As she spoke, his cheekbones reddened. As did his ears.
His voice was equally low when he responded, stepping closer so that she could hear him. “I’ve met seasoned diplomats who would have difficulty knowing how to handle you in a mood, Miss Hastings. And I do not know from whom you have got your information, but I’m hardly a penny dreadful explorer who digs fossils with one hand and woos ladies with the other. I have traveled, yes. I have seen some of the important specimens, but that doesn’t mean I have no interest in others. As you well know, there are bones and fossils that have been in collections for decades that are only now revealing their place in the history of our world. So please do not paint me as some sort of snobbish Lothario with more hair than wit.”
Gemma swallowed at his words, and tried to maintain her composure.
There was some truth in what he said. Though she was hardly going to admit that now. Not when he was standing so close and she could see the dark ring of blue that circled his pupils.
And definitely not when her eyes were drawn to the lines that framed his mouth as he spoke.
When had Lord Cameron Lisle become so handsome? The thought made her frown, which he took as a response to his words and so continued.
“As for our first meeting, I explained myself already, but I will repeat, I thought the article was written by a man. But that doesn’t mean I ever mistook you for one. And far from thinking the author of the piece not bright, I thought it was well reasoned but unsuitable for the journal at that time. The very fact that you are still holding a grudge after so many months should be reason enough to show why I have not importuned you to show me the collection. You are the sister of my brother’s new wife. I cannot insult you without sowing discord in my family. And as you know, I value my family above all things.”
They stood close enough that anyone who came upon them might suspect a different conversation altogether.
“There you two are.”
At the sound of Sophia’s voice, they both stepped back with almost comical haste.
Sophia looked between them for a moment, as if trying to determine what sort of confrontation she’d just missed.
Knowing how easily her sister could read her, Gemma didn’t dare meet her eyes.
“Sir Everard and Lord Paley are eager to hear your descriptions of the collection, dearest.”
The glance Sophia gave Cam was speculative. Gemma knew well enough what sort of quizzing she’d face after the men were gone and resigned herself to it. At least she’d have the morning to devise some sort of explanation.
Because right now, she wasn’t quite sure what had just happened.
* * *
That went well.
The ironic thought reverberated in Cam’s head as he trailed the sisters into what looked to be a workroom, judging by the wide table and neatly arranged tools along the wall behind it.
It was a familiar sort of room for anyone who had spent time cleaning and examining bones and stones.
But he couldn’t help but notice the feminine touches. A floral chintz covered pair of chairs with a tea table between them in one corner. A small bookshelf with frequently consulted resources on the history of the Sussex coast and its soil, the proceedings of the Royal Society, and if he wasn’t mistaken, a couple of Cuvier’s works. Sir Everard must have missed that, or they’d have been treated to his stubbornly incorrect opinions on the Frenchman and his theories.
Lady Celeste, Cam knew from what Sophia had told him, had been a highly intelligent lady with many interests. He’d been reluctant to think she could possibly have been as well read and knowledgeable as reputed. In part because he was a believer in the old adage that a jack of all trades was master of none.
And yet, the workroom did more to convince him of the lady’s genuine interest and knowledge in geology than the most ardent defender could.
“The bookshelf is my doing,” Gemma was saying to Sir Everard, who had taken her arm, Cam noted grimly.
So much for the order of precedence.
“Lady Celeste’s library is quite impressive,” Gemma continued. “But I wished to have my own books here so that I might use them to help understand and authenticate my finds.”
Sir Everard’s eyes narrowed as he tried to make out the titles on the shelf, but fortunately he was forestalled from comment by Paley.
“I see you are mindful of creature comforts as well, Miss Hastings,” he said with an approving nod to the chairs. Despite his earlier declaration of interest in Gemma, Cam noted, Paley’s arm was still threaded through Lady Serena’s.
Interesting.
“I’m afraid those were here when I arrived at Beauchamp House,” Gemma admitted with a laugh. “I would never have been bold enough to remove such lovely furniture from one of the other rooms. Especially to a room like this where they might become soiled. But I believe Lady Celeste had these made for this room particularly. I readily admit, I do retreat to them sometimes when long hours standing over the worktable have my back in knots. She thought of everything, you see.”
“My aunt was nothing if not practical,” Serena noted with a smile. “And as she got older, she had no reservations about providing for her own ease. And I do believe many of the improvements here in Beauchamp House were undertaken with the heiresses in mind.”
“What a pity you weren’t here long enough to take advantage, Lady Benedick,” said Sir Everard with a laugh. “Though I suppose what you’ve missed, your sister gains.”
Gemma stiffened. “I may be the only one of the four to be in residence at the moment, Sir Everard, but that doesn’t mean that I would keep my sister or the others from enjoying the House now that they’re married. On the contrary. They are free to come and go as they please. And after a few days together none of us was prepared to hold the others to the strict terms of the bequest.”
“But as the last heiress it will become yours, will it not?” Sir Everard pressed her.
“If I remain unwed until the first of February, yes,” Gemma said coolly. “But as I said, it is not something about which any of us is overly concerned. And I have no intention of marrying anytime soon.”
Or at all. Cam could almost hear her add.
Certainly she had no interest in marrying a man of Sir Everard’s ilk.
At least he thought not.
If he’d learned anything at all from today’s events it was that he didn’t know nearly as much about Miss Gemma Hastings as he’d thought.
“Now, is there anything else in this room you wish to see?”
Sir Everard might be pompous, but even he recognized a maneuver to change the subject in Gemma’s words.
“Tell us about this specimen here, Miss Hastings,” Sir Everard said, with a gesture to a long fossil lying in the center of a dark blue cloth.
“A particularly fine spinal column from a sea lizard,” Gemma said, removing her arm from his and carefully taking up the fossilized bones in her hands. “I found it on the shore just below the bluffs here. I keep returning—especially after storms and particularly strong tides—to see if the rest will reveal itself, but so far I’ve had no luck. As you know, there can be years between discoveries in the same location. So I try to be patient.”
“Might there be a skull in the collection that could be paired with it?”
Sir Everard’s tone was casual but Cam knew exactly what the other man was digging for.
Oblivious to the subtext of the baronet’s question, Gemma shook her head. “Alas, no. That was my first thought, too. But there is nothing of this size in the main collection. But there are several boxes of Lady Celeste’s finds in the attic that I haven’t yet had a chance to search through. Perhaps I might find some other part there.”
At the mention of boxes, Cam saw Sir Everard’s eyes light up. Of course he’d find that interesting given his interest in the no-doubt apocryphal Beauchamp Lizard. He could see the other man working up the nerve to ask for a look in the attics, but before he could do so Gemma
made it unnecessary.
“Lady Celeste put her most impressive finds in her collection here, in the gallery, so I have no doubt that the boxes contain little more than ammonites and some smaller bits. But it will be amusing to see what she found interesting enough to keep nonetheless.”
But Cam had underestimated the baronet’s determination to leave no fossil unturned.
“If you would like,” Sir Everard said with a patronizing smile, “I will have one of my servants itemize the contents of the boxes for you. I cannot think you should wish to worry yourself over such trivial matters when there are finds like this to be had.”
Paley, who had been watching the exchange with interest, spoke up. “I’m sure it would be far more convenient for Miss Hastings to have the boxes out of her way altogether. I’m always looking to expand my own collection. What if I were to purchase the boxes from you, Miss Hastings?” He then named a sum that had Cam’s eyebrows rising into his hairline. Gemma herself looked a little shocked as well.
Before she could respond, Serena spoke. “Until the year is completed, the sale of any part of Lady Celeste’s estate is strictly forbidden, Lord Paley. And I will let Gemma speak for herself, Sir Everard, but I think you would have better luck convincing the Avon River to flow in the opposite direction, Sir Everard.”
“I’m afraid she’s right,” Gemma said with a smile. “I wouldn’t part with any of Lady Celeste’s findings for the world. Even if it were legally possible. I’ve been looking forward to examining each and every item in the boxes myself for months now, but there’s been so much excitement. I hope now that the weather has turned cold I will be able to lock myself indoors to do the job properly.”
“They understand, of course,” Cam said for his companions. Though it was plain from the expression on Sir Everard’s face that he did not, in fact, understand.
It was more difficult to read Paley, since he was by far the more polite of the two.
Either way, they would not be leaving here today with any lizard, Beauchamp or otherwise.
For Gemma’s sake, Cam was pleased.
Chapter 5
The tour of Lady Celeste’s gallery was far less exciting that Gemma had imagined it would be.
First of all, she got the feeling that Sir Everard was looking for some item in particular. Over and over again he asked her whether these were all of Lady Celeste’s most important finds. And if perhaps they shouldn’t go up to the attics to retrieve the boxes she’d mentioned so that they might see if there might be some hidden treasures among them.
Then, Lord Paley had been so overly solicitous that she’d got the impression he didn’t take her seriously as a scientist, or even a collector. And more than once she caught him speaking to her bosom. She had to admit that the blue velvet gown did show it to advantage, but perhaps it had been a mistake to believe Serena and Sophia’s insistence that looking her best was the way to have these gentlemen give her the respect that was her due as a fossil-hunter.
And finally, Cam, who had been so heated in his defense when they’d been alone in the hallway earlier, spoke very little as she removed item after item from the stands upon which Lady Celeste had placed them. He’d asked questions, of course. He’d wondered aloud if a femur, which Celeste had noted to be that of a large mammal found close to Lyme, might be similar to one Cuvier had described. His questions and remarks were always insightful and despite her earlier pique, she found herself grateful for his presence. If she’d had only Sir Everard and Lord Paley to show round it might have felt like an entirely wasted morning.
Thus it was with some relief when Lady Serena announced that it was time for luncheon.
“I owe you an apology, Miss Hastings,” Cam said as they followed the others downstairs toward the dining room. “Though I’d read your work and knew you were not unintelligent, I must admit I thought you were not quite equipped to understand the collection you’d inherited.”
Before she could complain, he held up a staying hand. “I was wrong, Miss Hastings,” he said, his voice tinged with the ring of sincerity. “I should have known better.”
Gemma blinked. Of all the things she might have expected of this day, an apology from Cam was not one of them.
She paused in her descent of the stairs and faced him. “I must admit it gives me some sense of validation to hear you admit to your earlier prejudice,” she said with a nod. “I only wish we could have had this conversation earlier so that for our siblings’ sake we could have got on better.”
He nodded in agreement, a single dark curl glancing over his brow. To her surprise, she had to fight the urge to brush it back.
What on earth was the matter with her?
“The blame for that can fall on me,” Cam said, obviously unaware of Gemma’s tender impulse. “But I hope that we can now be friends.”
“I would like that,” Gemma said and was surprised to find she meant it. Would wonders never cease?
Their newfound amity was something she was eager to explore, but to her disappointment, however, she was seated beside Sir Everard for the meal, and as he wished to discuss the boxes yet again it was not the most scintillating of conversations.
“You must tell us what you intend to do once your year of residence at Beauchamp House is at an end,” Lord Paley, who was seated on her right, said. “I cannot think a young lady as lively as you will be content to remain buried in the country, no matter how its proximity to the shore might tempt you to dig for fossils. I hope you will come to town for the season.”
If he had asked her to save the first waltz at Daphne’s ball, Gemma thought wryly, Lord Paley could not have announced his interest more plainly. He was not an unattractive man. He was perhaps a bit older than she would have considered in a husband. But with his tall athletic frame, and silvering dark hair, he was handsome in his way. But she felt not an ounce of attraction to him, though his interest in the collection had been genuine. And he clearly knew nothing of her at all if he thought she’d dislike being here in Sussex for any duration.
She contemplated for a moment how best to respond.
But Cam spoke before she could.
“I do not believe Miss Hastings considers an extended stay in a house with a fine library, and proximity to the shore to be as much of a hardship as most ladies of your acquaintance, Paley,” Cam said with a raised brow. “Lively though she may be.”
This last made Gemma’s eyes widen. Perhaps he did understand her better now.
Realizing his mistake, Lord Paley backtracked a little.
“I didn’t mean to imply that Miss Hastings was anything but an original,” Lord Paley said hastily, his concern evident in his drawn brows. “And she’s not like any other young lady I’ve met. But that is why I believe London would benefit from your presence, Miss Hastings. A lady with your gift for conversation and intellect must need stimulation.” He laughed wryly. “Even I am not content to spend all my days amongst my collection.”
It was prettily said, and Gemma unbent a little. He was a well-meaning man. Just not the one who could make her give up her vow to remain unwed.
“I am often in my sister’s company,” she said aloud. “And I find that she and her husband, Reverend Lord Benedick, are quite intelligent enough to keep me from withering into a husk from boredom. Not to mention Lady Serena,” she gestured to their hostess, who had watched the interplay avidly but didn’t intervene, perhaps knowing Gemma could take care of herself.
Lord Paley turned to Lady Serena with an abashed look. “Lady Serena, pray forgive me. I didn’t mean to give offense. Of course Miss Hastings has you to keep her in good conversation.”
If Gemma didn’t know her chaperone could fend for herself, she might have leapt to her rescue. But it was entirely unnecessary. Serena could very likely conduct witty repartee in her sleep.
“Think nothing of it,” the widow said, her blue-gray eyes lit with laughter. “I will readily admit I am the last person Gemma would come to for conversation about he
r work. I know nothing of fossils and what’s more, I have little interest in them. It’s not that I don’t appreciate them and what they tell us of the past, but I do not enjoy interacting with the small lizards my son likes to smuggle into the nursery when his nanny isn’t looking. I most certainly do not wish to entertain the notion of an enormous one with large teeth.”
Everyone laughed, as she’d intended, and the brief tension was broken.
This allowed Serena to steer the conversation toward less uncomfortable topics and when the meal was at an end, the gentlemen declined to take tea and were soon in the entrance hall preparing to leave.
Only when the door had closed behind them and the ladies were safely back in Serena’s sitting room did Gemma let out the breath she’d been holding in.
“If I ever agree to welcoming more than one unwed gentleman to luncheon again,” she told her sister and chaperone, “I pray you will dose me with laudanum and send me to bed for a week.”
* * *
The drive back to Pearson Close was far less congenial than the drive there had been. For one thing, Sir Everard was fuming at the fact there had been no sign of the Beauchamp Lizard in the collection, and Gemma, perhaps guessing that he had been the one out on the shore the other night, had been less than encouraging at the idea of opening the attics of the house to the man.
Cam had been relieved, of course, because as he’d suspected, the Lizard was just a myth. He had no need of lying to Gemma because of his promise to Sir Everard. For some reason that mattered more to him now than it had when he’d actually made the promise.
It had nothing, he assured himself, to do with the way she’d looked in the blue velvet gown she’d worn for their tour. He was just feeling companionable because of the time they’d spent in conversation that morning.
One for the Rogue Page 5