Page 37 of A Promising Little Scandal (Sensual Scandals)

She put on her robe and walked into the sitting room that connected her room from her maid’s with a smile on her face.

“Someone seems chipper,” Emma noted from her chair near the fire. She had a sense of familiarity, for her maid was in the same spot she’d been in when Calliope had returned home from the beach. “You always told me you needed plenty of beauty sleep.”

“Some days don’t require as much as others,” Calliope returned primly. She walked over to the covered tray of food and lifted the lid. She inhaled deeply. “It smells divine. I daresay I’m quite famished.”

Her maid rolled her eyes but didn’t reply. “Would you like your bath now or after you break your fast, my lady?”

Calliope was already pouring a cup of tea. “After, I should think.”

The maid got to her feet and curtsied. “Very well. I will get things ready.”

As she left the room, Calliope took her cup of tea and crossed over to the window that overlooked the Three Cups. She knew it was a distant hope to think she would see Sebastian the moment she glanced outside, but to her surprise, he had just exited the establishment. Her heart immediately picked up speed, wondering if he might come to see her, but that thought was instantly dashed when his purposeful stride took him toward the main thoroughfare.

As she lost sight of him, she wondered where he might be heading. He’d already made a sizeable donation to the village and was looking into bringing more business to the seafaring town, but what might he be doing now?

She considered postponing her bath until she had time to figure out the mystery, but then reality saved her before she did something rash.

Dear heavens, had she gone mad? The very idea of chasing blindly after Lord Blakely was preposterous. They had shared one carnal night together. It shouldn’t mean anything more than that. It surely didn’t to him, and she would be better off if she realized the same.

She turned away from the window and awaited Emma’s return.

Once Calliope had time to soak in the warm scented water, her senses also appeared to be restored. She donned a pale peach gown, but instead of her pelisse, which still needed to be laundered, she opted for her blue cloak. Later, she was glad of her choice.

The breeze was still steady off the coast, but the morning was much warmer than it had been in recent days. With her straw bonnet in place, she reached the cliffs to find Mary was already scouring the beach. Joseph was nowhere to be found.

“Is your brother not assisting us today?” Calliope asked after she’d greeted Miss Anning.

“I’m afraid not. He’s at the upholster still trying to learn his trade.” She smiled gently. “I knew he wouldn’t want to toil away along these lonely rocks forever like I shall.”

Calliope’s heart went out to the girl, because something told her it wasn’t the rocks she was referencing at all. “You think they’re lonely?” Calliope glanced around them. “I’m not so sure about that. I prefer to think of them as undiscovered treasure. Like a pirate’s chest buried in the midst of the sea.”

Mary laughed at that. “You do have quite a vivid imagination, my lady. But I daresay that’s why I’m here every day. My hobby has helped us through some tough times.”

“I should think that finding a plesiosaur skeleton makes it a bit more notable than a mere hobby.”

“Perhaps.” She shrugged. “It’s all that I know, really. And in some way, I feel as though I can stay connected to my father. He taught me what to look for along the shoals.”

“I miss my father dreadfully at times, but I’ve never tried to put too much effort into sentimentality.”

“Why not?” Mary asked. “It seems to me that the things most important in life are close to our hearts.”

“I agree,” Calliope returned thoughtfully. “I suppose it hurt too much to hold on to a certain emotion for too long. My mother died when I was six months old from a weak heart.” She nudged a stray stone with the tip of her boots. “I used to go to the attics to search through her trunks, but I never felt any sort of connection to them. But I would see my sisters get teary eyed at the thought of their mother wearing those dresses. I guess that’s when I decided it would be easier to pretend those gowns weren’t that important.”

Mary tilted her head to the side curiously. “Did you not mourn your father?”

“Certainly,” Calliope nodded. “But not as much as my sisters, I think. I was devasted by his loss, but it was easier to keep it buried inside.”

“But we’re meant to cry and feel emotion. It’s part of human nature as much as the fossils I find near these cliffs.”

A sudden image of her body intertwined with Sebastian flashed into Calliope’s mind. A tremor passed through her. “I admit that I feel some things more strongly than others, but I am careful where I place my heart.”

Liar, that annoying inner voice chided.

Determined to change the subject, Calliope smiled brightly. “Shall we get started?”

Calliope did not go back to her lodgings without anything to show for it later that afternoon. In truth, she’d passed a very productive day with Mary.

She glanced down at the fossil in her grasp and smiled, because she had unearthed it completely on her own. She had spied something intriguing peeking out from beneath the crashing surf and although it had taken her a few tries to free it, her efforts had been worth it. Mary had praised her efforts and told her that she’d found a fully intact crinoid.

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