Discovery of Desire by Susanne Lord

Author:Susanne Lord
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
Publisher: Sourcebooks
Published: 2016-07-06T04:00:00+00:00

Twelve

The moment Seth returned to his hotel room, he knew it was a mistake. He should have kept walking. The streets had been dark but at least there’d been life—dogs in the alleys and bodies huddling in doorjambs and turning in sleep, exposed under the Bombay sky.

The room was a mistake.

It was quiet as a crypt.

Where could he go? What could he do? It was the middle of the night, and he’d just come from walking all over the city. He stared at his bedroll on the charpoy platform. How could he sleep? His head was aching.

Georgie’s journal was in his hand. Still in his… He should put it down. Light a candle. Put a cleft on the fire. Drink some water. Did he have anything to drink? He could try to sleep or…or maybe he should go out and walk again. He could—

A soft knock sounded on the door, and Seth turned as if he could see through the wall.

“Mr. Mayhew?”

Thank God…thank God…Minnie. He hurried to the door, his chest tight and burning. The light from the hall illuminated his room. He should light the lamp…but he was so relieved to see her face, he froze in place.

In the dim light, her lips worked into a warm, loving, sad smile, and for the first time that night, hot tears stung his eyes. He turned his head before she could see.

“You changed your dress.” He frowned. Damn foolish thing to say. Now she’d know he wasn’t right.

“May I come in?” she whispered, her gaze flickering up and down the hall.

Quickly, he stepped aside, even knowing he shouldn’t. Closing the door plunged the room into darkness. “I’ll…uh.” Damn, he couldn’t find words. He pointed to the mantel and lit the lamp, holding Georgie’s book under his arm.

A gentle hand landed on his arm and the book was slipped from him. “Let’s put this down.”

He watched Georgie’s journal be carried to the table and set down. Standing in the center of the room, Mina passed him again to light the fire. “I should do that, Minnie.”

“I have it.”

In moments, the fire crackled and grew, and she took his hand to lead him to a chair at the table. “Why don’t you sit?”

He only had the one chair. The room was too dark for company, for a lady. “You shouldn’t be here.” But he couldn’t put up more of an argument than that. When she pressed him into his chair, he didn’t resist.

“It is all right. Emma is asleep and no one saw me come. I came earlier, but you weren’t here. I’m glad you’re back.” She put a kettle on the hob over the fire.

“I don’t have any tea,” he said. “Sorry, Minnie. Don’t have much of anything to eat. I have some mustard, I think.”

“I brought tea. And jam and bread. Well, naan.”

A jam pot was placed in front of him, along with three pieces of the flat bread the native people ate.

“That is an explorer’s trick, isn’t it?” she said. “Jam or mustard can make any food edible.

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