To Catch a Rogue by Amanda McCabe

Author:Amanda McCabe
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
Publisher: Harlequin
Published: 2008-06-06T16:00:00+00:00

“…as you see here, the young ladies of the procession carry the vessels for pouring offerings to the gods, in this case Athena. The oinochoai and the phialai, and here is the incense burner, the thymiaterion. The purpose of the maidens on this side, however, is less clear. Perhaps they carried the peplos, newly woven for the goddess, or perhaps they were even the famed Arrephoroi…”

Calliope tried to listen to the learned Herr Mueller, to study the large sketches of the Parthenon friezes set up behind the podium. She watched as the small, bespectacled scholar pointed out each figure in the carved procession she knew so well from days at the British Museum. But she could not seem to focus her thoughts where they should be, on the worship of the gods. Couldn’t seem to sit still. And it was all due to Cameron, sitting beside her.

He, too, stared straight ahead, yet every time Calliope glanced at him from the corner of her eye his lips quirked with a barely suppressed smile. Finally, he caught her looking at him and raised his brows.

Calliope snapped forward again. Ridiculous man! Herr Mueller’s speech was not so comical as all that, merely a bit—dry. Nothing to laugh about. Why, then, did she want to burst into giggles all over again?

Clio, seated on her other side, whispered, “Must I play Miss Rogers now, Calliope?”

Miss Rogers had been a particularly stern governess of their childhood, prone to furious frowns and threats of the rod. She hadn’t lasted long with the young Muses. Thalia quickly dispatched her with the aid of a bag of frogs. “Of course not.”

“Then tell me what you are laughing at, before I perish of boredom!”

“I don’t know what I’m laughing at,” Calliope admitted.

“…and here we see the nine Archons of Athens, or so they are assumed to be,” Herr Mueller went on.

“I sense you are getting restless, fräulein,” Cameron whispered. “You are not paying attention to the lessons. However will you pass the examinations?”

“Be quiet, or I’ll have to pinch you,” Calliope hissed. Were they really to be trapped in Yorkshire with endless lectures? For the first time, the intrigues of the Lily Thief, the mystery surrounding his exploits, seemed truly exciting to her. A most welcome distraction.

If she could survive the days in Cameron’s company without completely losing her senses.

Calliope folded her hands in her lap, facing sternly forward again. But her calm attention was not to last. As Herr Mueller turned to the figures of the gods watching the procession, the doors to the lecture hall swung open. Everyone swivelled around to see who dared intrude on the sacred hush of the Antiquities Society, and slowly, gathering speed like an approaching thunderstorm, a chorus of whispers swept over the crowd. Even Herr Mueller sputtered away into nothingness.

“Oh! It’s an avenging spirit!” Lotty, who sat behind Calliope, moaned.

If only it was something so mundane, Calliope thought, but they were not so fortunate. It was the Duke of Averton. He stood there for a moment, perfectly still, framed by the open doors.

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.