held it to the window. Even to his untrained eye, it was extraordinary.
“No, he doesn’t.” She held out her hand. “I’ll put it under lock and key until we decide what we should do.”
Reyn dropped the bauble onto her palm. “We?”
She blushed again. “If it wasn’t for you rooting around in the box, I’d never know it was there, would I?” She put the jewel in her apron pocket, picked up the pen again and set back to work.
Most women would have been dazzled by the green stone, placing it like an imaginary ring on their finger, but not Maris Kelby. She returned to her measuring and analyzing, and it was a good ten minutes before she finished with the pre-Columbian lump. Reyn bided his time with a stroll to the window. The gardeners had moved to a different section of plantings and were inserting something into the ground rather than pulling something up.
There was a career for him. Of course he knew nothing about plants whatsoever, but it was good honest labor and out of doors instead of being shut up in grim book-lined rooms. Fresh air. Sunshine. Reyn didn’t mind the rain, either. His brawn would come in handy and he knew his way around a shovel, having dug a trench or two in his time. Ginny might think it a comedown for him, but once he explained his difficulties to her—
Damn. He’d never remember all the Latin names of herbs and flowers. Maybe he wouldn’t need to. He wasn’t too proud. He could be the under gardener.
Reyn realized he didn’t hear the pen scratching behind him anymore and turned. Maris Kelby smiled up at him, and he felt his heart turn over just a little.
“You seemed so lost in thought I didn’t want to tell you I’m ready for the next box.”
“Forgive me for shirking, my lady.” He strode across the room and lifted up box number six. If there was a gap between their stations, it would be a yawning cavern if he became an under gardener. At least now he was an ex-military officer, the son of a gentleman.
And he wasn’t a thief. He could have pocketed the emerald so easily.
The next two boxes held no more jewels or treasures of any kind. Reyn poked at the fire while Maris catalogued the odd assortment of objects that had caught Kelby eyes over the years. She explained what she was doing, but Reyn could work up no interest over chipped pottery and blackened candlesticks. When she was done and the items rejected, Reyn rewrapped everything but a Chinese plate and put it all back in the boxes. He walked the length of the attic returning the crates to their stack and brought a few more to the workroom.
Maris was tucking an errant brown curl back under her cap and had managed to smudge some ink on her cheek. Her hands and her cotton gloves were no longer white, and her spectacles had migrated to the end of her nose.
Reyn couldn’t help himself. He pulled them off, disentangling her cap and hair. “It’s time for a break, Lady Kelby.”
“We’ve only gone through three boxes!” Maris objected.
“Yes, and you’ve filled up half a ledger. You’ll get eyestrain. Your fingers must be numb, aye? And I’m bored to death standing around watching you work.”
“Well, now that you’ve observed the procedure, perhaps you could be trusted to work on a box of your own.”
Not bloody likely. “I have a better idea. It’s time for our other task.”
“Right n-now?”
She should not look quite so appealing. Her cap was askew, her face dirty. Reyn had been fighting an erection for half an hour.
Well, that’s what he was there for, wasn’t it?
He took her grimy fingers in his hand. “Now. The more often we have relations, the better your chances are for conceiving.” He hoped he was sounding reasonable, though he felt anything but.
Something was wrong with him . . . beyond the usual. Being shut up with Lady Kelby all morning had made him lose what little concentration he had. He’d have to take up whittling or something while she worked. He was going mad.
“I . . . there is a chaise behind the screen.”
He smiled down at her. “I know.” He’d noticed it yesterday as he was organizing boxes. He found the embroidered pillowcases a charming touch.
“We’re just going to get up and—” Her blush deepened.
“Oh, there will be some preliminaries, never fear. I’m not going to fall on you like