“Indeed. I expect he will find you early in the evening to make his intentions known.”
Rose exchanged a quick glance with Adeline. “Oh, well, I cannot imagine whothatmight be,” she said as a wash of pink colored her cheeks.
Unable to hide her sudden amusement—who else could it be but her brother, David?—Adeline raised a gloved hand to her lips. “But of course you can, Rose,” she said, briefly wondering why her brother would wish to dance with Rose.
Her good humor abated when she noticed Ertugrul staring at the statue of Venus. His thoughtful gaze was much like it was when he was studying the statue of the Greek’s version of the goddess on the second floor of Bostwick House.
The oddest sensation shot through her belly, and Adeline gripped her shawl more tightly in an effort to hide what she was sure would be apparent to anyone who might be watching her.
For a moment, she wondered why she would feel jealous of the carved marble. Ertugrul was a friend. Her brother’s friend. Why should she care that he found statues of Venus or Aphrodite so intriguing?
Apparently Rose noticed Ertugrul’s perusal of Venus as well, for when she realized she was no longer the object of his attention, she lifted her chin and angled her head to regard the statue with a hint of derision. “I cannot imagine having such a thick waist,” she murmured.
“This is isn’t the original,” Adeline remarked, ignoring her friend’s jibe, “but rather a Roman copy from an earlier Greek version,” she said, remembering the details from the last time she had visited the museum and had read the placard describing the exhibit. “And she’s had to be repaired since she was moved here in two pieces. Mr. Townley was an avid collector, but I don’t believe he was always very law-abiding when it came to acquiring newly-excavated artifacts.”
Having learned some of what happened during archaeological expeditions involving his brother-in-law, Ertugrul chuckled. “Lord James has said as much,” he murmured. His gaze lowered to the chiton draped at Venus’ waist and over one arm. “Although the fabric is well done, she is not as pleasing to the eye as other renditions of her,” he said, his attention moving back up to the statue’s hair and face.
Adeline thought it interesting he could be but two feet from the marble and not stare at the pair of naked breasts. Rose certainly was, when she wasn’t casting side glances at the sehzade. “What do you suppose caused this discoloration in the marble?” she asked as she waved a hand to indicate areas that appeared slightly stained.
“There’s a probably a bit of iron in the marble, and it has rusted over time with exposure to air,” he replied. He nodded that they should proceed to the next exhibit.
“Townley’s favorite was this one,” Adeline said as she moved to stand before the marble bust of a woman. “The Nymph Clytie.”
“My father says my mother looked like this in her younger years,” Rose remarked, angling her head to match the marble.
“You may look like her in a few years,” Ertugrul said, his gaze darting between the statue’s wavy haired beauty and Rose. “She is quite stunning.”
Rose inhaled softly. “Why, thank you, Your Eminence.”
Adeline leaned back and aimed a grin at her friend behind Ertugrul’s back. When she caught Rose’s attention, she waggled her brows.
Rose merely rolled her eyes in response before she straightened and strolled to regard the next marble bust. “Hadrian,” she read from the brass placard attached to the base. “He obviously had very curly hair and a curly beard,” she said with a grin, one of her gloved fingers tracing the hair on the man’s chin.
“Don’t touch it,” Adeline scolded.
Rose shrugged before moving on to the statue of a young woman lounging on the ground. “The Knucklebone Player,” she said as she frowned. “Do they play knucklebones in the Ottoman Empire?”
“Different versions of it,” Ertugrul replied. “We call itvek,” he said absently, his attention on a large vase. He hurried over to study the detailed bas-relief carving that surrounded the ovoid shape.
“Oh, we have one of those,” Rose said as she moved to stand next to him. “It’s marble, but an imitation, of course.”
“You say that as if they’re quite common,” he replied.
“They are,” Adeline said on a chuckle. “You’ll see many copies of Greek artifacts in the homes of aristocrats who host balls andsoirées.”
“I look forward to it,” he said.
“As do I,” Rose said, giving the sultan’s son an appreciative grin. The sound of a clearing throat had her turning to discover the footman near the entrance to the hall. He was standing next to her wheeled chair and holding up his pocket watch from its chain. “Oh, I had no idea the time had grown so late. I really must be going,” Rose said as she turned to face Adeline and Ertugrul.
“But you’ve only just arrived,” Adeline countered.
“There’s a ball tonight,” Rose countered. “I have to stop by the modiste’s to pick up my gown, and my lady’s maid must do my hair.”
Thinking her hair looked fine as it was, Adeline knew better than to argue. “I’ll find you tonight in our usual place,” she said with a grin. “Otherwise you’ll find me standing next to Fred.” She kissed Rose on the cheek.
Ertugrul bowed. “I look forward to our waltz this evening,” he said before taking her hand. He brushed his lips over the back of it. “My lady.”
“Your Eminence,” she replied before she turned and hurried off, doing her best to keep from limping. Once she had joined the footman, she settled into the wheeled chair and was gone a moment later.
