Page 34 of His Revelation
“I told ye I’d protect ye. How can I do that from a separate room?”
In the light of the waning afternoon sun, her eyes widened in surprise. “You think to”—she glanced around, then lowered her voice and her chin as she leaned toward him—“to share a room with me?”
“It’s no’ like I’m asking to sleep on yer pillow and eat from yer plate, milady. If we book separate rooms, especially at an establishment like this, it’ll be sending a message that ye’re available.”
Her chin rose defiantly. “It will send the message I can take care of myself. Besides, if we stay together in one room, everyone will assume we are…you know…married or something.”
That sour taste rose up his throat again as they reached the front of the hotel. “Och, and we cannae have people thinking someone likeyewould be married to the likes ofme, eh?”
She shot him a sharp glance. “You said you would protect me, and that includes my reputation, Lunzie.”
“It’ll ruin yer reputation to be seen with a one-eyed?—”
She threw up her hands in surrender. “And people thinkIam obsessed with my appearance!” Tiffany huffed as she rolled her eyes and tugged him toward the front desk and hissed at him under her breath, “I do not care what you look like, Lunzie. I am concerned about the fact you are my chaperone, and it would ruin my reputation were people back home to learn I slept with you—I mean, in the same room as you.”
She was right. Lysanderknewshe was right. He tried to keep himself from physically reacting to the thought of her sleeping with him, but it was difficult.
“Good afternoon, sir,” she said brightly, as they approached the young man behind the desk. “My brother and I need two rooms for tonight and tomorrow, next door to one another, so that he may protect my virtue.”
As the young man stammered and blushed and reached for his ledger, she sent Lysander a sweet smile. He glowered.
“Brother?” he murmured under his breath.
“Aye,brotherdear. Just give the nice man our names. I will let you take charge, but just this once.”
God help him, but her teasing made his lips twitch and threaten to give himself away.
It was time to admit it: He cared for Miss Tiffany Oliphant.
CHAPTER 8
The Curios Cabinetwas exactly the way Tiffany remembered it, which shouldn’t be possible, considering how many years had passed. The little bell over the door jingled as she stepped through, Lunzie right behind her, and the dusty dimness felt so familiar. She half expected old Mr. Ferguson to look up from his magnifying glass behind the counter.
Instead, there was a round and cheerful middle-aged woman behind the counter. “Hello,” she called out, but at the same moment, her expression fell. “Oh dear.”
“What is wrong?” Tiffany hurried over. “Can we help?”
The woman waved away the offer hurriedly. “Oh, no, no. I just didn’t expect customers this late in the afternoon, and neither did my brother. It’s his shop, you see; I just agreed to stand here while he popped over to the doctor to have a boil lanced—oh dear, I probably shouldn’t have told you that.”
Tiffany had pressed her lips together to keep from smiling at the woman’s torrent of over-information, and now she noddedsolemnly. “Medical inconveniences are such burdens, but he is lucky to have you to help.” Hopefully, she sounded sympathetic and not disgusted.
“Well, that’s kind of you to say so, Miss.” The woman’s expression lightened. “I’m not allowed to sell you anything—Jimmy didn’t give me the key to the till, you see—but I can let you browse, and you can return in the morning to purchase?”
She looked so hopeful that Tiffany’s comforting smile wasn’t at all forced. “That would be lovely, assuming you have what we are looking for.” She turned her body slightly to include Lunzie in the conversation, but he was looking around the shop with a confused little dip between his brows. “I used to frequent your establishment when I was younger and Mr. Ferguson was?—”
“Oh, he was our father!” The woman gave an excited little bounce and clapped her hands. It was clear she’d inherited her sire’s jolly attitude. “He passed on six years ago and left the shop to Jimmy! What a dear heart.”
Tiffany smiled at the memory. “Oh, yes he was. I am sorry for your loss, but I am glad I was able to know him. He always made me smile.”
The woman’s eyes looked a little watery, but they were crinkled in a smile. “Thank you for saying so, Miss. It’s always a pleasure to meet one of Papa’s friends. Now, you said you’re looking for something specific?”
“Ah…yes.” Tiffany turned in a slow circle. “There was a box…” She pointed to the back corner. “On a lower shelf there. It had items from the Oliphant clan, including several manuscripts. I was hoping you still had them?”
“Oh dear, oh dear,” the woman tsked, bustling out from behind the counter, toward the back corner. “I remember that box, becauseOliphantis such a funny word, don’t you think?” she called back over her shoulder as she disappeared into the dimness. “Ooooleeee-fant, sounds a bit likeelephant, aye?”
Tiffany pressed her gloved fingertips to her lips to hide her smile, and glanced at Lunzie. He stood with his arms crossed, leaning one hip against the counter—perhaps to take the weight off his hurt leg?—his green eye dancing in amusement.
He raised a brow and mouthed, “Elephant,” to her, and Tiffany had to smother her giggles.
