Page 43 of A Translation of Desire
“Not like this or here, though. I want more than a quick tupping,” he said, running his hand up and down her back.
She smiled at him. “That is very considerate of you, duke.”
“Augustus,” he insisted. “If we are going to do this, use my given name.”
She leaned into him as he continued to stroke her back. He wanted to strip her down and admire every part of her body.
“Where then, Augustus?”
“In London. I will find a place.”
A door slammed nearby, and Augustus knew they had to leave.Fuck!He didn’t want to leave her. He pulled her in for a demanding kiss. One that promised all types of wickedness. She moaned, and he hungered for more but stopped himself. Tearing himself away, he frustratedly ran a hand through his hair.
“We will talk more when we’re both in London. Now go before someone sees us together.”
She sighed, and he kissed her one more time before she departed. He sat in a chair in the library, wondering what he was doing.
Chapter Fourteen
Rose sat atthe long wooden table reviewing her research. Frustration welled up within her as she thought about the missing tablets. Only one tablet remained for her to conduct her research on. She stood and stretched before pacing back and forth. The Historical Society for Female Curators was still no closer to identifying the culprit or finding the stolen artifacts.
She stopped and looked out the window. A guard from down below nodded to her. Seely House now employed two guards on duty at all times. Truthfully, they probably should have always had more than one, but Rose still couldn’t believe all that had transpired in the last few weeks.
Sighing, she plopped back down in her chair. Rose frowned. It had been a whole week since she and Lisbeth returned from the Derrys’ country estate party, and Augustus hadn’t reached out to her at all. She hated that it bothered her so much, but it did. What was that night in the library about? Was she supposed to wait around for him? She wouldn’t.
He hadn’t even reached out about Hawley or tried to meet with the whole club—he was completely silent. Rose reiterated to herself that she needed to forget the duke. Pushing the disconcerting thoughts from her mind, she read the text she’d deciphered from the second tablet.
Sibri traveled farther than any known man. He went past the valley of the abandoned and finally came tothe kingdom of the flowers. The kingdom was beautiful, including the king and his daughter. The daughter wanted Sibri and told him that she would tell him the location of the golden fruit for one night. He refused. She was angry. The guards seized him. The king made him an offer. He would give Sibri a riddle. If he answered the riddle correctly, they would tell him the location. If he lost, Sibri would forever belong to the princess. Sibri agreed.
The king put forth the riddle, “There is a house. One enters it blind and comes out seeing. What is it?”
Sibri closed his eyes and pushed all thoughts except the riddle from his mind, including his beautiful Belit. Then he opened his eyes and said, “A house of learning.”
The princess said no, but the king nodded. Sibri had answered the riddle correctly. The king told Sibri he would find the golden fruit where the water touches the sun. Sibri journeyed on.
Rose was excited that her key was working. She was confident that the story was real, and Hawley would be able to validate it with his. However, concern lingered in her mind that the story would be incomplete even if she had the three tablets. Thomas offered to return to the area where they were discovered, but there was no guarantee that additional tablets would be found. Right now, it was a hunch, but based on the pacing and structure of the text, Rose was almost sure they were missing the end of the story. She needed to tell the board members.
Addie’s laughter filtered in through the open door from their office space, and she rose. Being able to decipher the tablets was a success for her, but she hated the thought that she might fail the club. The club had already proven it could compete withthe London Society of Antiquaries, but having a complete epic would be a real coup. Rose wanted that for them.
She walked into the office. Lisbeth, Addie, and Esme glanced up from their desk. Sarah and Diana were out of the building today because they took the train to look at relics discovered north of London. Addie asked, “How is deciphering going?”
Rose leaned against the door frame and frowned. “Well, but I’m worried about something else.”
“Is there something wrong with the tablet we have?” Lisbeth asked.
She shook her head. “No. I’m concerned that it won’t be the end of the story when we find the stolen tablets and have all of them deciphered.”
They were all quiet for a moment. Finally, Esme asked, “Why?”
“The pacing of the epic makes me believe there should be one or two more tablets. The hero is still on his quest. I don’t believe even halfway through.”
“If you had to guess, what would be on the third tablet?” Addie questioned.
Rose sat in the sitting area, and all the ladies joined her. “He will find the object he was sent on the quest for. He still needs to return and reunite with his love so I’m speculating there are at least two more tablets that haven’t been found.”
Addie leaned her head back, closing her eyes. “We need to find the additional stone pieces if that is the case. Is there someone in Syria searching for them?”
“Thomas Easton has returned to the area, but I can’t guarantee he will find the tablets. They could be anywhere.”
