Page 95 of The Nature of a Lady
“Whatis?”
Really, how had her brother tolerated Sheridan for so long? She pulled away again, jumping at how close he was. He looked like he might shove her aside and peer through the eyepiece himself at any moment. Though at her scolding look, he inched away. A little. She cleared her throat. “The ink used on the wordcavelooks quite different from the drawing. It isn’t half so rusty.”
“Newer, then?” Oliver leaned against the table on her opposite side. “A later addition.”
“How much newer?” Beth tapped a thoughtful finger to her lip. “Indication that it’s been moved, do you think?”
“Or misdirection.” Sheridan straightened. “History is full of those, you know.”
They would have a better idea of that than she would, so she kept her attention on the parchment. Which was far more interesting than their conversation anyway. “Well now.”
“What? Well what?” Sheridan really did nudge her aside this time and put his own eye to the eyepiece. “What am I looking at?”
Libby scooted her chair a few inches away and sent her brother an exasperated look.
Bram just smirked back at her. “You knew what he was like before you agreed to marry him.”
Of all the ... “I didnotagree!”
Sheridan waved a hand in her direction. “Right, I know. I’m annoying and displace frogs. You don’t want to marry me. All well and good, but what in the world am Ilookingat?”
Beth nearly choked on a laugh. “You displace frogs?”
“With his excavations—he destroys their habitats.” Since he didn’t appear to be uncrowding her any time soon, Libby stood, which just led to his stealing the chair too. “And you’re looking at the parchment. It’s been scraped in that section.”
“Oh! So it has. That’s what those fibers are, I expect. That’s how they erased things, you know. Ink, from parchment. With a knife, I suppose.”
Libby folded her arms over her chest. “Perhaps that’s why I pointed it out.”
He didn’t seem to hear her mutter. “It does appear thinner there, and the scrape marks don’t match the area around it. And what’s this other bit? A shadow or...”
“Well, I don’t know. Someone stole my microscope from me before I could look any further.” She didn’t honestly expect that to garner any more of a response.
But he pulled back, stood, and waved to her chair with a sheepish grin. “Sorry. Almost. You might need to magnify it more—I daresay if I fiddled with any of the thingamabobs, I might find myself without fingers.”
“Smart man.” Bram looked far too amused.
Libby huffed and took her seat. She immediately saw what had grabbed his attention, on the side where the water damage began. It could well just be where the ink had washed over it. Or perhaps something more. She adjusted her lens to a higher magnification. And gasped.
“What!” Sheridan sounded frantic, but this time she’d fight him for the eyepiece if she must.
“Another word.” She nudged the mirror just a bit, smiling when the extra light shone through. “Yes. It looks likec-a—”
“Cave again?” Beth this time.
Oliver sighed. “Let her finish.” His hand settled on her shoulder, which was no doubt infuriating Bram. But it also told her that he knew she was on to something, and he trusted her to decipher whatever it was.
“Notcave. It looks like—anf. But then ...t? That doesn’t seem right.”
“Fors, do you think?” Oliver’s fingers tightened on her shoulder. “Historically, ansin the middle of a word looks more like ourfnow.”
And when he made the suggestion, it didn’t irritate her at all, just made victory swell in her chest. “Oh, quite right! I’d forgotten that. Definitely ansthen, making this ...castle.”
For a moment, silence descended as she straightened and looked at those gathered round. Then an utter cacophony erupted as everyone started talking at once. Libby stood again, her gaze seeking Oliver’s. “How many castles are there, exactly, in the Scillies?”
“Three.” He looked much like Beth had when he tapped a thoughtful finger to his lips. “Star Castle here on St. Mary’s. Then King Charles’s castle and Cromwell’s castle on Tresco.”
That was a lot of crumbling stone to look through. “How do we know which one Mucknell had a connection with?”
