Chapter Ten
Abbas succeeded in booking passage on a ship for him, Lisbeth, and Benson.
They would be departing the day after tomorrow.
Lisbeth had been surprised that he’d found a ship returning to England so soon.
She supposed she shouldn’t be that shocked.
Ship travel seemed to be rapidly evolving all over the world.
She sipped her wine while she, Abbas, and Benson enjoyed a last meal with Thomas and Rafe.
Conflicting emotions swirled within her.
She missed Jeremy and Alice, but she’d also rediscovered a part of herself in Syria—one she delighted in.
Her life in England, aside from her involvement with the Historical Society for Female Curators and her children, was one marked by tedious appointments and events.
Perhaps she needed to do less of them and more things she enjoyed.
Her gaze flitted to Thomas. She was happy to have reached a truce or resolution with him.
Lisbeth reflected on the emotions she felt when he’d been swept away.
She never wanted to feel that again. While she and Thomas were different people, imagining a world where he didn’t exist any longer seemed devastating.
Over the last ten years, she’d often imagined what his life was like and hoped it was exciting.
When the serials came out about him, she’d been equally jealous of his pursuits but also happy that he’d been so successful.
She’d not enjoyed all the talk about the women, but studying him now, she suspected it was all true.
Serious Thomas had become a broad-shouldered man with an easy smile.
His eyes connected with hers, and he held up his wine glass.
She raised hers in return—her stomach flip-flopped.
Lisbeth’s eyes flicked down to his large hand, and for a mad moment, she wondered what it would feel like to have it run along her skin.
A flush heated her cheeks, and he tilted his head as if trying to decipher what she was thinking.
Abbas interrupted the moment by tapping on his glass.
“I would like to propose a toast. Thank you to Easton and Rafe for assisting us in locating the tablets, and thank you to Her Grace for not only bringing the map to Syria but also for squeezing into the small hole in the cave tunnel to retrieve the artifacts. I don’t think I would have done the same.
I don’t think I realized the duchess was such an adventuress until traveling with her. ”
Lisbeth laughed. Anyone who knew her in London would never believe all she’d done in the last week.
She held her glass up. “To you, Mr. Abbas, for helping the Historical Society for Female Curators negotiate a deal with your mother’s village and the village of Al-Wā?a to display the amazing artifacts that contain the complete epic. ”
Rafe added, “And to Benson, who I don’t think wanted to do any of this but made it through.”
Everyone laughed, and Benson shrugged but didn’t deny it. Her guard would, without a doubt, be happy to be back on English soil. They all drank, and Rafe said, “Tell me about this Historical Society for Female Curators.”
Lisbeth nodded. “About a year ago, Viscountess Hawley stood the club up as a place for women to study history as well as educate the public on antiquities. The tablets that Rose previously deciphered are our main exhibit. Still, they only contained half the epic. We are hoping that when Rose translates the remaining tablets, it will complete the story and allow us to obtain a spot in the Great Exhibition of the Works of Industry of All Nations.”
“What is that?” Thomas asked.
She looked at him in disbelief that he’d never heard of the historic exhibition.
“It is a world event that Prince Albert is organizing. The primary focus is to showcase innovation worldwide. The field of antiquities will only be a small part of everything that is expected to be displayed. They believe hundreds of thousands of people will attend.”
Rafe frowned. “Why wouldn’t the portion of the deciphered epic be enough? Rose Calvert’s work is the first of its kind.”
He was right. Lisbeth sighed. “It should be, but our club is still in the beginning stages. We are a mixture of scholars, ladies, and eccentrics. It hasn’t endeared us to many.”
Thomas muttered, “Fools.”
She smiled at him. “Thank you.”
“Perhaps I will return to London and give my support to you and Rose’s club. I don’t like to brag—”
Rafe snorted, and Thomas rolled his eyes but continued, “But I am well-known in the field.”
Dread filled Lisbeth’s stomach that he would return to England. She didn’t want him in her world or her space. That is because you are still keeping a secret, her conscience whispered. She didn’t want to think about it now. Lisbeth needed to keep her time here and her real life separate.
She shook her head. “There is no need. We are an intrepid group of women. I’m confident we will have a spot at the Great Exhibition.”
He smiled at her, but it didn’t reach his eyes. Lisbeth wasn’t trying to hurt him, but he couldn’t return to England. He just couldn’t.
*
Thomas shouldn’t be standing outside Lisbeth’s door. He and Rafe had plans to leave the next day and had said their goodbyes to Lisbeth and her group at dinner. Yet, the longer he sat in his room, the more he thought about her face when he said he would go to England. Fear had crossed it. Why?
Was he fooling himself right now? Was this an excuse to see her alone one last time?
Thomas wasn’t sure if he cared. He knocked on the door quietly, wondering if she would answer.
He waited a moment and considered knocking a little louder or leaving.
Then the door opened, and Lisbeth stared back at him wide-eyed.
Fuck. This was a bad idea. Her blonde hair was hanging down around her shoulders, and she was only in a nightgown and a wrap. She tilted her head, frowning. “What are you doing here?”
“I thought we could talk before you left.”
She bit her lip, and, attempting to be funny, he added, “I promise not to ravish you.”
It only heightened the tension. She frowned. “I didn’t assume you would.”
He sighed. “I was trying to be charming.”
Lisbeth rolled her eyes but stepped aside, allowing him entry.
His gaze bounced around the room. Dresses and other items hung over a chair, a book was face down on a table, and the bed was rumpled as if she’d been lying there.
He gulped, envisioning them tangled in the bedding. Stop it, he told himself.
She sat in one of the wingback chairs by the fire, and he joined her. His ex-lover seemed nervous. “What do you want to discuss?”
“You appeared apprehensive when I said I may return to London.”
She sighed. “In all honesty, seeing you has been overwhelming—helpful, but still not without some awkwardness and sadness.”
He nodded, understanding her sentiments. “Even though it didn’t end up the way I imagined as a young man, I’m grateful that we left together all those years ago. I wouldn’t have this life without your determination to seek out Benjamin Calvert. Everything I am is because of you.”
Lisbeth frowned, shaking her head. “You are successful in your own right. I had nothing to do with that.”
Thomas was unsure if that was true. With every discovery, she was always in the back of his mind. It was her that he wondered about when someone said an artifact or find would be talked about in London. She’d always been what drove him.
“Was it hard to give up your interest in antiquities?”
She smiled. “I wouldn’t say I gave it up. Nicholas was always so encouraging of my hobbies, but it became a smaller focus. The family estate was always filled with antiquities, but now they are more global.”
A warmth emanated from her when she talked about her husband.
He’d met him a few times in passing when they were younger.
The Duke of Lusby had been the Earl of Montclair at the time.
Lisbeth had been betrothed to him since she was a child, even though he was twenty years her senior.
Still, the engagement had been nothing more than a business arrangement between families. “Was he good to you?”
She nodded. “He was. Nicholas, like me, didn’t come into the marriage with any false ideas about love.
Over time, we developed a fondness for each other.
At first, he was a very stiff and closed-off man.
I don’t blame him. His father was the same way.
He probably would have continued to be formal with me, but days after we married, I confessed everything I’d given up to wed him and secure my family’s safety; of course, I promptly burst into tears then. It was quite a day.”
Thomas wanted to hate the man, but wasn’t sure he could. “It sounds like he was understanding.”
“It made us open up to each other. Nicholas explained that he didn’t know how to show emotion and didn’t want his children to grow up the same way.
We made a pact—to focus on raising them in a loving environment,” she said, and then gulped.
“When he passed, I was adrift for quite some time. It was very sudden. I made sure the children were happy, but when I was alone, I missed him terribly.”
“I’m sorry,” Thomas said, hating the loss she endured and surprisingly finding himself no longer able to hate the duke he’d spent much of his life loathing.
Lisbeth took a deep breath. “The Historical Society for Female Curators eased some of my loneliness.”
They sat in silence and, unsure if he was overstaying his welcome, stood. She followed him as he walked to the door. Thomas turned to her. “I guess this is goodbye for the second time in our lives.”
Her eyes watered, and her lips trembled. “I only wish you the best, Thomas. I’m so proud of all that you have accomplished.”
He wanted to tell her he’d done all of it for her, but suspected it would cause more harm than good. Thomas huskily said, “I wish you only the best in London.”
She nodded, and they stared at each other silently.
Finally, he turned and opened the door, but instead of walking out, he paused and closed it, still inside.
Then, he made a very unwise choice. Thomas turned around and swept Lisbeth into his arms. If this were the last time he would ever see her, he needed to kiss her.
Their lips mashed together hungrily. His hands slid over her back as her arms wrapped around him.
They moaned as their mouths continued to press against one another.
Since their kiss in the cave, he’d hungered to do it again.
His mouth broke away from hers, and he kissed her jaw, throat, and then the sensitive skin at her collarbone.
Lisbeth moaned but then stumbled backward.
They studied each other ravenously. Quietly, he said, “One night, Lisbeth. It is all I’ve dreamed of for the past ten years. ”