Gray laughed at her enthusiasm. “Shall we look for your old eyeglasses first, Mum?”
Perhaps as she’d known would happen, searching had done them no good, and before they knew it, the three of them were walking to the main house so Eleanor could get her mantle and reticule, and so Grayson could borrow a carriage, as they deemed the weather too dodgy for walking.
“I’ll ask Cook if she needs anything,” his mother said and disappeared in a different direction.
By the time he had a comfortable covered wagon harnessed to two ponies, Eleanor was standing out front.
“Where is my mother?” he asked her.
She shrugged, looking delightful, but then everything she did was delightful. If he didn’t get this expedition under way, they would lose another entire day of deciphering William Kidd’s fictional message, and she might have to leave before they reached the treasure.
“I’ll go find her,” he promised. “Can you hold the reins?”
“Of course,” she said, not waiting for assistance but climbing aboard the dickey beside him. She opened her gloved palms expectantly.
Placing the reins in her hands, he longed to also place a kiss on her lips. As it was, he couldn’t help leaning close so he could speak softly against the shell of her ear.
“When we return, we’ll go directly to the library. Agreed?”
“Agreed.”
Instantly, his head was filled with thoughts of what they’d last done in the library besides discuss codes and pirates. He had held her lush bottom in his hands.
Swallowing, his mouth went instantly dry, and his body tensed with anticipation of doing it again. As he drew back, her gaze dropped to his lips, and it took all his strength not to kiss her.
Climbing off the seat, he dashed through the front door, hoping his mother wasn’t standing on ceremony and walking around to the servants’ entrance rather than using the front door.
However, she was right before him in the foyer, standing close to Mr. Stanley, and they were deep in conversation.
She jumped back a step, startled when he entered.
“We’re ready,” Gray told her before nodding a greeting to the butler, who nodded back before turning on his heel and disappearing down the hall.
In a few minutes, they were underway, and Gray felt a sense of satisfaction being with the two ladies whom he most admired and, dare he say, loved.
For the first time, he had to acknowledge how at the mere thought of Eleanor, the emotion flowing through him was love. His greatest wish was to cherish her, please her, and make her smile.
*
It was nearlytwo hours later, Eleanor and Grayson left his mother at her cottage with a new pair of spectacles, which she had promised not to misplace. As they crossed the back lawn, Eleanor looked up at him while he looked down at her, and they nearly started to run, both eager to return to the puzzle at last.
Seated in the library, Eleanor drew out her copy of the puzzle, while Grayson retrieved the original.
“Truly,” she remarked, “we are nearly done with the deciphering, yet we shall still need to figure out spacing and, perhaps, punctuation in order to make it legible.”
“We’ll see,” he said, and they got to work.
After a few minutes, he asked her, “Why don’t you read what we have?”
Why don’t you kiss me?she nearly said, then focused on the paper in front of her.
“Very well.” She smoothed it with her hands and read aloud, “‘A good glass in the bishop’s hostel in the devil’s seat twenty-one degrees and thirteen minutes northeast and by north main branch seventh limb east side shoot from the left eye of the death’s head a bee line from the tree through the shot fifty feet out.’”
Grayson leaned closer while she spoke, his broad shoulder pressing against hers. Perhaps it was his nearness, but the words together didn’t make sense. If she glanced at him, he would read the desire in her gaze. Nevertheless, after a hesitation, she did exactly that.
The passion blazing in his eyes took her breath away.
Did her own, plain brown eyes appear to glow like his?
