Chapter 1
Charlotte
Present Day
Ireland
“Come on, Charlotte! You are driving like a grandmother! We are going to be late if you don’t go faster!”
Here we go. Another poke at my safe and effective driving skills. I love my friend Charlie, but she is too much in the fast lane for her own good, which is why I insisted on driving. If I had let her drive, we would have made it here a whole hour early and I would have lost my breakfast.
“Sat nav says we will be there right on time. Why don’t you read a book to pass the time?” I reply.
“You know that reading is your thing, right? Isn’t that the whole reason you agreed to this little holiday? So that you could get a peak at the Roman section of the Trinity College library?”
“I agreed to come on this holiday to spend time with my best mate and to celebrate a once in a lifetime find for my doctoral thesis, if you must know,” I replied with a cheeky smile on my face.
“Fine. Regardless, I’m glad you agreed to come visit me. I’ve missed our girl nights while I’ve been studying in Ireland.”
“See, look! Ashford Castle in 2 miles!” I exclaimed, “I told you we would make it right on time.”
Charlie had booked us a fun falconry excursion at a local castle. This had been on my bucket list of adventures to try for a while. It was an added bonus to do so while on an emotional high from my academic discovery several days ago.
I looked at the horizon out of the windshield and saw a bird flying above the treeline. “Look at that hawk! I wonder if that’s the kind we will get to work with in our lesson today?”
“That’s a falcon, not a hawk, Charlotte.”
“Well, what’s the difference?”
Before she could answer, we came to the entrance of Ashford Castle and had to give our names to the gate attendant. After double-checking the list, we were ushered through.
“Take two rights and the hawk experience will be on the left. Have fun, ladies!” the gate attendant said.
A few minutes later, we pulled up to the falconry area. “Let me go get us checked in while you park the car,” Charlie said as she proceeded to hop out of the car before I came to a full stop.
I shook my head as she ran up to the welcome area. Always running towards the next adventure while all I want to do is stop and take in the scenery, which is exactly what I do when I get out of the car. I take in the dewy smell of the trees, the light creeping through the clouds, and a hawk… no, a falcon sitting in a tree across the way. It seems to be looking straight at me.
“Well, aren’t you a pretty bird?” I coo as I slowly take steps toward the raptor.
It tips its head sideways as if it’s actually listening to what I’m saying. “Get a grip, Charlotte. That falcon cannot understand a word you are saying,” I mutter to myself. Still, I give it one more glance before turning towards the falconry center to join Charlie.
Once inside the falconry center, we meet our guide for the next two hours, Fergus. He takes us to the back of the complex, and while walking we pass rows of tagged hawks.
“Do we get to choose our hawk?” Charlies asks excitedly.
“Unfortunately, no. We have to take into account who has recently eaten and their overall temperaments. But don’t worry, I have two in mind that will be the perfect companions for you ladies! Now, here is a leather glove for each of you and I will be back shortly with your hawks,” Fergus explains before he walks back through the compound.
“Well, these gloves are a fashion statement to be sure,” Charlie complains.
“They are meant to protect your hands from sharp talons not improve your wardrobe,” I say as I try to wrestle my dark curly waves into a ponytail.
As I slip the leather glove on my hand, I look up to see a large bird flying straight for me. I quickly put up my gloved hand, and the bird perches on my glove. To my shock, it’s not just any bird. It’s the falcon I saw near the car, and it is staring intently at me.
“Whoah, girl! Where do I get my bird?” Charlie exclaims.
“Alright, ladies,” Fergus interrupts, “I have two amazing… oh, where did this falcon come from? No matter, I’ll take him off your hands.”
Fergus reaches for the falcon, but it quickly snaps at him and starts shrieking and ruffling its feathers. Clearly, this bird does not want to go anywhere.
“Alrighty then, I guess this guy wants to be with you for our walk. No matter! Charlie, come with me and we can get your bird before we start our walk.”
As Fergus and Charlie walk down the hall to a hawk cage, I look at my falcon companion for the next two hours. “Guess it’s you and me for the afternoon,” I say, and I swear it nods.
Looking at its feathers, it has beautiful cream and spotted plumes down its neck and belly with dark amber plumes on top of its wings. The feathers seem to have a golden sheen surrounding them. “You do have beautiful feathers, my friend.” It then proceeds to preen and puff up its feathers. Maybe it does understand me.
“Come, ladies! Nature awaits!” Fergus calls down the hallway.
So, off we go to walk the Irish countryside with a falcon that seems to understand my every word, but no, that’s just my imagination running wild.
_______________________________________________________
Just as I was promised when I first agreed to this holiday, I am standing in the atrium of Trinity College’s library. The half moon, wooden ceiling is so tall with books reaching almost to its height in two stories worth of knowledge in rows and rows of booklover bliss.
I sigh as I take in the hushed tones of academics, the smell of leather and old paper, and the busts of famous literary and historical figures that line the beginning of each row of bookshelves. It’s like walking into the beast’s library, but with bigger, darker woods, and less light to keep the books preserved.
There is a particular manuscript housed here that I have been dying to get my hands on. As a doctoral student at Oxford and interning at the British Museum, I am writing my thesis on the influence of Egyptian culture on Roman jewelry at the time of Octavian’s take over, or Augustus as he was eventually named.
This manuscript could help me pinpoint the potential maker of the jewelry box that I am researching. As are many items in the museum, this box was “generously donated” to the British Museum during an unsanctioned archeological dig back in the 1800’s in Rome. Many individuals have looked through its contents, but thankfully I was able to find what others missed.
I walk up to the counter and ask for the manuscript location. The woman behind the counter adjusts her glasses and types the information into the computer system.
“Historical section. Shelf RR. Row H. Third Row from the bottom,” she says without looking up from her computer.
“Thank you!” I say as I glance briefly at the library map. Looks like my manuscript is upstairs. So, I walk up a set of steep circular iron stairs to the second floor of the library.
As I am walking down the isles, I scan the bookshelves for the shelf labeled “RR”. “Let’s see… OO… PP… It should be… oomph!” I collide with a chest that feels like granite.
“I am so sorry!” I apologize in hushed tones, still trying to straighten myself in front of this stranger. “I should have been looking where I was… holy muscles.” I finally look up to see the stranger that I have run into.
Good lord, the man, if this statue ready model can be called a mere man, is wearing tan cargo pants with a hunter green shirt that fits his tanned body like a second skin. It should be a sin to have day-old stubble that looks that handsome and matches his wavy light brown hair that doesn’t quite meet his shoulders. His piercing golden eyes seem familiar, but I can’t quite place them.
“Excuse me, doe eyes. I should have been looking where I was going as well,” the stranger says with a smirk. My heart rate starts to skip. Oh no, that won’t do. I cannot fantasize about god-like strangers. I have to find that manuscript before I leave tomorrow.
“Thank you! Sorry again,” I said a bit flustered. I start to step to the side to walk around him, but he side steps right into my path. I look up to find that insufferable smirk still on his gorgeous face. “Excuse me, I need to get to the next aisle,” I say as I try to step around him again. Yet again, he steps in my way.
“Muscles, please move out of my way. I’m on a time crunch,” I say as frustration creeps into my tone.
One of his brows raises as if no one has ever had the audacity to stop and speak to him as if he isn’t the center of the universe. “It’s Horus, not Muscles, but I appreciate that you enjoy the view.”
Damn it, that stupid smirk is back. I want to just slap it off his stupidly gorgeous face. “Horus? Like the god? Haha, your parents must be quite eclectic.”
“Exactly like the god, doe eyes. May I ask what a beautiful woman such as yourself is doing here all by herself?”
I blink and let my mind catch up. He thinks I’m beautiful? “I’m here to look at a rare manuscript for my thesis. What are you doing here?”
“Research.”
“Vague, but okay.”
“What is your thesis about?”
“I’m looking at the influence of Egypt on Roman jewelry during the time of Octavian. It’s actually quite fascinating. I recently had a major discovery at the British Museum where I found a hidden compartment in a jewelry box that was supposed to belong to a very high-ranking official’s wife at the time. Oh, I’m rambling aren’t I?” I realize that this man who is clearly no academic could care less about the fact that I stare at ancient jewelry all day.
“No, I actually find your discovery very interesting as I have a knack for Egyptian studies.”
“Oh, well with a name like Horus that makes sense.” I can’t figure out this man’s angle. He is also clearly content to just stand here and chat for the little time remaining until the library closes to the public. Nope, I need to ditch muscle man and get to my manuscript.
As he starts to lean his shoulders against one of the bookshelves, I quickly walk around and get on the other side of him. “Thanks for the chat, muscles, but I have a date with a manuscript. Have a great day!”
I quickly find Shelf RR two stacks down and duck into the aisle. My heart is racing as I lean my back against the shelf. I’m certain I will be having dreams of a handsomely tan man with golden eyes in the near future.