Romance By The Book

by Jo Victor

  “One way to find out, Alex. Open it.”

  Alex turned to look at her. “I’m almost afraid to. There’s something about it—can’t you feel it? It’s like the whole house is holding its breath.”

  Cam reached out and took one of Alex’s hands in hers. “Go on, love. It’ll be all right.”

  Alex slowly, carefully lifted the cover. Cam could see that the first page had something written on it in ink, but it was too far away for her to read. “What does it say?”

  “It’s a dedication. For My Dearest Love. It looks like…it can’t be. Sweet holy Goddess. It’s Artemisia’s writing.”

  The face she turned toward Cam was a mixture of wonder, excitement, and fear. Cam felt her own breathing quicken. Something really was happening—she could feel it, too. “Don’t stop now.”

  With just the tip of one finger on the edge, she turned the page. “On the occasion of the anniversary of your birth, please accept this fair copy of the verses which you have inspired. And she signed it.”

  “I can read it from here. That says Artemisia, right enough.”

  Alex turned another page, and then another, scanning quickly. “These aren’t the poems she wrote for Lady Melissa. I’ve never seen any of them before. ‘The Moor at Sunset, Hand in Hand.’” She went on to the next page. “‘With My Body, I Thee Worship.’”

  “That one sounds nice.”

  Alex shot her a look but made no other comment. She turned one more page and stopped dead. “‘When My Lovely…’” She gasped and looked up at Cam. In a trembling voice, she whispered, “This one is called, ‘When My Lovely Janet Smiles.’”

  In the next moment, it sounded like every door in the house slammed shut, one after another, then flew open, then slammed shut again. They both leaped to their feet.

  Alex was terrified. She threw herself into Cam’s arms. Cam turned her against the wall and held her tightly, as if she was trying to shield her with her body from whatever was happening. The front doorbell started ringing, a continuous clanging. A howling like a small whirlwind came rushing down the hall toward them, then went racing down the stairs. The sound of doors opening and slamming again, this time in unison, filled the air and made the whole house shake.

  And then everything fell absolutely still and silent.

  Alex tried to slow her breathing. “What the hell just happened?”

  Cam eased her hold but kept her arms around her. “I’d say our friend was a bit excited by what you found.”

  “What we found. You’re the one that got us in here—you spotted the window, and the door, and you got the key to work.” Alex leaned back a little so she could see Cam’s face more easily. “I was afraid that we were having an earthquake or something, but I think you’re right about what was really going on. I just wish she hadn’t been quite so vivid about it.”

  “Can’t rightly blame her, though. If I’d held on to a secret for a good hundred and fifty years or more and finally been able to tell it, I’d be a bit vivid myself.”

  “Isn’t it amazing? Just think—the two of them were in love, and all this time nobody knew it. And it sounds like they were really happy, too. Those poems, I can’t wait to read them. Oh, and we’ve got to tell people. We’ve got to tell everybody right away.”

  “Steady on. Why don’t you just sit down a minute and catch your breath.”

  “You’re right, you’re right. I think I’m just overreacting because I was so scared.” She sat down again, and so did Cam. “Okay. Breathing now. But isn’t it wonderful? Oh, sweetheart, I can’t even believe it.”

  Cam was still looking a little concerned. “Tell you what, I’ll just ring Nicola, shall I? After what happened before, you’ll want this handled properly, and I think she’ll know what’s best to do.”

  But she couldn’t reach Nicola, either at her home number or on her cell. “That’s odd,” Cam said. “She’s usually home this early on a Sunday, and she always leaves her mobile on.”

  Alex thought for a moment. “Try the vicarage.”

  “At this hour? Services don’t start until—wait a bit.” She gave Alex a strange look. “You reckon…Ha!”

  “What’s so funny?”

  “Nothing. It’s just that when I was over there a few days back giving Sarah a hand with some wiring, I remembered what you’d said about her fancying Nicola.”

  “But that was weeks ago.”

  “What can I say? I’ve a memory. Anyway, I gave her a bit of encouragement. Seems she took it to heart.”

  “Did she ever. She called Nicola up for a date—from the sound of it, probably right after you talked to her. They were supposed to go out last night. That’s why I suggested you try the vicarage, just in case things went really well.”

  Cam grinned. “Let’s find out.” She was already dialing.

  It took a while to get an answer, and from the half of the conversation Alex could hear, it was clear that the timing of the call was…inopportune. However, eventually Nicola came to the phone, and Cam handed her cell to Alex.

  “This had better be good, Alex. No—it had better be utterly, blindingly brilliant, and even then I may never speak to you again.”

  “I’m assuming dinner worked out well, then.”

  “Yes, it did. But since we’re no longer friends, I don’t see why you should care. Any more than I care about you and Cam. Not that you’d bother telling me anything, I suppose.”

  “How could I, since we’re no longer on speaking terms? I guess you’ll have to die wondering just how big a grin I have on my face.” Alex wrinkled her nose at Cam and blew her a kiss. Cam reached for her hand and kissed it.

  “You’re enjoying this, aren’t you, you wretch?” Nicola mock-accused.

  “Guilty as charged.” Cam was now working her way around Alex’s wrist, kissing lightly, and it was getting too distracting. Reluctantly, Alex drew her hand away. “Seriously, though, I’m really happy for you. And I truly am sorry about the bad timing. But I think once you hear the reason we called, you may even consider forgiving me.”

  It took only a few sentences to bring Nicola up to speed. Fortunately, Alex took the precaution of holding the phone away from her ear in time to avoid serious hearing damage from Nicola’s shrieks of joy and amazement. These were followed, quite naturally, by several moments of confusion on the other end of the line. Sarah’s concerned tones demanding to be told what was wrong came through loud and clear, along with Nicola’s attempts to explain, which she alternated with rapid-fire appeals for further information that Alex made no attempt to respond to. She simply continued to hold the phone and wait.

  The time didn’t go entirely to waste. As the distant sounds of chaos continued, Cam beckoned her over. She straddled Cam’s lap and put her arms around her neck. One kiss led to several more, until at first Alex barely even noticed the sound of Nicola calling her name. Reluctantly, she eased her head back.

  Cam moved on to kissing her neck. “Just ring off,” she murmured.

  Alex sighed. “Duty calls, I’m afraid.” She held the phone to her ear again. “What can I do for you?”

  “You called me, remember? What on earth is going on over there?”

  “Sorry. I got sidetracked.” Cam nipped at her skin. “We were having ourselves a little snack.” Cam chuckled and ran her tongue over the spot she had just bitten.

  “How can you think of food at a time like this? Don’t go anywhere. We’ll be right over.”

  “Take your time. We won’t mind.” She dropped the phone on the desk before reaching down to pull Cam’s shirt free from her waistband.

  Chapter Twenty-two

  Nicola, showing a previously unsuspected aptitude for command, took charge the moment she arrived at Dawson House with an adoring Sarah floating dreamily in her wake. Upon viewing the secret room, she issued her first decree, which a hugely disappointed Alex tried to argue with: they must leave the notebook where it was and close up the room without touching anything else.

  Lo
gically, Alex knew Nicola was absolutely right, and that a find of this magnitude needed the most careful treatment to document, protect, and preserve it, but her heart ached at being parted from Artemisia’s words and she protested vehemently.

  Even worse was Cam’s reaction, because it was so unexpected. When Cam spoke up, Alex was sure she would support her, but she actually said that she agreed with Nicola. It hurt Alex’s feelings quite a bit when Cam shooed her out of the secret room after volunteering to close the shutters.

  Alex was so busy making her case to Nicola for why they should at least make a copy of the newly discovered poems before resealing the room that she barely noticed how long it took Cam to join them in the hallway. Nicola looked a little suspicious when Cam finally emerged, shutting the door behind her, but let it go after hearing her explanation about problems with the catch on the shutters. As Nicola moved on to other concerns, Alex thought she caught a flash of devilment in Cam’s eyes, but her bland expression was back in place so quickly that Alex decided she must have been mistaken.

  Then it was on to the next task, which was to summon the head of Highgate Hall’s conservation department. As soon as he arrived, Nicola insisted on swearing them all to secrecy, Sarah included. The conservator, a heavily bespectacled, serious man, cardigan clad and a touch underfed, was reluctant at first to make any promise before receiving an explanation, but all it took was the mention of Rosamund’s name for him to hurriedly agree. In a gesture that reminded Alex of the scene where Hamlet has everyone touch his sword and vow silence, Nicola had them put their hands together and recite an actual oath.

  Alex wanted to laugh but her friend was so deadly serious about the whole thing that she didn’t dare. The only thing missing was a ghost under the floorboards yelling Swear!—which was ironic, under the circumstances.

  Once they had duly pledged, they adjourned to the kitchen to confer over a pot of tea. As Alex, with occasional help from Cam, recounted the tale of their morning’s adventures, Nicola’s eyes grew wider and wider, and as for the conservator, his hands started trembling so much he had to put his cup down rather precipitately to avoid dropping it. Sarah congratulated them heartily, then announced it was time for her to head over to the church, promising to rejoin them later.

  After the vicar had left, Alex, Nicola, and the conservator discussed next steps, with Cam offering to contribute in any way that she could. They soon concurred on a basic plan of action for securing and investigating the find. Their only major disagreement was about the key to the secret room. Alex was adamant—she would not give it up. None of the arguments the others could marshal moved her, and this time, Cam backed her up.

  Cam also came up with a solution, offering to make copies of the key so they could all have access to the room while Alex kept the original. This was reluctantly accepted by the other two, so Cam and the conservator each went off to fetch what they needed for their respective tasks while Alex and Nicola called Ian to tell him the news.

  After his exclamations and congratulations subsided and normal conversation was possible, Ian absolutely agreed on the need for secrecy. He was dismayed to learn that five people were already aware of the find and insisted that no one else be told. Alex pleaded to be allowed to inform her dissertation director, at least in general terms, and eventually she wore him down.

  “But not one other person, Alexandra. Negotiations with Ms. Camberwell are at a critical stage, and if she gets even a whiff of your new discovery, matters could get quite nasty, I fear.”

  “The only thing that surprises me about that is that they haven’t gotten that way already. How soon do you think you’ll be able to come up here and take a look for yourself?”

  “Not until we’ve settled things over the Prandall, I’m afraid. But the minute we’ve concluded, I’ll be on a train headed north. Just see if you can keep me away.”

  “I wouldn’t dream of trying. I’d only end up crushed and trampled into the dust.”

  Alex then put in a quick call to Barbara, having forgotten the time difference in her enthusiasm. After apologizing for rousting her out of bed at such an early hour on a Sunday, Alex quickly filled her in. She was a little surprised by how dispassionately Barbara reacted to the news. She sounded intrigued, but she didn’t seem very excited over something that was bound to revolutionize the field she had been part of for so many years. She spent more time asking about Alex’s research plans and the likely effect on her dissertation schedule than she did about the details of the find.

  Her response to the request for secrecy was also disconcerting. At first she refused to agree, citing the importance of the find and the need to capitalize on the associated publicity for the sake of department and university prestige, as well as Alex’s career. Even when Alex made a personal plea, asking Barbara to go along for her sake, she still said no. Racking her brain for an effective argument, Alex finally countered with vague references to a confidentiality agreement and legal issues with the Foundation. That seemed to do the trick, but she could tell Barbara wasn’t very happy with her.

  After the conversation ended, Alex felt a little disoriented. She had spent so many years fascinated by Barbara as a woman and in awe of her as a senior scholar that she had never really considered how little she and Barbara actually had in common. She had never expected that Barbara would allow PR to take precedence over scholarly considerations, let alone their friendship. Or what Alex thought of as their friendship.

  She sighed. Looking up, she could see both Nicola and Cam looking at her with troubled expressions. However, only Nicola said anything. Cam simply returned to her work.

  “So. That was Barbara, was it?” It was clear Nicola was less than impressed.

  “Let’s just file it under Too soon old, too late smart and move on, shall we?”

  “I suppose we’ll have to. Cam, how are you coming with the key?”

  Cam held up the wax impression she’d made. “I’m done with what I can manage on my own. Do you reckon your conservator friend can finish this at the Hall?”

  “Perhaps, but I’d rather not do that, in case anybody notices and starts asking questions. I’m not sure what alternative we have, though.”

  “Not to worry. I’ve a mate over in Dunheath who runs an ironmongery out of an old blacksmith’s shop, makes door knockers and authentic old whatnot for tourists.” She handed the original key to Alex, who stowed it safely back in her pocket. “I use her when I need a bit of work done for a restoration. I’ll speak to her tomorrow about casting the new keys for me. I doubt she’ll be the least bit curious, and I know she’ll do a first-rate job.”

  “That sounds perfect,” said Nicola. “Cam, I don’t know what we’d do without you.”

  “Cam has lots of talents,” said Alex. Although she had been careful to keep her tone completely neutral, Cam shot her a look that made her wish Nicola would go somewhere else for a while. Quite a while.

  But then the conservator returned with his equipment and supplies and everyone trooped upstairs, each with appointed tasks. The conservator’s job was to explore, measure, and describe the room and its contents while Cam assisted him and Nicola supervised and documented everything. Because the room was so small, Alex, after unlocking the door, had to content herself with standing outside trying to see over people’s heads and asking questions which for the most part no one bothered to answer.

  She tried very hard not to be jealous of Cam’s practical skills that were making her such a valuable member of the team at the moment. She would be able to make her contribution when it came time to analyze the writings that were at this moment only a few tantalizing feet away, just sitting there unread, in a notebook that she had been holding in her hands only a short time ago. Somehow, that didn’t help.

  *

  Cam heard the edge in Alex’s voice when she announced that she would be downstairs making a pot of tea if anybody needed her and decided the moment had come to reveal her surprise. Briefly excusing herself to the
others, she headed down to the kitchen.

  Alex was sitting at the table, arms crossed, looking grim. Cam fished her mobile out of her pocket and went over to stand beside her.

  “I’ve a few photos on here that might interest you, seeing as you’ve nothing else to do.”

  “Rub it in, why don’t you? Sorry, but I don’t think your vacation pictures are going to cheer me up. I’m just kicking myself that I didn’t copy down one or two of the poems when I had the chance.”

  “It’s a shame not to have thought of that—you being the Scholar and all.” Cam reached over to hold the phone in front of Alex and tapped the controls. Up popped the first of the photos that she had taken of the notebook in the secret room while she was supposedly wrestling with the catch on the shutters. “A pity.”

  Alex took one look at the page of poetry filling the tiny screen and gave a delighted shriek. “You didn’t! Oh, Cam, you’re amazing.” Alex grabbed her around the waist and gave her a quick, fierce hug before snatching the phone and scrolling through the other shots. “I think you got every single page. Oh, sweetheart, thank you.”

  “I reckoned it would kill you, being so close to those brand-new poems but not being able to read them.”

  Alex tore her eyes from the screen and flashed her an adoring look. “I don’t know how you do it, but it’s like you can read my mind. I really was just about ready to die.”

  Cam brushed her fingers gently through Alex’s hair. “Wouldn’t do to be left with a corpse on my hands, now would it?”

  Somewhere nearby, a door closed firmly—not quite a slam, but with a decided clank. Alex murmured, “Yes, I think one dead woman in the house is plenty.” Cam saw Alex sneak a glance at the poem before looking guiltily back at her. “I’m sorry, it’s just…”