Page 73 of A Translation of Desire
“No!” Jeremy screeched back.
A loud crash echoed through the massive building. Rose raced from the research room and glanced down from the mezzanine at the same time as Lisbeth. A sigh escaped from the duchess, who did not appear pleased at all. Thank goodness, the object they broke was a standard teacup, likely left there by one of the guards while he did his rounds. They were all lucky it wasn’t one of the artifacts on display.
Jeremy and Alice stared back at them, their eyes wide with horror. Rose glanced at Lisbeth, who looked more exhausted than angry. She had to stop herself from grinning. The duchess’s children certainly added some excitement to her ducal life.
“Mother, we didn’t mean to break it. We’re sorry,” Jeremy said. “We will clean it up.”
Lisbeth nodded, and then her eyes narrowed in on her daughter—the more defiant of the two. “What do you have to say for yourself, Alice?”
The girl stubbornly tilted her chin up. Alice was indeed a mischief maker, Rose mused. Still, she’d grown close to both of them.
“Alice?” Lisbeth prodded.
“I’m sorry,” she mumbled.
Lisbeth nodded at both of them. “Go ask one of the servants for something to clean it up. Do it yourselves. Understand?”
“Yes, Mother,” they said in unison and dashed off to the kitchen.
Lisbeth turned and sighed. “Those two will be the death of me.”
“They are not what I expected.”
An amused expression flitted across Lisbeth’s face. “What did you expect my children to be like?”
“Little proper, serious humans.”
Sadness filled Lisbeth’s face, and Rose said, “I’m sorry if I said something hurtful.”
“No. It isn’t that. My husband was a very proper man. It was something that was ingrained in him. He wanted something different for Jeremy and Alice. What you said would have been the greatest compliment to him.”
Rose was always surprised by the love that emanated from Lisbeth when she spoke of her husband. When they’d been traveling and working together years ago, she’d been so devoted to Thomas. Had it been a young woman’s infatuation? Rose supposed it didn’t matter. Thomas never planned on returning to London, and Lisbeth certainly wasn’t leaving anytime soon. Rose said, “Your husband sounds like a good man.”
“He was, and we miss him.”
The children came back out with the broom and made a mess of sweeping it up as a horrified servant fluttered around them, ready to jump in at any time. Jeremy and Alice didn’t ask for help; they did as they were told. The maid insisted on takingthe remnants of the teacup. Alice looked up at her mother for approval, and Lisbeth nodded.
“You are a good mother,” Rose said.
“I try. Now, I need to take these two home. Will you join us?”
Rose shook her head. “I’m going to stay a bit longer.”
Lisbeth nodded. “Don’t stay too late.”
The duchess descended the stairs, and Rose waved as they all departed. The guard reentered the room after making his rounds in the building, and she said, “I will have a visitor shortly. Please let him up to the research room when he arrives.”
He nodded, and Rose made her way back to the room. She pulled a missive from her pocket, and hope and trepidation filled her. One of the men from the illicit market had responded to her note, indicating that he might have some information. He asked to meet with her at Seely House alone.
She should have let Addie or Lisbeth know, at a minimum, but she didn’t want to raise their hopes. Rose would meet with the man first and determine what information he had. Augustus would be furious if he knew what she was doing. She frowned at her thoughts. He was out of town, and it had nothing to do with him, she reminded herself.
A knock on the door down below interrupted her thoughts. Rose stood and brushed her skirt. She hoped this man would be able to help her find the tablets.
*
Augustus sat withDerry and Devons at the Den, drinking brandy. He’d finally made it back to London after hours on the train. The mad urge to go straight to Rose and tell her how he felt was coursing through him, but it would not be appropriate at this hour. Instead, he’d come here.
Rumor swirled in London that the Den’s third partner was planning to sell his share of the club soon. Augustus wasn’t surprised; Simon Miller, while just as invested, didn’t live and breathe this place like Devons and Derry.
