Read Online Season For Desire by Theresa Romain - Free Book Online Page A
Authors: Theresa Romain
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good sort of snappish like a warm ginger biscuit.
Rutherford only lifted his dark brows, as though her observation was perfectly pleasant. “Do you think so? If you’re hungry, you might try it all the same. Vulgarity can be delicious.”
Her stomach gave a silent, surprised flip. “Are you flirting with me, Rutherford? At our ages?” Because your age must be nearly mine; certainly you’ve long since passed forty years.
His head tilted slightly. A handsome head, with steely-dark hair and a pleasantly weather-worn look. “I’m . . . offering you cheese.”
Not an answer, but the tilt of his head provided all the finality his words had lacked. What a ridiculous notion .
“See to it that you don’t,” she replied. “Flirt. Or offer cheese. Either one.”
Aquamarine, she reminded herself. She was wearing aquamarine.
And as a small silver lining, she had finally lost her appetite.
Chapter Six
Wherein the Recalcitrant Puzzle Box Is Encouraged to Reveal Its Secrets
“I might be able to open it,” Giles granted.
Even before Sophy Parr heard of their interest in the puzzle box, Giles could tell she—like Richard—had a favorite obsession. The permanent mark of the pince-nez; the dedication to her astronomy notes. As the group finished their cold lunch, she pushed back her chair and said she must be returning to her work. But when Richard mentioned the item at which they wanted a look was a puzzle box—with a significant glance at Giles, who dutifully spoke his line about being able to open it—off Sophy darted to her chamber to retrieve the box in question.
The party of travelers met the inhabitants of Castle Parr in the drawing room. As it was early afternoon, pale sunlight grappled with the fog and won passage through the room’s tall windows. The plaster ceiling was determined to remind them they were in a castle: flowered and trinketed and jeweled and painted in fanciful ways. The dark damask paper on the walls was the same sort favored in fine Philadelphia houses, though, and the furniture looked comfortable scattered around a great marble fireplace. The deep chairs and the heavy carpet bore scratches in their rich fabrics, as from canine claws and jaws.
Giles dragged a little tea table close to a window for the best light. Sophy sneezed several times as soon as she entered the room, cradling a cloth-covered object tightly.
“You had the dogs in here today, Mama,” she said. “I suppose you fed them tea and biscuits?”
“Of course I did not. What sort of fool would give a dog tea?” Lady Dudley craned her neck. “Let’s see the thing, Sophy.”
Sophy laid the object on the table at the center of their group, tugging away the handkerchiefs in which she’d wrapped it. “I beg your pardon,” she said, clutching them to her face as another fit of sneezes overtook her.
“Is that the famous puzzle box?” Lady Irving peered over it, her garish turban blocking all sight of the box. “All this fuss over a tiny little thing. What could it possibly hold, Rutherford?”
“I have no idea,” said Richard. “That’s the adventure.” Giles mouthed these words along with his father. Audrina’s mouth curled, a smile that felt like a secret shared between them.
To one who had never seen a puzzle box, the reality might be disappointing. Rather than a chest large enough to hold pirate treasure, it was small enough to rest within Giles’s broad hands when he lifted it from the table.
Though the size was not unusual, the detail work was beyond any Giles had ever seen. The box was golden, with elaborate patterns incised into its surface: diamonds, pinwheels, crosses within crosses. Within each pattern, another and another, all beautifully tessellated and laid out in diagonal stripes. The eye never grew tired of looking at such riotous order, but only hungered for more, more, seeking out further and deeper art in the tiny lines carved so long ago.
For a moment, Giles cradled it, letting the
Rutherford only lifted his dark brows, as though her observation was perfectly pleasant. “Do you think so? If you’re hungry, you might try it all the same. Vulgarity can be delicious.”
Her stomach gave a silent, surprised flip. “Are you flirting with me, Rutherford? At our ages?” Because your age must be nearly mine; certainly you’ve long since passed forty years.
His head tilted slightly. A handsome head, with steely-dark hair and a pleasantly weather-worn look. “I’m . . . offering you cheese.”
Not an answer, but the tilt of his head provided all the finality his words had lacked. What a ridiculous notion .
“See to it that you don’t,” she replied. “Flirt. Or offer cheese. Either one.”
Aquamarine, she reminded herself. She was wearing aquamarine.
And as a small silver lining, she had finally lost her appetite.
Chapter Six
Wherein the Recalcitrant Puzzle Box Is Encouraged to Reveal Its Secrets
“I might be able to open it,” Giles granted.
Even before Sophy Parr heard of their interest in the puzzle box, Giles could tell she—like Richard—had a favorite obsession. The permanent mark of the pince-nez; the dedication to her astronomy notes. As the group finished their cold lunch, she pushed back her chair and said she must be returning to her work. But when Richard mentioned the item at which they wanted a look was a puzzle box—with a significant glance at Giles, who dutifully spoke his line about being able to open it—off Sophy darted to her chamber to retrieve the box in question.
The party of travelers met the inhabitants of Castle Parr in the drawing room. As it was early afternoon, pale sunlight grappled with the fog and won passage through the room’s tall windows. The plaster ceiling was determined to remind them they were in a castle: flowered and trinketed and jeweled and painted in fanciful ways. The dark damask paper on the walls was the same sort favored in fine Philadelphia houses, though, and the furniture looked comfortable scattered around a great marble fireplace. The deep chairs and the heavy carpet bore scratches in their rich fabrics, as from canine claws and jaws.
Giles dragged a little tea table close to a window for the best light. Sophy sneezed several times as soon as she entered the room, cradling a cloth-covered object tightly.
“You had the dogs in here today, Mama,” she said. “I suppose you fed them tea and biscuits?”
“Of course I did not. What sort of fool would give a dog tea?” Lady Dudley craned her neck. “Let’s see the thing, Sophy.”
Sophy laid the object on the table at the center of their group, tugging away the handkerchiefs in which she’d wrapped it. “I beg your pardon,” she said, clutching them to her face as another fit of sneezes overtook her.
“Is that the famous puzzle box?” Lady Irving peered over it, her garish turban blocking all sight of the box. “All this fuss over a tiny little thing. What could it possibly hold, Rutherford?”
“I have no idea,” said Richard. “That’s the adventure.” Giles mouthed these words along with his father. Audrina’s mouth curled, a smile that felt like a secret shared between them.
To one who had never seen a puzzle box, the reality might be disappointing. Rather than a chest large enough to hold pirate treasure, it was small enough to rest within Giles’s broad hands when he lifted it from the table.
Though the size was not unusual, the detail work was beyond any Giles had ever seen. The box was golden, with elaborate patterns incised into its surface: diamonds, pinwheels, crosses within crosses. Within each pattern, another and another, all beautifully tessellated and laid out in diagonal stripes. The eye never grew tired of looking at such riotous order, but only hungered for more, more, seeking out further and deeper art in the tiny lines carved so long ago.
For a moment, Giles cradled it, letting the
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