Then, Laswell would find a way to take a Bocka Morrow ship, even if they had to sail south to do so since no ship from Bocka Morrow would sail north. Actions by both would bring the Navy down upon them and they’d all suffer.
He and Miranda worked in silence, each pulling books from the shelf, looking inside to make certain they were indeed books, before replacing them. He was making quick work of his shelves whereas she was not. For nearly each book, Miranda would read the title, then bring it close so that she could read the beginning of the book before returning it to the shelf. Others, she stacked behind her. He’d noted the titles as well, but as they were mostly novels, Wesley had little interest. However, if there’d been scientific journals, he might have set them aside as well. No matter how old, there was something always to be discovered.
It was odd, this working in silence. Normally, at least before that fateful day at Castle Keyvnor, he and Miranda had spent hours talking on nearly any subject. Sometimes they agreed, other times they argued, but in the end, it never really mattered who was right or who was wrong, because they were friends. Yes, he had wanted more. So much more, but what he missed the most, was his friend, and he’d ruined that friendship by kissing her. In turn, she had lied about why she didn’t attend the ball and Wesley could only determine that it was because she wanted nothing more than friendship, was afraid to hurt him with rejection, and regretted her actions in the clearing.
It did no good to wish that he could change anything, or hope that her heart longed for him, but he would like to return to what they’d shared before he kissed Miranda. This strained silence between them was not pleasant and he hoped she missed him as much as he missed her.
“Why are you keeping those books separate?”
“They sound interesting.”
“You can retrieve them later.” Why have a stack of books when she slept just beyond this room?
“I might forget where they are shelved and need to search again. This way, I’ll know where to find them if I take them to my chamber.” She grinned. “I promise to return them when I’m done reading.”
Wesley didn’t care one way or the other what she did with the books, as he didn’t own them. And, as the previous owner was dead, there was no concern that he’d object.
He’d begun searching the top of the shelves, but Miranda had begun on the bottom, and soon she reached those that were above her reach.
Wesley couldn’t help but smile as she stood on her tiptoes and tried to reach the next line of books. “I can get those for you,” he offered.
“That’s not necessary.” She sniffed. “I’m not one who needs to rely on a gentleman for assistance.”
Her words were true. Even though they’d conversed on many topics, she’d never needed him for anything. A part of him really liked that about Miranda, in that she was self-sufficient. But a man also liked to be needed by a woman, such as retrieving items that were out of reach.
Instead of accepting his assistance, however, Miranda pulled the chair over so that she could stand upon it to search the top two shelves.
“Please be careful,” Wesley insisted. Though the chair appeared to be sturdy enough, one wrong step could send her flying and possibly injuring herself.
As she continued to inspect every book she pulled off the shelves, setting some aside and putting others away, Wesley made quick work of his, searching more than twice the books she had in the same amount of time. Even though they’d both found some that contained documents, they were not the ones they sought. However, what papers that were discovered were placed on the desk for further inspection later. As they’d been there for decades already, it was unlikely they needed to remain a secret.
Chapter 11
How had she not realized that Uncle Jonathan had so many interesting books? Her stack to read now contained ten such books and once the wedding guests were gone, Miranda had every intention on sitting outside on her new terrace, enjoying her tea and reading as the breeze swept in from the ocean.
Sadly, they’d not yet found the documents they were looking for and Epworth had looked in three times as many books as she and was now right next to her.