Page 35 of The Scandal You Started
“Because the time machine—the POTeM project—is a secret that the people of Neves don’t know about. Only the scientists, historians, and doctors at the lab, and a handful of other people actually know that time travel is possible, for the protection of the project itself and the people who are brought from the past, so it doesn’t end up being misused by the wrong people.
“Therefore, your true identity has to be kept a secret from everyone but those who know who you really are. Becauseobviously, bringing a marquess from six-three-five PR to the present is impossible.”
“Obviously,” he echoed with a grunt. “That isentirelyunfathomable.” She smiled so prettily at his sarcasm. “So only you know who I really am?”
“Other than everyone at the lab, you mean?” He nodded. “No. The Griffins...” She pointed past him in the direction of the other farmhouse. “The family that lives there, know who you really are. The lady’s name is Winnie—she made the stew we ate last night. There’s also her husband, Declan, who takes care of the horses, and their youngest son, Benedict. They know who you really are because Declan and Winnie still technically work for the POTeM project. Oh, and Kelly, River’s fiancée, knows too.”
At the mention ofthatman, Dominic rubbed his teeth together but nodded. “Then who am I if not a marquess to those who do not know?”
“Well, normally when a project is given to us, we’re given a deadline and then left to complete it on our own, so a Study won’t interact with anyone who might question why they’ve disappeared when they return home.”
She pointed a finger down at the table. “But for the project we’ve been assigned, we’ll be going to the museum and working with the team directly. I’ve only seen a project like this twice before, and it does complicate things a bit, because it means we have to create you a more detailed, believable persona so no one questions who you are.
“Thankfully, that has already been done for us by someone in the lab, but basically, you’re Dominic Thorne from the Region of Vindall. Same age, same birthday too, but the year will change to 845 PR. You moved to Jahandar seven years ago, where you’ve been running your own stables and rearing, breeding, and selling Khaasan horses for a living.”
“So I will be assisting on a project about horses?” he confirmed.
“Uh...no, actually.” She smiled laughingly at his confusion. “You breed horses for a living, but you studied history and curation at university, so on the side, you help private collectors catalogueTregencyartefacts—mainly letters and books. As aresult, you were hired as additional support to curate a selection of letters with me and theTregencyteam down at the Fronis Museum.
“So you’ll be assisting on a project about letters.”
Dominic gaped, both bemused and disbelieving. “Sweetheart...I would like to warn you now that I know absolutely nothing about cataloguing letters and books.”
Rayna waved him off like it wasn’t a big, blaring issue. “Don’t worry, I have all the notes you need on everything, including the details of your persona. We won’t be going to the museum until next week, where I’ll introduce you to the team, and we’ll learn more about the project, so you have enough time to familiarise yourself with everything.”
For a moment, he wanted to argue this wouldn't work, but she seemed rather confident, so he gave a conceding nod. “I suppose it is not such an awful plan.”
Her gaze narrowed. “It’s a great plan, actually.”
He rubbed two fingers over a shameless grin, then rolled his hand towards her. “What about you? What is your persona in this‘great plan’?”
She rolled her eyes and said, “I’m still me, historian Rayna Faez, and everything else about myself I’ve told you so far. But rather than working for the POTeM project, I work as an agent for a company called Two Worlds Research Limited—”
His brows flew to his hairline. “An agent? A royal agent? As in a spy?”
“No,” she said, amused. “An agent, as in someone who doesn’t have a fixed location of work but goes wherever they’re assigned. So I'm assigned to a project or at a museum by Two Worlds Research Limited whenever someone makes a request for support in my area of expertise, which is the seventh and eighth centuries.”
She flicked a hand between them. “In this case, you’ve been hired as a temporary agent by Two Worlds so that we can both support the museum project.”
He nodded once he grasped what she said. “And how often will we be going to this…what did you call it? Fronip Museum?”
“FronisMuseum. And I don’t know how often yet. We’ll find out when we go there. But my guess would be three times a week just from reading over the outline of the project.”
“And where is it? Or rather, where are we?”
“We’re in the north of Khaas in the Region of Olkmond, on the outskirts of a city called Redworth. The museum is in the city centre, about forty-five minutes from here.” She flashed a gleaming smile. “It’s the biggest museum in the region, rich in preserved artefacts and resources, so we’re lucky our project is based there. I think you’ll like it.”
Oh, Rayna.
At the sight of her innocent delight, he wished he shared her enthusiasm for museums if only to win her fondness. But the truth was quite the opposite.
Sucking in a breath through his teeth, Dominic scratched a set of fingers under his jaw. “I must admit, sweetheart...” He grimaced. “I cannot stand museums.”
Her lips parted, and her eyes lost their shine as if he’d told her he’d run over her dog with his carriage. As much as he wanted to laugh at her reaction, he also wanted to fall to his knees and beg her to forgive him as if he really had committed such an awful crime against her.
“What do you mean you can’t stand museums?” she said, her tone two pitches higher. “Museums are the best thing humans ever created. And you’re a curator. You can’t hate museums!”
He chuckled. “It is the very reason this cataloguing-curator identity of mine is bound to fail.”
