“Well we must begin somewhere,” she huffed and turned in a circle, her eyes scanning the cavernous room from floor to ceiling.
Thomas looked thoughtfully at one of the groupings of chairs along the wall. “Was there a place Beth preferred to sit and read?”
Nora’s face lit up at his question. “Yes!” She slid her hand down to his and dragged him back to a quiet corner on the far side of the main floor. Their hands were separated by their gloves, but their shared warmth still mingled between their interlocked fingers with tantalizing nearness. The corner was cozy and close, illuminated only by a narrow window set high in the wall. He could easily picture Beth perusing her selection for hours here in the peace and solitude, the warm comfort of thousands upon thousands of pages surrounding her. Two cobalt-blue velvet upholstered armchairs were tilted at an anglewith a small inlaid table between them. Had he not known better, he would have thought they were looking at part of a private sitting room.
Nora released his hand and he felt oddly bereft, immediately flexing his chilled fingers. It took him a moment to realize she was searching around the chair cushions and he moved to help her. He froze entirely when he noticed she’d abandoned the chair and had moved to all fours and was searching beneath the tabletop. Her bottom waggled at him mere inches away and his hands flexed for an entirely different reason. How did she have the power to make him burn with a single look?
Even after they’d made love in the library and he’d physically worn himself out by helping to draw her bath, he’d had to take himself in hand and work his cock to another hard, fast climax before sleep would finally accept him into her arms.
Now, with her delightfully round bottom shimmying within arms’ reach, it took every last speck of his restraint not to cup her rear and test the smooth globes of muscle; to toss up her skirts, unfasten his falls, and pull her back into him as he thrust deeply, clapping a hand over her mouth to silence her cries of pleasure as other patrons strolled nearby.
“Nothing,” Beth groaned and sat back on her heels. The word snapped him out of his wildly inappropriate fantasy.
Thomas propped his hands on his hips and turned in a slow circle. Where would Beth have hidden something for them to find? This was a place of business and doubtless countless customers had come through it since Beth had left whatever it was for them. Where was a secure enough location in this cavernous building? To him, the answer was somewhere the entire public wouldn’t be able to put their hands on it and walk off with whatever it was.
“I have an idea,” he said, extending his hand down to Nora and helping her to her feet.
Chapter Seven
"Are there any orders set aside for Miss Elizabeth Bexton?”
Thomas had guided Nora back to the front of the bookstore and immediately headed to the counter with long, confident strides. A soft-looking clerk with round spectacles and a kind smile excused himself to check their stacks of orders after Thomas provided Beth’s name. Nora’s heart thudded heavily in her chest all over again and each second felt like an hour.
“Could it really be this simple?”
“Sometimes the simplest solutions are the answers.” He looked down at her warmly, the silver at his temples glinting in the daylight streaming through the store’s front windows, and her heart missed one of its heavy beats.
“Apologies, My Lord, but there is no order for Miss Bexton.” The clerk looked sincerely disappointed that he was unable to assist them, but no one was more deflated than Nora.
“Blast,” she muttered.
Thomas’s eyes widened slightly. She thought he’d been about to chide her for her language, but he turned back to the clerk and said, “An order for Miss Nora Allen, then?”
The clerk excused himself, seeming entirely unperturbed at being sent on another search. Nora couldn’t help the tapping of her foot, but everything in her seized when Thomas’s hand covered hers—even her lungs. She’d been so excited about showing him the letter that morning that they hadn’t yet discussed what occurred between them the prior day. Nora certainly hadn’t forgotten… Everything Thomas did and said was no different than when they’d last been out in public; it made her wonder if he considered it no more than a moment of weakness and wished to simply brush it under the rug. Was that what she wanted as well? She—
The clerk returned with a neat stack of books wrapped in brown paper and tied together with Thorpe & Son’s signature cobalt-blue ribbon.
Nora was certain her nails dug into Thomas’s forearm, but he didn’t so much as flinch.
“We were wondering when this one might be picked up,” the clerk said cheerfully. “We were under strict instructions to leave it for however long it might take for it to be retrieved; it was never to be delivered. I must say we’d begun to speculate what would become of it.”
Nora could only stare dumbly at the package and was grateful that Thomas was there to be sensible. “How much for the order?”
“Nothing, My Lord. It’s been paid for since the date it was bought, wrapped, and stored.” He held up a handwritten receipt that had been tucked beneath the ribbon.
“How long?” Nora rasped and then cleared her throat. “How long ago was the purchase made?”
The clerk adjusted his spectacles and examined the receipt. “The fifteenth of July.”
Almost three months prior. Beth had worked quietly and kept this to herself for months before her death. The realization was sobering. Had she known what was coming?
“We appreciate your assistance,” Thomas said and attempted to hand the clerk a coin, but the man declined politely. Regardless, Thomas left the money on the counter for the man and he lifted the package from the table.
“I think we should take these home to look over.” His words were gentle as he bundled the package beneath his arm and guided her toward the door with one hand on her back. Nora could only nod.
She was immediately led back to the Bexton carriage and he had the driver return them to Nora’s Townhouse. The entire journey, she stared mutely at the package set on the seat beside him, wondering what it held. Her excitement from earlier that morning had been unexpectedly dimmed by the discovery of the next clue. Surely, this was not the last one that would lead them to The Lovers’ Arch.
Once they arrived, Nora and Thomas eschewed the comforts of the main living areas and, instead, went directly to the kitchens.
