Nothing But a Rakehell by Deb Marlowe

Author:Deb Marlowe
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781732657274
Publisher: Deb Marlowe

* * *

* * *

* * *

Tensford was in alt. Everyone else got caught up in the thrill of the discovery, too. Hope came down from the house, with the rest of the guests who had skipped the outing. Servants brought cold tea and lemonade and biscuits and an impromptu celebration took place, right there at the riverside. Miss Ruddock sketched the scene, and everyone involved in the discovery.

Except for Keswick, who had disappeared quickly, in the initial frenzy after the revelation. Glory refused to fret over it. She’d spooked him, but she doubted he’d run all the way back to London. He would be back, and she would have to tread carefully. In the meantime, she wanted some answers.

Mr. Lycett became interested when he heard that the specimen might be worth some significant money. He hung around, asking questions, but he and the other guests quickly lost interest once Tensford and Sterne began the painstaking, slow process of digging the specimen out from the boulder. It took meticulous work. They explored, hammered, cut and chiseled and everyone else had returned to the house by the time they fully separated a six-foot slab of rock.

Sterne then returned to the company for dinner, but Tensford stayed out to supervise the transfer of his prize to the small workshop he’d set up long ago, adjacent to the stables.

When the ladies removed to the parlor after the meal, Glory excused herself and went to check on Tensford and his fossil.

He had the tiny space brightly lit. She found him bent over his treasure, poring over it with fingers caked with dirt and covered in dozens of small cuts.

“It looks like you’ll need newer, better gloves,” she said from the doorway.

“I ruined mine.” He smiled up at her. “I’ve never had to cut so much stone in one day.”

Dozens of small fossils lined the room. In his years of searching and collecting, Tensford had previously found several types of specimens, both plant and animal. They were all immaculately cleaned and displayed in cabinets. The new, larger discovery had been laid out on a table in the center of the room.

“I’ll have to clean and trim it. Perhaps build a frame,” Tensford mused.

Glory stopped next to a table that held small blades, picks and brushes. Gritty dust covered them, most surfaces and the floor. “You’ve done it at last, Tensford. I’m so happy for you.”

“Oh, no. You’ve done it. You and Kes and Miss Munroe. I’ll make sure that you all get full credit for it.”

“At least something good has come from this cursed leg,” she said with a sigh, moving slowly around the workshop, examining his displays.

He watched her with sympathy. “Hope has told me that the gentlemen seem to be . . . overlooking you.” Reaching out, he gripped her hand with his dirty, dusty one—and she didn’t mind in the least. “It won’t always be that way, Glory. Trust me. You know how it was with me. No young woman wanted to come near Lord Terror—and then they laughed behind their fans at Lord Tender.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.