AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Chapter Seven
“You’re up early today. Trying to best me, are you?”
Calliope told herself not to let her pulse accelerate when she heard the viscount’s deep timbre coming from behind her, but she failed miserably. She turned her head and even though her bonnet helped to shield the sun, she still used her hand to hold back some of the glare. He looked entirely too handsome today. His sandy blond hair was already tossed by the wind and the black greatcoat he wore flared behind him, giving him a rather impressive appearance.
She was glad that she had asked her maid to take a bit more care with her appearance that morning. She’d donned a cheery, yellow day dress, but as the breeze carried a slight chill with it again that day, she had been forced to pair her dark green pelisse with it.
“I shan’t be much competition if I didn’t challenge you,” she replied promptly.
He bowed reverently. “And I should hate to deprive you of the victory you would gain at my expense. Thus, I will remove myself to the other end of the beach where you can work safely without the threat I shall take credit for any discovery you might unearth.” With a parting wink, he continued on his way.
“Are you sure you two aren’t courting?” Mary Anning asked, having observed the exchange from a short distance away.
Calliope cleared her throat. “Not at all,” she denied, although her enthusiasm at seeing him shouldn’t be quite as bright as it was. “I’ve known him for some time as he’s the best friend of my sister’s husband. If a romance were to spark up between us, it would completely ruin this wonderful repertoire that we share.”
“I suppose,” Mary shrugged, not inclined to share in the jest Calliope had attempted. There was a brief pause, then Mary said, “My mother said you don’t intend to marry. I carry no illusions that I shall be nothing more than a spinster myself, although it is not entirely by choice. It’s just that Lyme Regis is rather lacking when it comes to acquiring a suitable husband. Most of the young men are either spoken for, or they decide to move away from here.” She looked at Calliope steadily. “But don’t you think it would be nice to have someone to call your own someday?”
Calliope had considered this question many times and had been expecting it from society when she had been discussing the move to London with her sisters, so she had a reply at the ready. “Sometimes I admit it would be nice to have a confidante, but neither do I wish to be under some illusion that marriage is the only answer for my future.” She shrugged. “I suppose when you set out on a certain path in life, it’s difficult to veer from it.”
“Don’t you ever want children?” Mary prodded.
Calliope paused now, wondering if these questions were really directed at her—or if the young woman had something she was trying to figure out in her own life. “Is something troubling you, Mary?”
She quickly glanced away and shook her head. “No. Forget I asked. I’m sorry for bothering you.” She gathered her tools and started to move farther inland and although Calliope was concerned by her abrupt behavior, she decided that it was best to let her be by herself. If there was something weighing heavily on her mind, Calliope generally didn’t wish to be poked and prodded about it. She decided that if she wished to speak further on the matter, she would let Mary come to her.
For the rest of the morning, Calliope toiled alone. Mary had given her some simple things to look for and it didn’t take long for her to figure out that uncovering fossils was not an easy task. Perspiration quickly beaded her brow as the chill to the morning started to wane and the sun began to beat down upon her. She stood up and removed her pelisse, laying it over a nearby boulder.
That was when a miracle occurred.
Calliope glanced down and spied what appeared to be a rock at first glance, but there was something different about it that she couldn’t quite explain. She picked it up and retrieved the small brush that Mary had allowed her to use to clean the sand and debris away from any possible finds.
It didn’t take long before she was shouting for her companion. “Mary! I think I found something!” Unfortunately, the girl was nowhere in sight, but Joseph and Lord Blakely quickly answered her excited call.
Calliope noted that the viscount had eschewed his greatcoat as well and the lean figure that drew closer to her made her heart race just as rapidly as the object she held in her palm. She held her breath as Joseph Anning took the item from her hand and inspected it carefully. She glanced at Lord Blakely, who gave her an encouraging nod of approval.
“It appears to be some sort of reptile vertebra,” Joseph announced at last.
Some of Calliope’s spirits plummeted, for she had been hoping to stumble upon a fossil that might have been a bit more rare, but at least she’d found it on her own, and that was worth celebrating.
As Mary reappeared and joined Joseph to inspect Calliope’s discovery, the viscount walked over to her with his hands clasped behind his back. “Nice job, Lady Calliope,” he said.
Since she was feeling proud of herself, and particularly complaisant, she turned to him and said, “Call me Callie. My sisters do, and since you’re my brother-in-law’s best friend, I think that make us practically family.”
He offered a mock wince, followed by a teasing mien. “I’m not sure I would go that far. But since you are being accommodating, I should tell you that Grey has called me Seb for years.”
“Seb.” She repeated the single syllable, trying it out on her tongue. “I daresay it suits you.”
He laughed. “I’m not sure if that’s an insult or a compliment.”
“It’s the latter,” she assured him.
“Then I’m satisfied.” He smiled and it warmed her more than the sun ever could. As her toes curled in her boots, he said, “Would you care to check out the fare at the Three Cups this evening? In honor of your vertebra?”
Calliope considered his offer. “It depends. Will the marquess be joining us?”
He gave a long-suffering sigh, as if he was bemoaning the fact as well. “My grandfather shall be present, yes. I know you didn’t hit it off all that well on your first meeting, but I accept the blame for that. While he can appear to be a bit gruff on the outside, most of it is all bluster.”
Her lips twitched. “What else do you have in common?”
