He glanced down at the paper and quickly unfolded it. He scanned rapidly, absorbing the cryptic message. Then he looked back up at her. “So we go to San Sebastian?” Excitement pounded in his chest.
She nodded. “I assume you will handle the arrangements?”
“Yes. Yes, of course. How soon can you be ready to travel?” He turned away, his mind whirling with what needed to be done. Tomorrow he would hire a ship and purchase the necessary supplies. He glanced again at the paper in his hand.
Did Pagoria exist under the noses of the Spaniards? It seemed incomprehensible. He frowned then turned back to India. “There is nothing beyond San Sebastian written here. No direction. Surely you aren’t suggesting Pagoria exists there.”
She shook her head. “We must find Gabriel’s Bracelet in order to know the city’s location. The journal leads as far as San Sebastian. The bracelet will provide the final link.”
“And does the journal say how to find the bracelet?” he asked, his hope sinking like a ship at sea.
She slowly shook her head. “It is up to us to find it.”
He balled his fist and cursed under his breath. “The bracelet could be anywhere!”
“There is someone here in London who might can help us,” she said calmly. “He owns a book shop across town. He knows much about Pagoria.”
Ridge arched a brow. There weren’t many authorities on Pagoria, and if there was a book seller in London who was an expert on Pagoria, he would have consulted him already.
“Who is this book seller?”
A smile twisted her lips. “No one you would be acquainted with. He’s an odd sort. Keeps to himself. His name is Artemis. If it has to do with Pagoria, he will have heard of it.”
He sighed and rubbed his head which was beginning to ache vilely. “So without Gabriel’s Bracelet, we have no hope of finding the city?”
“I didn’t say that,” she replied. “But if we hope toenterthe city, we must have the bracelet.”
“What aren’t you telling me?” he asked sharply. “I saw nothing in the translation to indicate the importance of this bracelet.”
“Read it again,” she said, pointing a finger toward the middle. “Sir Roderick clearly states that Gabriel’s Bracelet is the key to the city. Without it one cannot enter.” She wasn’t about to tell him her father had also expressed the importance of the bracelet in his letter.
Ridge scanned the writing again, frowning as he took in the vague mentions of the key. “Then I suppose we should hasten to your book seller and find out what he can tell us about Gabriel’s Bracelet. We’re too close to discovery to be denied now.”
He caught her eyes, surprised not to see a glimmer of excitement in their depths. Was this all old hat to her? Surely the culmination of her life’s dream should spark more interest.
“Once we have seen the book seller you must go out and purchase whatever you may need for the voyage,” he spoke up. “Have the bill sent to my address.”
“That is very generous of you,” she said softly.
“It’s the least I can do. You’re helping me achieve something I never dared hope would come to pass.”
She glanced quickly away then looked down at her hands. “I only hope you are not disappointed, my lord.”
He lifted an eyebrow, confused by her demeanor. “Why would I be disappointed?”
She gazed back at him, her eyes troubled. “Sometimes, dreams take you places you only think you want to go.”
“What an odd statement,” he said with a chuckle. “You are so serious for someone so young.”
A small smile played about her lips. “And how young do you think me, my lord? I’d wager you aren’t much older than I am.”
He studied her thin face, seemingly overwhelmed by the largeness and expressiveness of her eyes. “I’d not think you a day over two and twenty.”
She snorted indelicately. “I am eight and twenty. Your powers of observation need honing I think.”
“All right, Miss Ashton,” he said mockingly. “If you are more astute than I, tell me. How old am I?”
Her eyes roved over him, sending peculiar tingles down his spine. She placed a hand to her mouth as if in deep thought and then her lips turned up into a smile. “Thirty. Yes. Definitely thirty.”
