his enemies win.
Messalina made him weak. He knew she made him weak—and he didn’t care.
If she only smiled at him again, he’d become as docile as a lamb.
It was not until an hour later, as the carriage drew up before a rather dingy warehouse in Southwark, that he had a twinge of doubt about their destination.
He glanced at Messalina as he handed her out. “I hope you’re not disappointed. I thought you might like this, but if you don’t, we can certainly go elsewhere. In fact—”
His words were brought to a halt by her finger on his lips.
“I think I need to see what’s inside before I decide if I like it or not, don’t you?” she asked softly.
He nodded stiffly. “Of course.”
She laid her hand on his arm and something inside him stretched in satisfaction. He escorted her up the steps and into the building.
They entered a vast room with a high ceiling and worn wooden floor. The place was nearly packed with gentlemen—and a few ladies—all wandering the room and examining the items on display.
Messalina glanced around. “What is this place?”
“An auction house,” Gideon replied, watching her face closely.
He realized he was nervous. The emotion was alien to him. He’d never felt nervous when he’d stepped into the fighting ring with bigger, older men. But here with Messalina with what felt like his life on the line…
He inhaled and said, “The late Earl of Milton was an avid collector—to excess. He near bankrupted the earldom. His nephew, the new earl, put up for auction everything that was not entailed or an heirloom of the family.” Gideon indicated the room. “What you see here is that auction.”
Messalina’s eyebrows rose as she looked again at the room curiously. “But there aren’t that many things here. Although”—she nodded to what looked like a Greek statue of a stag—“what I see is quite lovely.”
“These are only a few of the items to be auctioned,” Gideon replied, drawing her closer to the statue. He pulled a pamphlet from his coat pocket. “The rest are described in here.”
“Oh.” Messalina took the pamphlet just as a bell was rung.
The attendees turned to the front of the room.
Gideon drummed his fingers on his knee. He’d spent days in his bed planning this. He didn’t know what he’d do if it didn’t work.
A tall, thin man in a gray wig mounted a small platform and in a surprisingly loud voice announced the first item to be auctioned. Four men emerged from a side room carrying an ugly table topped with purple marble.
The auctioneer gave a brief description of the table, and the bidding began.
Messalina wore a careful expression. “Erm…were you interested in that?”
“No.” He raised incredulous eyebrows. “Try examining page five in there.” He tapped the pamphlet in her hand.
She bent her head to turn the pages and then began reading the listings. He watched and knew at once when she’d come to the pertinent one.
She grew very still.
He’d meant to be composed and silent. Not say a thing until she decided on her own. But he simply couldn’t wait.
He leaned over her. “Do you want it?”
She glanced up at him, her gray eyes shining like silver. “You know I do.”
Gideon felt his entire body lighten. She liked his surprise—his gift to her. He was close enough that were he to bend only a little farther—mere inches—he could kiss her.
He murmured in her ear, “I thought you might want the earl’s library, but I didn’t know for certain.”
“But you brought me here anyway.” She smiled.
He basked in that smile like a man seeing the sun after decades underground.
Messalina bent her head to the catalogue again. “The library is over a thousand books and includes an illuminated Irish psalter, a bound quarto of Shakespeare’s plays, and the complete works of Euripides in custom red leather worked in gold.” She took a deep, ecstatic breath. “Oh, Gideon, I want everything in this library.”
He nodded. “Then we’ll buy the entire library.”
“But your idea.” She looked at him curiously. “I’ve never seen you read a book.”
“I don’t. Books have never been…” He shook his head. “I may not need them, but I know you do. And I like when you read to me.”
Messalina was silent as the auctioneer declared the winning bidder of the ugly table and the crowd seemed to all start gossiping together. There was a feeling of excitement and anticipation growing in the room.
He turned back to Messalina to find an expression on her face he could not