Lisbeth didn’t lift her head, but an annoyed sigh escaped her. “What did they want?”
“To offer me a lecture position at the London Society of Antiquaries.”
“Is that something you want?” Lisbeth asked.
He didn’t want to do it for the London Society of Antiquaries, but it wasn’t a bad idea. “I like the idea about teaching regular people about antiquities and excavations. Maybe even children. How excited would we have been if we attended a lecture by an explorer?”
Lisbeth bolted up and began to pace. Excitement seemed to emanate from her. “You could do it for the Historical Society of Female Curators?”
“It is only an idea right now.”
She frowned. “We couldn’t pay you much.”
He smiled at her. “I don’t need much or any.”
“We’d have to pay you something. I will talk to the board members. Should I?”
He loved this excited Lisbeth. It reminded him of how she was as a girl. Thomas nodded. “Now come back here and sit with me.”
Lisbeth rejoined him, and still curious, he asked, “Does Sarah Martin’s father support your club?”
“That is a difficult question. He doesn’t prevent Sarah from being part of us but also isn’t an advocate for her work or the club.”
“Why?” Thomas asked.
“I suspect because most of those in higher-up positions at the London Society of Antiquaries are lords or quite wealthy. Mr. Martin is a scholar. I think he worries about us causing trouble.”
Thomas snorted. “He should be worried about that.”
She playfully smacked his arm, and he laughed.
Chapter Twenty-Five
Lisbeth tried toignore the heightened chatter as she stepped into the Duke of Sinclair’s theater box with Thomas. It appeared as if the entire place was watching them. Thomas held his hand out to help her step down into the space. He grinned at her, and her heart fluttered. Based on the gasps around her, she suspected it wasn’t only her heart.
They’d agreed to attend the theater tonight to help show society that whatever happened at the beginning of their marriage was over. Lisbeth assumed everyone believed her husband was out having a bit of fun to celebrate his status as a famous explorer. The truth was so different.
It amused her in some ways that Thomas seemed so perplexed by his popularity, but it also made her nervous. A young lady in the box next to theirs coyly batted her eyes at him. Instinctively, she looped her arm through his. He glanced down at where they were touching and smiled. The swirl of attraction between them seemed to be intensifying with every day that went by.
“How are you enjoying London, Easton?” Sinclair asked him.
Thomas laughed. “It is not the city I left.”
No, he was right about that. So much innovation had occurred. Buildings were being built taller and faster, trains were more common than taking a stagecoach, and London’s population had doubled.
“Will you stay in the country?” Sinclair asked him.
They’d not talked about traveling, and she wasn’t sure that was possible. Worry filled her, but Thomas seemed to understand. He said, “I think we will be firmly settled in London. Perhaps down the road we will travel somewhere, but for now, making the city my home is my focus.”
Warmth filled her that Thomas seemed perfectly fine with staying in London.
“Will you stay in England?” Lisbeth asked Rose.
Sinclair and her friend looked at each other. Rose said, “We aren’t sure. I’d like to visit when Esme is in Syria, but I will see how things are after our official wedding.”
Easton grinned. “Your first wedding was the best.”
Sinclair nodded. “Agreed.”
