should have spent hours repenting, yet she couldn’t rouse a flicker of shame.
Who would have thought the touch of a man’s lips could be so exhilarating? The memory caused the same tingling she’d experienced when locked in his embrace. The desire to kiss him again plagued her waking hours and invaded her dreams.
Isabella shook her head.
Perhaps a love of illicit liaisons was in the blood.
The thought that she might be anything like her mother proved sobering, so she returned to her questions about Captain Snell’s shipment. Eight large crates of artefacts were listed on the docket Mr Daventry had obtained. And yet the museum had purchased so small a number they would fill one crate.
What had happened to the other artefacts?
It seemed odd that Mr Chance couldn’t find the elusive Mr Quigley. Who was the man who acted as a broker? No one seemed to know.
Perhaps he was part of the criminal fraternity and had taken receipt of the other crates. If the real crime was avoiding paying duty, whatever was inside must be expensive. Was it gold or opium or something simple, like silk or tea?
The thought of tea had her thinking about Mr Chance.
He had sent a note explaining he could not take tea with Mrs Maloney last night. The lady said it was the first Thursday he’d missed in eight years. Although, knowing Isabella would be at the museum this morning, he had promised to call at the bookshop.
Hearing the curator’s footsteps echoing along the corridor and somewhat annoyed that her mind had wandered again, Isabella quickly tidied the documents away.
She snatched her notebook and pencil and blew out the candle. But when she opened the door, she met the gaze of the stern-looking Mr Purton, not the custodian.
“Who the devil are you?” The man stared down his bulbous nose. The broken capillaries in his puffy cheeks said he drank to excess. “Higgins, fetch a constable,” he shouted, though the corridor was deserted.
Isabella inhaled deeply and gathered her wits. “I’m studying here on behalf of the women’s antiquaries group. I’m writing a thesis on Ancient Egyptian artefacts. Mr Brown has been assisting me. You must be Mr Purton.” The curator had pointed out his assistant a few days ago.
Though he accepted her story without question, suspicion swam in his beady eyes. “Mr Brown said something about helping a female scholar with her notes.”
“Excellent. Then you won’t mind directing me to the Treasures of the Nile exhibition. I’d like to sketch the recent haul of rare objects.”
“Mr Brown has been called away to Bath. I’m not sure he’d want you snooping around the museum in his absence.”
Bath? He’d not mentioned a trip when greeting her this morning.
She offered her best smile, the sort her mother once used to make men fall at her feet. “I’m to leave London myself tomorrow to attend a lecture in York. My notes will be useless without the sketches, sir. I assure you, I’ll be but half an hour.”
“I’m a busy man, Miss …”
“Reeves.”
Mr Purton’s sinister gaze journeyed slowly down to her toes. He appreciated her figure, that much was evident, though he definitely disapproved of a woman out to educate the masses.
“As I said, Miss Reeves, I don’t have time to waste.”
