“Well, I don’t know.” She pointed a delicate finger at him. “But you never know about these sorts of things. And I prefer to be prepared.”
“Esme, I don’t think this is an appropriate conversation.”
“Why? Because I’m a virgin?” She leaned into his hard, lean body, pressing herself against him. “I know all about what goes on between a man and a woman. I am no green-behind-the-ears girl.”
He tried to hide his smile. “I believe the phrase you’re looking for is ‘wet behind the ears.’ Or simply ‘a green girl.’ ”
“No matter. I am a woman of seven and twenty years. I have lived on my own for quite a while now.” She looked directly into his eyes. “I am perfectly capable of deciding to take a lover should I desire one.” She punctuated the last four words by poking him in the chest. “And I desire you.”
Unfortunately, her bravado failed her and her voice wavered with her next words. “I thought, perhaps, you desired me as well.”
“You need do nothing to seduce me,” he finally said. He grabbed her hand and pressed it to his groin. “Do you feel that?”
Esme gasped at the heat she felt beneath her palm and curved her hand around him.
“That is my desire for you. You need only sit there the way you do and look at me with those eyes and smile with that perfect mouth of yours, and I want you.” He grabbed her arms with more force than she anticipated. “I’m out of my mind with want for you, but that doesn’t change anything. I cannot have you.”
Her pulse quickened at his words until she thought she heard its thundering in her ears. She had to swallow before she could speak. “You are promised to another, then.”
He shook his head. “No.”
Confusion hit her. He desired her, and yet he claimed he could not have her. Which was ridiculous, since she’d offered herself to him. He had listed her physical attributes with a heated hunger that left no doubt about his interest in them.
Then it had to be her very soul he found unappealing. Her personality, her manner, her intelligence. She stepped away from him. Suddenly she felt very foolish that she’d allowed Annette to put her hair up in this concoction.
She clamped her hand down over the band, as if covering it would somehow diminish its hold over her. It was the bracelet, she reminded herself. She wouldn’t always feel this way.
She cleared her throat. “I have found how to rid myself of this bracelet. Well, not precisely the solution, but a possible way to find the solution.”
She flipped open a journal, then handed it to him. “About three-quarters of the way down the right-side column,” she said, her serious tone almost convincing her she was in control of her emotions.
His eyes scanned the page, and he looked ready to close the book, perhaps convinced she’d found nothing useful, but then…He looked closer.
“Have you ever heard of this Biedermann Diary before?” he asked.
She shook her head fervently. “No. I thought on this for quite a while last night, and the name doesn’t sound familiar.” She handed him another book. “I dug around, and it appears this Biedermann had been working on a translation of a particular Greek text.”
“It says here,” Fielding began, still perusing the journal, “that the Biedermann Diary holds the key to undoing all the curses within the box.” He looked up at her. “At least that’s what”—he glanced back at the article— “George Winthrop claims.”
Her back straightened and she smiled. “George Winthrop is a foremost scholar of Pandora’s box. He lives in America, and his ‘claims,’ as you say, would be considered directly on the mark. If we can locate this Biedermann fellow, we should find our answers.” She leaned forward and poked him in the arm. “Aren’t you impressed with what I found?”
“Most impressed. Any ideas as to how we can locate Biedermann?” Fielding asked.
“As a matter of fact, I do. I suspected it might be time to pay a visit to my friend Phillip, as this seems precisely the bit of information he’d be helpful with. In fact, I took the liberty of sending him a note this morning notifying him that we would be stopping by.”
CHAPTER 12
Esme tugged at her sleeve, pulling it firmly over the gold band that dangled from her wrist. “If you would, please allow me to do the talking. Judging from our correspondence with each other, Phillip is a delicate sort. Although he’s quite intelligent.”
She looked pretty today. Not more so than usual, yet he couldn’t help but notice. The color of her dress matched her green eyes perfectly, which were so bright with her enthusiasm he had a difficult time looking away from her. “I like your hair better when it’s down,” he said.
She self-consciously reached up to touch her hair.
“I didn’t say it looks bad, Esme. It looks rather nice, actually. But personally, I think it looks rather seductive when it brushes against your shoulders.”
She moistened her lips. “No doubt Phillip will have an extensive library.” She clasped her hands together. “How I do wish we had more time to peruse it if that is the case,” she said.
“But we don’t,” he reminded her.
