3. A Cousin from the Past Appears
CHAPTER 3
A COUSIN FROM THE PAST APPEARS
M eanwhile, back in the Temple of Athena Nike
At a loss as to why the young woman he had discovered seemed so annoyed with him, Randy considered simply doing her bidding by leaving the temple. He could join his brother and cousin at the Erechtheion to continue exploring the Acropolis.
He didn’t want to, however.
She was still staring at him, one of her fists resting on a hip that merely accentuated her slender waist. Given how fitted the breeches were, he realized they had to have been made specifically for her. Made to hug her waistline and encase the perfect globes of her bottom and her thighs and knees. Below that, the Nankeen fabric disappeared into a pair of worn leather boots.
The mere sight of those breeches on her had his cock reacting again, and the thought that it could become apparent at any moment despite the length of the top coat he wore had him desperate to think of something other than her, naked.
His rescue came in the form of another man, who stepped into the temple and stopped short with a huff .
“What’s wrong?” the young man asked in a familiar voice, directing his query to the young lady.
“Mr. Forster?—”
“ Lord Forster, actually,” Randy piped up, deciding he would play his aristocrat card. “I am heir to the Gisborn earldom.”
“Forster?” the other man replied in disbelief.
Randy regarded the interloper with surprise when he turned, the outside light illuminating his face so he could make out his features. “Marcus Henley? Whatever are you doing here, cousin?”
Marcus clapped him on the shoulder and offered his right hand. “Same as you, I imagine, but with a slightly different purpose.”
“Oh?” Randy prompted.
“If you remember, father’s avocation is archaeology.”
“Uncovering mosaics in the Valley of the Temples on Sicily, wasn’t he?” Randy asked, remembering they had seen some of Viscount Jasper Henley’s work when they had visited the site the year before.
“He was ,” Marcus acknowledged. “His next project is here on the Acropolis, but before he starts, he thought to take my mother on a holiday. My sister and I have come on ahead to set up the household and such,” Marcus explained.
“Your sister?” Randy prompted, his gaze darting to the young woman.
“Oh, forgive me,” Marcus said. “Miss Diana Henley, may I have the honor of introducing you to our... second cousin, I believe you would be? Randy Forster. We attended Oxford together.” He turned his attention back to Randy. “Diana is my only sister.”
“Miss Diana,” Randy said, reaching out to take her gloved hand to his lips. Although he sensed she was about to pull her hand from his grip, she seemed to capitulate as he brushed his lips over the worn leather. Even without looking up, he was sure she was rolling her eyes.
“You’ll have to excuse her mode of dress. She insists on wearing breeches whilst she’s working,” Marcus explained.
“As does my younger sister, Grace,” Randy countered, his face displaying his dislike of the practice.
Diana’s manner seemed about to soften a fraction, her hand dropping to her side. When she paid witness to his expression, she resumed her previous chilly demeanor. Dipping the very slightest of curtsies, she winced at the sound of her boot heel scraping the marble floor. “Lord Forster.”
Randy realized his mistake right away. “Does Lord Henley always take you along on his archaeological expeditions?”
She seemed to bristle at hearing the query. “Of course. I’ve certainly had no choice in the matter,” Diana replied.
“Mother always comes along with Father,” Marcus said, lifting a shoulder. “So, except when we’ve been away at school, we go where they do.”
“Didn’t you practically grow up on Sicily?”
“Indeed,” Marcus acknowledged. “Same with Michael,” he added referring to his younger brother. “Except for some Seasons in London, Diana and our parents could usually be found living near Girgenti. Since so many archaeological projects have started in Athens, my father has agreed to work on a project up here on the Acropolis.”
“We just left my cousin— your cousin—on Sicily a few weeks ago,” Randy commented, remembering Marcus’ mother was a first cousin to his mother, Hannah, and his uncle, Will Slater.
“Which one?”
“Donald Slater. He’s married to the Marchesa Montblanc, and they live in Catania with their...” Here Randy paused, realizing he couldn’t exactly tell his friend that Antony, Marchese Montblanc, was really Donald’s son. The aristocracy in Catania believed the young boy was the true heir of Ricardo Malgerei, Marchese Montblanc, when Donald’s wife was in fact Montblanc’s daughter from a secret affaire . Their marriage had been a ruse to see to it the marchese’s grandson would inherit the title.
A hearty guffaw sounded from Viscount Henley’s heir. “Slater finally married ?” he said in disbelief.
Randy nodded. “He met Lady Nicoletta D’Avalos when he was on his Grand Tour over seven years ago. Fell in love with her, but she was betrothed to the marchese, so he had to wait for the old man to die before he could take her to wife.”
“How romantic.” The words were said with a sort of disdain that had Randy turning to regard Diana with a look of shock. About to respond, he couldn’t when Marcus beat him to the punch.
“Come now, Sister. Just because you don’t believe in love at first sight doesn’t mean others don’t,” he scolded. He turned his attention back on Randy. “It was love at first sight, was it not?”
Randy blinked. Not having discussed the details of how Donald had come to fall in love with Nicoletta, Randy wasn’t sure how to respond. “Isn’t that how it is for most of us?”
Marcus let out another guffaw. “Then it’s a wonder his younger brother hasn’t already married. Penton seems to fall in love with every young lady he sees,” he teased, referring to David. He suddenly sobered, his expression conveying jealousy. “And they do with him, damn the lad.”
Knowing Marcus spoke the truth, Randy said, “He’s gone off with Tom to another temple.”
“I saw them. They’re with my younger brother, Michael, over at the Erechtheion,” Marcus said.
“So… what are you in search of?” Randy asked.
Marcus was about to answer but Diana said, “That’s really none of your concern.”
Despite the warmth in the temple, Randy felt the chill in the young lady’s response.
“Really, Diana, you needn’t treat Forster as the enemy. I’m sure he’s not here to pilfer Greek treasure.”
Randy did his best to keep an impassive expression. Treasure? His only reason for visiting the ruins atop the Acropolis was to see them first-hand. The description of the Parthenon as provided in Pausanias’ book suggested the traveler wasn’t impressed by the building itself but only the artwork within. “Your brother has the right of it,” he said, directing his response to Diana. “My cousin and brother and I are just looking, hoping to see some of the art described in Pausanias’ book.”
Diana’s eyes widened a fraction at the mention of Pausanias, and she seemed to relax a bit, her rigid posture no longer betraying her suspicion. “Just don’t go carving your names in the marbles, like so many of the other idiots who have come before.”
Randy visibly winced. Although he hadn’t done it himself, he had witnessed his younger brother, Tom, leaving his name and the date on the slab of a column from the Temple of Zeus at Selinunte. “I would never,” he said defensively.
“Come, let’s get out of here and leave my sister to her searching,” Marcus said. “I’ll never hear the end of it if we keep her from her work, and I’ve a surprise for you over at the Parthenon.”
“A surprise?” Randy repeated, once again giving the young lady a bow. “Miss Diana.”
“Forster,” she responded, barely dipping a curtsy.
“Another from our university days has come to Athens on his Grand Tour,” Marcus said as Randy followed him out of the temple, the bright sunshine forcing both to lift a hand to shield their eyes before they had their hats returned to their heads. Even then, the thin brims of their top hats did little to help shade their faces. “We’ll see if you recognize him.”
“Do I need to be concerned about my brother and Cousin David if they’re over at the Erechtheion?” Randy asked. “I don’t wish for them to encounter any issues with the local archaeologists or unstable columns.”
“Doubtful. It’s not as bad a ruin as some of these others,” he said, waving to the other structures on the Acropolis. “A sprained ankle will be the worst of it.”
“Sounds as if you have some first-hand experience?”
Marcus chuckled. “Not me, but certainly others.”
“How is it you’re here today?” Randy asked, noting for the first time they weren’t the only ones visiting the Acropolis.
“Father has taken Mother to Rome,” Marcus replied. “Said he owed her a romantic holiday,” he added, still grinning. “I don’t expect them to arrive here in Athens for another week or so.”
“Speaking of relatives,” Randy hedged. “My uncle and aunt are with us, although they elected to spend the day in our lodgings. We let a house here in town. I think the heat is a bit much for Aunt Barbara.”
Carefully stepping around an uneven marble slab that had at one time been part of the path leading to the Parthenon, Marcus stuffed his hands into the pockets of his pantaloons. “If that isn’t a secret code for something else, I don’t know what is.”
Randy nearly tripped on the remains of a metope. “What are you saying?” he asked in alarm.
“They want to be alone,” Marcus replied, making a rude gesture with his hands.
“Marcus,” Randy scolded. “They’re too old for that sort of…” He stopped and cleared his throat. “Anyway, what makes you say that?”
Marcus once again guffawed. “Mother and Father engage in amorous society all the time. It’s a wonder I don’t have more than one brother and sister,” he remarked.
“Where is your brother?” Randy asked, wanting to change the subject. His gaze took in the field of rubble through which they picked their path.
“At the Erechtheion. Probably talking your brother’s ears off about those caryatids, as if he hasn’t already studied every inch of the one at the British Museum.”
Randy tore his gaze from the sandstone statues holding up the roof of the Erechtheion’s porch to step around another obstacle. He had seen the one taken by Lord Elgin during the family’s visit to the museum the week before they departed on their Grand Tour. They had concentrated on the Greek exhibits as a means of preparing for the trip. “I heard the caryatids are all different. Is it true?”
“You heard right. Their hair, mostly. The manner in which the braiding is done. It’s rather interesting, if you’re into that sort of thing.”
“You’re not?”
Marcus shook his head before hopping over a corner of a capital. Randy grimaced at seeing its poor condition before he, too, had to avoid another marble block. “I take after my father when it comes to mosaics,” Marcus explained. “Although I can’t say I wish to spend the rest of my life looking for them.”
Randy paused to study a column top, the Corinthian design made more evident by the dirt embedded in the carved creases. “Are you planning a different avocation?” he asked.
Marcus shrugged. “Truth be told, I prefer politics over digging in the dirt,” he claimed. “I rather like London. There is so much to do, so I’ve been thinking of asking Father if I might move there. We have a townhouse, you see—an entailed property of the viscountcy—so I’d have a place to stay.”
Surprised at hearing his cousin’s plans, Randy asked, “Well, in the meantime, have you been doing any digging up here?”
His second cousin shook his head. “Although I have permission, I’ve not started any serious search up here. I thought it best to wait for Father.” He gestured in the direction of a group of men who were working near the Propylaea. “I shouldn’t wish to anger the ones in charge, so I’m rather glad Michael will be the one working with them. He’s to assist them beginning in the next day or so.”
Randy glanced over to see at least one of the men staring in their direction. He quickly caught up to Marcus to walk alongside him. “What about in the city itself? Have you discovered anything?
“Oh, yes. Mosaics are everywhere. You hardly have to dig to find them,” Marcus acknowledged. “But I told Father I would provide protection for Diana while he’s in Rome with my mother, which is part of the reason I’m up here today.”
Randy thought of what Diana had been doing in the Temple of Athena Nike when he had first stepped through the opening. She had been studying the wall of the cella, the inner chamber. “So what’s your sister in search of? Obviously not mosaics,” he remarked, remembering the floor of the temple had been made of marble.
Marcus stiffened and paused his steps. “I suppose she has a theory she’s determined to prove,” he said, rolling his eyes. “She’s always up to something.”
Intrigued, Randy carefully stepped onto a marble disc with a square hole in the middle, his new higher vantage giving him the opportunity to see his brother on the porch of the Erechtheion. “Oh?” he prompted, lifting an arm to wave.
“You’ll have to get it out of her if you want to know more. She’s not told me anything.”
Disappointed, Randy stepped down from the marble disc and turned his attention back towards the Temple of Athena Nike.
He wondered what he would have to do to get the secret out of her.