He eyed the flush of her cheeks. “You didn’t walk all the way here from your Townhouse, did you?” The thought of her traversing the streets entirely alone, even at this early hour, made him more than a little uneasy—especially when she had use of a private carriage.
“It matters not if I did!” She waved the letter in front of his face again. “This is more important.”
“Nothing is more important than your wellbeing.”
She released an exasperated sound, clearly more than a little put out that he was not matching her frenetic energy. “Just read it, will you?”
Deciding to address her safety when she was less worked up, Thomas accepted the document and unfolded it. His eyes skimmed it and froze. He looked up to find Nora watching him with wide eyes, her hands clasped tightly beneath her chin, and her lips caught between her teeth in an effort to keep her excitement in check. Now that he’d read it, he better understood her reaction.
“This is the letter I delivered to you the other day?” he asked. Nora nodded rapidly. His eyes dipped back down to his sister’s familiar penmanship and read her words to Nora once more.
I pray that you will not be too cross with me once you read this letter in its entirety. We always said we would not keep secrets from one another, but I fear we have both been guilty of that over these last twenty years (more on that later because there is a matter far more pressing).
My dearest, truest friend: I have found it. The how, when, why, and where of it will be revealed in due time; for now, know that all our years of searching were not for naught. The Lovers’ Arch was not simply a beautiful story in a book, but genuine history. I do not know why the truth was not discovered before now, but I suspect it is because the most beautiful and wondrous things in this world often go unnoticed until it is too late.
I realize you expected this letter to contain my final words to you when, in reality, this is just the beginning. I recognized the deterioration in my health and decided to give you one last gift of adventure before I was unable to do so—and this is so much more satisfying to me than simply dragging you to the location. I do, however, have one request: take my brother with you. If I know him as well as I think I do (and I am certainI do), he’ll be rather morose. I suggest you bring him with you on this adventure—not only for his well being, but because I suspect there are some clues only he will be able to interpret.
Happy hunting, Sister of My Heart.
Until next time.
“The arch exists,” Nora whispered. “Beth found it and you and I are going to follow her instructions and find it as well.”
“Are you saying she devised a sort of game for us?” Thomas’s heart squeezed in his chest. How like his mischievous sister to do such a thing with her waning strength.
“It would appear that way. And she states in no uncertain terms that we are to do this together.”
Thomas enjoyed immeasurably the sound of that, but asked only, “When did she find the time?”
“I thought that over when I couldn't sleep last night, and I wonder if she managed it under the guise of resting while she practically pushed me out the door to run my errands or keep our appointments alone. She knew I would not question or press her.”
Thomas turned the paper over, but it was blank. “Was there some sort of clue? Where are we supposed to begin?”
A grin lighting up her face, Nora fished a scrap of cobalt blue ribbon from her reticule and handed it to him. He rubbed it between his fingers, turned it over, held it up to the morning light streaming in through the windows of the breakfast room. As far as he could see, there was nothing remarkable about it.
“What does this mean?”
“It was tucked into the envelope as well.” Nora sauntered over to his untouched plate of food and plucked a strip of bacon from it, taking a hearty bite. “Care to join me for a bit of shopping after you finish eating?”
An hour later, Thomas escorted Nora through the enormous carved door of one of London’s most popular booksellers, Thorpe & Son. The establishment had been a popular shopping destination for decades, but the addition of the younger Mr. Thorpe into the business after he came of age had injected new life.
This was where Thomas had always purchased Beth’s reading materials; it was where he’d taken the girls shopping on their rare trips to London. The pleasant scent of ink, parchment, leather, and dust motes brought all the memories rushing back to him and struck him like a fist to the jaw. He doubted he’d ever be able to come to this place and not think of his sister.
A small hand slid through his arm and wrapped around his bicep in a reassuring grip. “I know,” was all Nora said as she guided him further into the cavernous building and out of the way of the entrance.
And she would know.
Nora was the only other person who could hear the echoes of Beth’s footsteps as she scurried up and down the numerous aisles of well organized books on the main floor of the shop; remember the sight of Beth grinning as she waved down at them from the upper balcony where more books were housed; feel the warmth of the watery sunlight as Beth had enjoyed it filtering down from the building’s iconic arched glass roof; recall the weight of Beth’s selections in their arms as they tried to talk her out of purchasing the entire shelf of new publications.
“I wonder where we should begin,” Nora muttered thoughtfully, snapping Thomas from his musings. “It is such a large building.”
Large was an understatement. In addition to being a traditional seller of books, Thorpe & Son also offered a lending library for those who could not afford to purchase reading materials, and the publishing offices were situated on the floors above and overlooked the sales floor beneath the domed roof.
“How do we know what we are looking for?” Thomas’s eyes scanned the rows and rows of freestanding bookshelves, the quiet collections of seats where one might take a book and peruse it prior to purchasing. There were a countless number of hiding places available.
“Your guess is as good as mine,” Nora replied, her mouth twisting in thought. “Maybe we can try searching out Beth’s favorite books?”
“That seems like a great deal of trouble when her actual book collection is at your Townhouse.” He paused thoughtfully as his eyes scanned the room. “Not to mention dangerous—what if someone purchases the book and the clue was lost forever?”
