Inside, he sighed with relief. The jig was not up yet!
“The blank paper was stuck in the book,” he told her. “Would you like to see where?”
She nodded, so he placed it upon the table. While she watched him flip it open to the table of contents, she laughed again.
“It has over thirteen hundred pages!”
“No, not really,” he told her. “Only half that. Each page has two columns and thus, two numbers. It is easier for the eye to read quickly down a column than to go all the way across a full page, especially of a book this tall and wide. I think that’s why it was printed in such a manner.”
“That makes good sense,” she agreed.
“The paper that has mysteriously shown a deathly skull image was here.” He ran his finger down the contents list and read aloud, “The Trial of Captain William Kidd, at the Old Bailey, for Murder and Piracy upon the High Seas.”
“Gracious! A pirate,” Eleanor said enthusiastically. “If only Philip were here to comment on our strange findings.”
Gray was glad Philip wasn’t there, for that would mean Beryl would be there, too. And as much as he adored the woman who was like a sister to him, if she’d been there, then he would definitely not have Eleanor all to himself.
“The paper was right there, sticking out a little higher than the book’s pages between columns 123/124 and 125/126. It was blank, or seemingly so, and I took it thinking no one would mind.”
“I suppose, since the book belongs to his lordship, we should ask him about it. Maybe he can—”
“That would only lead to questions, and before you know it, we would have to tell him about our quest,” Gray reminded her.
“I’m not entirely sure the initial quest is important anymore. Do you realize what this is?”
Gray had to hide the smile that threatened to overtake his expression. Trying to look unwitting, he widened his eyes.
“No, what?”
“I think it is a puzzle about Captain Kidd, and any puzzle about a pirate must lead to his treasure. I’ve readRobinson Crusoe!” she proclaimed.
Picking up the piece of paper, she studied it. “You must be correct. It is a baby goat, a kid, and the skull in the other corner is a seal, a pirate’s stamp, if you will.”
“You know, you might be right,” he said. “But what on earth are we to make of the nonsense lines?”
“I think they are in code.” Her voice took on a note of excitement. “Obviously, since Kidd was an Englishman—”
“Actually, he was Scottish.”
She blinked at him, and he wished he’d kept his mouth shut. His knowing too much about the pirate would assuredly tip her off that this wasn’t random and coincidental.
“Is that common knowledge?” she asked. Then she shook her head. “Never mind, the pun of the baby goat is in English, so we’ll assume the puzzle is in English, too.”
“Good idea,” he agreed, vowing to let her lead from now on and not ruin the game.
Suddenly, she squealed.
“What is it?” he asked, slightly alarmed. She sounded exactly like a youngster.
“It’s very exciting, that’s all.” And, to his surprise, she stretched up on her toes and kissed his cheek.
Nice, but not exactly satisfying.
Without thinking of anything except her nearness and her gorgeous eyes and lips, and her delightful scent, Gray drew her close and claimed her mouth under his.
If she wanted “very exciting,” then a peck on the cheek was not the right type of kiss.
Slanting his mouth, he tested her readiness for more by touching his tongue to her upper lip. He felt her body tense a moment before she relaxed against him and parted her lips, though he doubted she knew what he was about.
