A Hint of Starlight by Connolly Lynne

Author:Connolly, Lynne
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
Tags: Fiction, Romance, Historical
Publisher: Dragonblade Publishing, Inc.
Published: 2019-09-30T16:00:00+00:00

Chapter Ten

Excitement bubbling in her veins, Damaris strode into the shop, followed by Annie, Gerald and the Duke of Glenbreck.

This was what she wanted, this was her aim. The smell of oil and polish enticed her. Thrills chased one another up and down her spine. The shop was full of the stuff of dreams. With these instruments, she could sharpen her observations and observe her quarry in breathtaking detail. Like the telescope Logan owned, the one she coveted was a two-foot model.

“Could you tell me about the telescope in the window?” Eagerly, she asked the question before the rotund shopkeeper had straightened from his bow.

The shopkeeper glanced at Logan, who was standing next to her. “Madam, that model is fine, but I have finer.”

“Does it have achromatic lenses?”

He spread his hands. “I could fit them, but the instrument is perfectly usable without them.”

She scoffed, but while she made the sound, the duke spoke. “Don’t prevaricate, Heath. Show Lady Damaris a fine telescope suitable for detailed observations of the heavens, rather than for simple star-gazing.”

This was Mr. Heath himself? The man inclined his head, a smile on his thin lips. “Of course, your grace. I have several. Star-gazing is a popular pastime in some circles, and the telescope in the window would suffice most of them.”

“This lady is not ‘most of them’.” The duke sounded proprietary, as if he had a right to take care of her. Since he’d brought her here, perhaps he thought he did, but she had set out to visit this place alone. She would have stepped in here, duke or no duke. And probably been fobbed off with an assistant, she admitted wearily. At least she had to thank him for that.

“Lady Damaris is a serious scholar and she deserves a serious instrument.”

Her smile would not be restrained. It broke out like the sun from behind the clouds, and she spun to face him. “Oh, thank you, Logan. You don’t know how much that meant to hear you say that.” Oh Lord, she’d used his real name in public. She could not commit those faux pas. They wouldn’t pass unnoticed.

“It’s the truth,” he said as if she had used the name she should. As if he hadn’t noticed.

Damaris only became aware of the fraught silence after a moment of gazing at him. If eyes could be said to be smiling, his were, the fine lines at the corners radiating out.

His smile slowly faded. “Ah. My lady, which instrument takes your fancy?” He cleared his throat.

She turned back to Mr. Heath, sure her face blazed scarlet. “That one,” she said, pointing to a plain brass telescope in a case on its own. It was another with a two foot barrel, but when Heath removed this one from the case, he handled it with extreme care, taking his time lifting it out. “This is of my own manufacture. I finished it yesterday. Usually these are only on special order, but the gentleman who wished to have this made was unfortunately unable to complete the order.

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