Page 40 of The Marquess of Temptation
"Oofh," Alex groaned, as the stone which she still held in her hand, thwacked the side of his ear. "You may drop your weapon, my Lady. I swear I'm not about to ravage you...just yet."
Hestia laughed and drew back, she made to drop the stone in her hand onto the grass, but before she could, Alex gave a gasp and reached out to grab her wrist.
"Wait," he whispered, taking the stone from her, his heart pounding with excitement. "Hestia, do you know what this is?"
He held the stone up for her to examine. Unlike the other stones in the garden, which were slate grey, this one was a pale yellow. It was flat and oblong shaped, and upon either side were strange etchings.
"It's not?" Hestia met his eyes, her own filled with wonder as she gazed upon the missing piece of Egyptian steele, that Alex had been searching for.
"It is!"
His cries of jubilation were interrupted by the Viscount, who had begun to stir from his slumber. Alex had near forgotten about the fiend in his delight at having been reunited with Hestia, and now the resurfacing of a long-thought-lost artifact.
"I'll tie him up, and then we can ride into Truro to find the local magistrate, and have him deal with him."
In a matter of minutes, Alex had bound the Viscount's hands and feet together with yarn from inside the cottage, he then took Hestia, seated side-saddle in his lap, into town. He left his wife in the safety of a warm bedroom in the local inn, and went to wake the magistrate --who was none too happy at being woken--and took him to Havisham. When Alex finally crept back into the room that he had left his wife in, he found Hestia sleeping soundly underneath fresh white sheets. Not wishing to disturb her, he removed his boots quietly, took off his coat and shirt, and slipped into the bed beside her.
Another man might have woken her and demanded his marital rights, but for Alex, just sharing a bed with his wife and having the pleasure of watching her slumber, was enough for now.
