“Oh myGod,” I whispered. “Isn’t it beautiful?”
“Yes, she’s the most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen,” Tarik said in a voice that didn’t sound like he was making a scientific observation. I turned my head to see where he was looking, and it wasn’t at the moon. His attention was focused on me.
“I meant the moon,” I said as he bracketed me from the back and bent past me to take another look.
“I know. But I meantyou.” Tarik rose and gathered me close, one arm banding about my waist and pressing my back into his chest. He nuzzled my nape, nose tracking along the column of my throat to my ear. “You did it, chérie. I am so proud of you.”
“Thank you. I couldn’t have done it without you.” I grinned and turned in his arms to face him. “So, did I pass your final examination, Mr. Tutor?”
He grinned back and pulled me close. “I believe the subject matter requires some light tweaks. It’s a matter of position, you see.” One hand slipped under my jaw, fingers cupping the back of my head as he arranged me where he wanted me to be, my chin tilted up. “Like so.”
His thumb grazed over my bottom lip.
“There, that’s perfect. Only I don’t know if the aperture is correct.”
I giggled. “The aperture.”
“Of course,” he said peppering kisses over my face. “The size of the aperture determines the power of the resolution.”
“Tarik?” I murmured.
His mouth feathered over mine. “Oui, mon amour?”
My body shivered at the endearment. “Will you just shut up and kiss me?”
Thankfully, he obliged, and then we were both blissfully silent for quite some time, standing there above the streets of London, where only the moon and the stars could see us.
A fortnight later, I was practically a moon expert.
I had my amateur telescope pointed to the night sky any chance I could get. I’d also recorded my findings in a notebook, though they weren’t anything remarkable or not catalogued before. Still, they were new to me. I painstakingly tracked the shadows of the mountain ranges through all the many phases of the moon I could see, noting all my observations, no matter how small. Part of being a good amateur astronomer, besides having an excellent grasp of mathematics, physics, and celestial mechanics, was to pay attention to detail and data. I didn’t expect to discover anything new, but honing those skills was just as important.
Once more, however, it was overcast, and I wasn’t in the mood to do anything. Zia and Ela, on the other hand, were insistent that I could not stay at home and pretend to emulate a sloth. There was apparently some secret soiree that a select few had been invited to and that I simply had to attend. However, I didn’t see the need to socialize and impress any gentlemen in theton,now that my father had relented on his threat of marrying me off.
There was only one gentleman I wanted.
And just as I suspected, Tarik had categorically impressed the very hard-to-sway Duke of Delmont with his final proposal. So while the former was off trying to finalize a property lease for his new space with the duke as well as my cousin, Blake, Keston, and Rafi, all of whom he’d become quite close with, I’d hoped tospend a cozy evening reading the latest treatise on celestial mechanics by Pierre-Simon Laplace in bed.Bliss.
“This is the event of the season,” Zia coaxed, reminding me that she was still there.
“I don’t care about the season,” I said with a shrug. “What on earth is a secret soiree anyway? People will do anything for attention. Are we honestly yielding to this?”
Ela pouted, making me narrow my eyes, because she wasn’t one for theatrics. That was usually Zia’s job. “This one is special. We can make it a girls’ evening, just the three of us, spending time together like we used to before boys.”
They weren’t going to let this one go, I realized. “Fine. What is the dress required?”
Zia and Ela exchanged a nonplussed look that made me frown again. They were behaving rather peculiarly. Anna was more helpful when she cleared her throat and politely interjected, “Nice but warm, my lady, so perhaps a pelisse will be warranted. I gather you may be outside for part of the soiree. And the address is a few miles east of London proper.”
“Outdoors in the evening?” I asked, surprised. “Have I seen that invitation? I don’t recall anything so specific.”
“It’s with the others, my lady,” Anna said.
Zia threw an arm wide. “You know how these eccentric aristocrats are. There might be garden games and whatnot.”
“You and Ela are acting very strangely.”
Ela smiled, showing all her teeth, an expression that made me release a horrified giggle. “No stranger than normal. Very well, we will be back here in two hours to collect you.”
“Why does that sound ominous?” I asked.
