Chapter 24
“May I see the riddle again?” Theo asked as they walked up the stairs to the second floor of the British Museum. He kept his voice low; it tended to echo across the empty hallway, and even the display rooms, while populated by smaller groups of visitors, were quiet, almost as in a library.
Emmeline handed him the piece of paper. They strolled through the first room, hosting a collection of ancient Greek vases.
“Under the watchful Romeo’s eyes,” Theo murmured. “I assume that’s what led you to the museum?”
“Yes. Montague House.” She gestured around them. “I’m sure there’s something else in London one could ascribe to Romeo and Juliet, but a museum seems a fitting place to hide a clue.”
“Fitting, and large.”
“It won’t be as bad once we figure out where to look.”
Theo stroked his chin and murmured the previous lines of the clue. “Where the great library burned; and the monster his glory had earned; in its steel cradle now lies…”
The next room displayed a collection of pristine white marble Greek statues.
Emmeline couldn’t help but examine the fine work: the smooth lines of Discobolus’s muscles as he bent down in preparation for the discus throw, and the incredibly precise, lifelike draping of Venus’s chiton, so fine the fabric, even though etched in stone, looked sheer enough to outline her knees.
The statue was nude from the hips up, and Emmeline suddenly felt self-conscious as her eyes slid over Venus’s breasts and down the smooth curve of her belly, past the navel, to where her dress barely hid her pubic region, leaving one tantalizing wrinkle in the marble flesh, between her belly and her thigh.
Emmeline became strangely aware of her own body—her breasts, restrained by the light corset and three layers of clothes—her belly, and a glowing ball of desire pooling into the area between her legs—all because Theo was standing right there.
While he oh-so-innocently studied the note, her mind flashed to last night, to that amorous couple in the bedroom, and it all blurred into a strange yearning.
How would it feel if Theo had touched her?
Her mouth went dry, imagining Venus as herself, and Theo looking at her, and—
“She is quite obsessed with Bonaparte, isn’t she?”
“Huh?” She shook herself out of her reverie. Theo had finally glanced up from the note; if he’d noticed anything strange about her—was she blushing?—he gave no sign of it.
“Lady Scarlet. This is the second time she’s brought Bonaparte into a riddle, at least assuming it refers to the same ‘monster.’ But it would fit. The great library is Alexandria, in Egypt, where Bonaparte made his name.”
“And there’s an Egyptian exhibition here!” Emmeline did a little jump. “That must be it!”
“Let’s go see it.”
They progressed to the next room, Emmeline glad they’d left the naked statues behind. Focusing on the clue didn’t help; she still felt awkward, like her every move was being watched and her desires somehow betrayed.
How would it feel if he touched her? Not her hand, not her shoulder, not even her cheeks or her lips. If he went lower, past her collarbones, past the edge of her dress—
“Isn’t that your friend?” Theo said.
Stop! She tried to re-focus. Wait, that was Louisa. Emmeline called her name and got shushed by one of the museum attendants. Louisa looked up from a flock of stuffed birds and pushed her spectacles further up her nose.
“Emmeline!” She ran to her in short steps, as if trying to disguise it as a walk. “How lovely to see you here. And …” She squinted at Theo. “You look familiar.”
Emmeline and Theo shared a quick glance. “I may have worked for you for a few months last summer,” Theo said.
“Now I remember!”
The attendant coughed again, and Louisa lowered her voice. “Wasn’t he your servant—well, you said he was, but then, you also said—hold on, is he your accomplice?”
“No,” Emmeline said in an urgent, hushed tone.
“Did you also give us a false name?” Louisa asked, more curiously than accusatory.
Theo cleared his throat, his ear tips coloring.
“He did no such thing,” Emmeline said. “He didn’t know about my scheme.”
Louisa pointed from one to the other. “So, you two are …?”
“Friends,” Theo supplied, much to Emmeline’s disappointment.
“Did you come here to study the specimens?” Emmeline asked Louisa.
“Those are a nice distraction. Did you know that kingfishers have a third eyelid, like so”—Louisa pulled one of her eyelids up, leaving Emmeline unsure of what she tried to demonstrate—“which helps them see their prey underwater? But, no. I actually came to spy on Daniel.”
“Spy?”
“Mm-hmm.” Louisa looped her arm around Emmeline’s and turned her away, leaning in closer. “Yesterday, we were supposed to go riding. He canceled a few hours before, so I went alone, and who do I see riding in Hyde Park, if not Daniel himself?”
“Maybe he changed his mind, but thought you’d already found another thing to do?”
“Or he was trying to get rid of me! And today I told him I’d come by for a visit.
He knew it. But when I arrived, his butler told me he was indisposed.
Daniel! He hasn’t been ill a day in his life.
So I pretended I left, but I waited around the corner, and lo and behold, there goes my brother, not fifteen minutes later! I followed him here.”
“He came to the museum?”
“I know! It makes no sense. Will you help me?”
“Spy on him?” Emmeline wasn’t sure that was the best idea.
“Yes.”
“Actually, we were …” Emmeline looked over her shoulder at Theo. “We were trying to see the Egyptian exhibit.”
“We can do both. This way.” Louisa looked at Theo and gestured as if she were a guide. “Oh, you must be looking for the mummy. It’s fascinating.”
“I certainly hope Lady Scarlet didn’t hide the pouch with the mummy,” Theo murmured to Emmeline, making her giggle.
Louisa led them to a separate wing of the building, into a long gallery displaying preserved documents, statues, stones, and other art. “The mummy is over there if you—” She stopped, and Emmeline nearly bumped into her.
Strolling along the gallery, her eyes passing semi-interestingly over a collection of cat-shaped jars, was Lady Cassiopeia.
Louisa clenched her fists, rocked on her toes as if deciding which approach to go with, then relaxed her hands and smiled. “Lady Cassiopeia. What a pleasure.”
The young woman looked at them, scouring Louisa first, then Emmeline, then stopping on Theo, her eyes widening. She blinked and switched back to her first victim. “Lady Louisa,” she greeted in a perfectly neutral, polite voice. “Pleasure.” She added the smallest tilt of her head.
“This is my friend, Miss Marshall, cousin to Lord Haverston.” Louisa swiped her hand to Emmeline. “And, uh, Theo.”
“Miss Marshall.” Lady Cassiopeia repeated the same gesture, then looked at Theo, lingered for a moment, and nodded.
Emmeline glanced back at him; his ears were still slightly red, and he stood as straight as a stick, but she couldn’t figure out what was wrong.
Perhaps it was only awkward. Theo hadn’t told her what job he’d found in London.
She assumed it wasn’t employment as a servant since his clothes were much too nice for it, but as long as it was actual work, the aristocracy would look down upon him.
Maybe Lady Cassiopeia found his presence unpleasant.
“Let’s go look at the mummy, shall we?” Emmeline suggested to him, hoping Lady Cassiopeia wouldn’t follow and he could relax.
Theo nodded and followed her; Louisa sent her a quick “how dare you strand me with her” look, then smiled at Lady Cassiopeia and started chatting about some manuscripts.
“Hold on.” Theo stopped Emmeline. “Over there.” He gestured to a dark gray stone, about three feet tall, its entire surface etched with tiny symbols. Displayed at a slight angle, it rested in a perfectly fitting metal cradle.
“In its steel cradle now lies,” Emmeline whispered.
They approached. Emmeline leaned closer, reaching out to touch the hieroglyphic writing, when another attendant coughed in warning. Even as she stepped back, he kept her eyes on her.
“Where’s the pouch?” she said.
Theo walked in a wide circle around the stone, hands clasped behind his back like a well-behaved visitor, mindful of the attendant. When he was across from Emmeline, he cleared his throat and glanced downward.
“Attached to the cradle,” he murmured through barely moving lips.
Emmeline glanced toward the stone, then down, then at the guard, and finally rolled her eyes.
Theo’s eyebrows knit together. “What?”
“Wait.” She fanned her face and made another step back. “Oh, my goodness. The air … I need air.” She fanned harder and swayed on her feet until the attendant fell for the trick and rushed toward her.
“Miss,” he said as she elegantly collapsed, closing her eyes enough to make it look like she’d fainted, but could still perceive some movement around her. A few other gasps came from around the room, and Louisa hurried to her side.
“Do you have smelling salts? What do you mean, no? What kind of a museum attendant are you?” Louisa said.
After ten more seconds, Emmeline thought she’d spare the poor man and came back to consciousness with a light groan. The attendant and Louisa helped her to her feet and led her to a nearby sofa.
“I’m fine, thank you. Just a temporary lightheadedness,” she said to the attendant. “You may leave.”
Louisa stayed beside her, finally relieved after three more assurances that Emmeline was all right. Theo approached, winking at her.
Mission successful.
“Let’s go see something else, shall we?” It was best to leave this room. She’d used up all of the attendant’s goodwill, and if they’d seen the pouch attached to the stone, she didn’t want to get accused of stealing it.
“Of course,” Louisa said. “How about the mineral collection? I heard they have some of those meteorites …” She threw a glance over her shoulder as she led Emmeline toward the door. “Hmm.”
Emmeline followed her gaze. Lady Cassiopeia was nowhere to be seen.