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 bestanding 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 upto 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.”
