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* * *
Aurora's exhilaration gave way to keen awareness just after their carriage turned onto the main road.
Abruptly Julian became a different man—wary, rigid—slowing the phaeton three times to scan behind them. The fourth time he pulled off the road entirely, reining the horses and swinging down from his seat to prowl about.
"We're bei
ng followed," Aurora determined.
"Yes. This time we are." Julian strolled around in front of the phaeton, pretending to check the horses' tack, his gaze darting about the clusters of trees surrounding them. "And whoever is doing the following is not far behind." He frowned thoughtfully. "I'd investigate this on foot, but I won't leave you."
"I'll go with you." Aurora began to climb down.
"No," Julian commanded. "Stay put. If whoever's following us sees me lurking about with you alongside, he'll realize we've spotted him. I think we should continue on to Morland. Our pursuer evidently thinks we're heading someplace far more interesting, else he wouldn't be following."
"How do you know that?"
"Because the route that leads inland to Newton Abbot is a fairly well-traveled one. No common highwayman follows people from their homes and assaults them in broad daylight."
"Except you don't believe our pursuer is a common highwayman," Aurora reminded him.
"True, I don't. I think our pursuer knows precisely whom he's tracking and why. Which is all the more reason he'll hold off. No one who's familiar with my ability to defend myself would dare attack me under these conditions—not if he wanted to live. Further, I think the point is a moot one. Once our unwanted visitor figures out our destination, his interest in us will vanish, at least for the time being. Remember, Morland Manor is—in most people's minds—my home. Taking my bride there would seem anything but suspicious; 'twould seem the most natural thing in the world."
"As opposed to the more fascinating, inexplicable route you'd be taking if you were going off in search of—or to collect—the black diamond."
Julian flashed her a smile as he swung back into his seat. "Exactly." He guided the horses onto the road, continuing their journey as if nothing were amiss.
"That makes sense," Aurora concurred pensively. "So we simply go on our way and hope our pursuer loses interest."
"No, we go on our way, keeping up our guard lest our pursuer not lose interest." A quick glance at his wife. "Does this unnerve you?"
"Unnerve me? Not in the least. In truth, I find the whole situation rather exciting." Aurora sat up straighter, her entire face aglow. "I feel like an especially sly fox during the hunt, one who knows he's swifter and more cunning than either the dogs or the men who are stalking him."
Julian's eyes glittered, with humor and excitement. "I'm glad the thrill of the chase enthralls you so. Nevertheless, soleil, let me give you a small but essential warning: never become overconfident. Overconfidence breeds recklessness."
"And recklessness breeds failure?"
"In most cases." Julian brought Aurora's hand to his lips and pressed a hot, openmouthed kiss to her palm. "There is, however, one place where you can always unleash that enticing recklessness of yours—and be greeted with naught but success."
His husky tone, his pointed caress found their mark, and a surge of heat shot through her. "Really?" Her fingertips caressed his jaw, his mouth. "Odd, I seem to recall many places where you welcome my particular brand of recklessness."
Julian sucked in his breath, his expression a dizzying combination of raw hunger and stark amazement. "Only you could tempt me to forget everything—our current predicament, the book we're seeking—everything. We're in the midst of chaos, yet all I want to do right now is pull off the road and bury myself inside you until nothing exists but the staggering magic we make with our bodies."
Everything inside Aurora melted, slid down to her toes. "What if I were to entice you?"
"You'd succeed. So don't. It would endanger your life—something I've vowed never to do." With a quick hard kiss to her knuckles, Julian released her. "But once we're safely within those walls, once we've found that bloody book…"
"You offer a splendid incentive."
"An incentive—and a whole lot more." With a slap of the reins, Julian sped onward.
* * *
"Morland's library is a good deal more diverse than Pembourne's," Aurora noted. Seeing how few of the books reported on animals or nature, her shoulders sagged with relief. "But our task here should be far easier than it was at Pembourne. There we had to scrutinize an army of texts, lest one of the countless books that mentioned birds of prey be the one we sought. Whereas here—" She sighed, squatting down beside the lower section of shelves on the far wall. "—I'm relieved to see volumes on philosophy, history, religion, all of which we can eliminate as possibilities. That narrows things down significantly."
"Perhaps too significantly," Julian murmured, contemplating the room. "At first glance, I don't see a single book on falcons."
"We'll obviously have to delve more deeply."
