She shook her head, still against his shoulder. “Cecil again. What did he mean I spiked his plans?”
“Not you. Me. I had a word with the earl. I suspect your nasty cousin has been banished back to the wilds of Aberdeenshire,” he replied rubbing circles on her back.
“Good!” she said fiercely. She backed up an inch or two, enough to look down at the floor. Her precious nitrate of silver was destroyed. “Drat him. That was the last of it.”
“What was it?” John asked, peering around the tiny room for the first time.
“Nitrate of silver,” she replied.
“Saints and the devil protect us! That stuff is dangerous.”
Bel pointed upward with her chin toward the grillwork, ten or eleven inches high, that lined the outside wall just below the ceiling. “There is ventilation. I’m not a complete fool. Though I admit, I usually work with substances like that on my table in the chicken house.”
“This is a chemistry laboratory!”
Bel grinned up at him. “Clever of you to notice.”
“I thought it was some sort of herbal apothecary,” he grumbled.
She ignored him and surveyed the floor. “It’s probably best if I cover it though. Help me remove my smock.” She untied the bow at her neck.
John brushed her hands away and slid the smock down her arms, and the sensation of his hands along the soft muslin of her gown sent shivers through her. “Where on earth did you get nitrate of silver?” he asked.
She set about covering the mess on the floor with her smock. At his question she peered up and sighed. “I mostly order supplies from members of Apothecaries' Hall in London, when I can afford it from my pin money. I have them sent here, care of M.R. Wesley, and the cook takes possession for me. Nitrate of silver is too dear, so I made my own.”
“Made your own?!”
She had truly astonished him now, and it delighted her. “Nitric acid was easy enough to obtain. I just hope Aunt Flora doesn’t notice I no longer wear the silver chain for the cross my father gave me. I put it on a velvet ribbon.”
“I hope you did that in the chicken coop,” he grumbled.
Bel grinned. “I did. With mask and gloves. Speaking of which…” she pulled off her kid gloves and dropped them on the table behind her.
John shook his head. “You are remarkable.”
A surge of pride overwhelmed Bel. No one had ever called her remarkable before. Peculiar, strange, or horrid, but never remarkable. “I might be if I had a real laboratory with good storage for problematic chemicals. And proper ventilation.”
His smile melted her insides. “I have no doubt you would be. You continue to astonish me more every time we speak.” His words cast a spell, binding her eyes to his. They stood chest to chest, eyes fixed together, as if enveloped in a realm in which no words were needed, a kingdom of their own vibrating with attraction and desire.
John moved eventually, lowering his head with infinite care, giving her every chance to protest, while Bel gripped his shoulders, unable to move. The kiss, when it came, radiated joy and a sense of inevitability. The feel of his mouth on her drew her deeper and deeper into a new world of joy, one in which only the two of them existed. She would have allowed him anything.
“We need to stop this.” His voice sounded miles away; Bel raised up on tiptoe to recapture his mouth with hers, and he joined his lips to hers, if only for a moment. “Bel, we’re locked in. We need to get out,” he murmured.
Bell came down to earth; reality, cold and brutal, lashed her. She blinked to clear her head.
“I’m sorry,” she whispered.
“Whatever for?” he asked.
How long hasthis treasure of a woman been taking blame for all disasters large and small?
John cupped Bel’s face with gentle hands. “You have nothing to apologize for. This is another mess of Cecil’s making. I rather liked what just passed between us, and I believe you did to. As delightful as it would be to continue, it won’t do. You must know that.”
Bel sighed, closed her eyes, but made no attempt to move out of his arms. “Cecil means for us to be found together. He’s trying to force you into an unwanted marriage.”
“Are you certain it would be unwanted?” he asked
Her eyes flew open, wide in astonishment at the question. “We’ve only known each other a few days! I’ll not have you forced, when they all know you can have anyone you want come Spring.”
