Even though he was wreaking havoc on her senses, and firing her imagination, she’d lust in private and put on her game face for the duration.
“Why would he make you wait so long?”
“He’s sure to be thrilled to see I’m back.”
The sarcasm dripping from his tone made it clear the comment was facetious. She took a sip of her drink, then held the glass between her hands on her lap. She was in no position to judge father-child relationships, but it seemed he and Daddy Dearest didn’t see eye to eye. “I’ll take a wild leap here and say you don’t get along.”
He picked up a small jade elephant, then returned it to the end of a line of five others in descending size on the mantel. “I was the Great Disappointment.”
She looked at him over the rim of the cut crystal glass housing her humble Coke. “No siblings to disperse the brunt?”
“An older brother, Garrett.” His fingers briefly whitened on the edge of the carved marble mantel. “He died on his twenty-first birthday.”
She absorbed the undertones, and her heart felt what she saw in his eyes before he masked it. “I’m sorry. Were you close?”
“Extremely. We—”
“James.” The man’s voice was cold and crisp. Isis looked over her shoulder, fumbling with her glass and the slippery seat to get to her feet as the Earl of Kilgetty greeted his son.
Thorne didn’t walk over to greet his father, and his father came only a few steps into the room. Neither extended a hand to shake. Thorne put his cup and saucer on the high mantel and turned back, his face expressionless. “You look well, Father.”
“I can’t say the same for you. I thought you’d gone to live in America.”
“Seattle, yes. This is Professor Magee’s daughter, Isis. Isis, the Earl.”
The Earl and his son were the same height and shared the same hazel eyes, but on the father the color was muddier and less interesting. He looked stern and unkind. Bitter. Isis had the irrational urge to rush over and stand beside Thorne in solidarity. It would’ve helped if he’d introduced his father by the way Isis was supposed to address him. My lord? Your Earliness? Hell.
“Pleased to meet you,” she decided was good enough. The Earl gave her a cool, disinterested look, his gaze flicking from her sneakers up her jean-clad legs and over the open Windbreaker, then landing on her wildly curling hair. He didn’t look impressed with what he was seeing. Too damned bad.
“How is August?”
“I’m afraid he has Alzheimer’s,” she said. “I suspect his condition was exacerbated by the attack he sustained on his last trip to Egypt.” She’d come to terms with her father’s illness, and her voice no longer broke as she shared the news.
“Yes,” the Earl said vaguely, with all the interest of one looking over yesterday’s newspaper, then turned his attention to his son. “Your mother is in Paris shopping. I’m sure she’ll be sorry to have missed you.”
“I’m sure she won’t give a damn,” Thorne returned flatly.
“That’s uncalled-for.” His father’s thin lips disappeared in disapproval. “Why are you here?”
“I’d like you to contact the museum and have them grant us access to Professor Magee’s artifacts.”
“To what purpose? This is an odd time to show an interest in Egyptology.” He tucked his fingertips into his jacket pocket like the man in the portrait nearby, as if he were posing for his own portrait.
Thorne’s eyes narrowed. “Have I ever requested a favor of you? Can’t you just do this because I ask?”
“They’re preparing to exhibit Magee’s discoveries. They will be available on the ninth of next month. You can see everything then with the rest of the public.”
Ouch.
“This is a time-sensitive matter,” Thorne said tightly. “I’ve already spoken to the museum. They won’t grant us full access. You, however, are not only on the board, you’re their biggest sponsor. Make the call.”
Thorne’s father glanced at Isis. “Forgive me, Miss Magee, but your father has had… issues in the past. His drinking became a serious problem, and his veracity came under question with each preposterous claim. It was only with the help of my public relations people that I was able to smooth the path to this exhibit, and restore some verisimilitude to a career spanning thirty years. I don’t want any adverse publicity to taint the exhibit at this juncture. What do you hope to find?”
“W—” Connor started to say hotly, but Isis cut them both off.