Page 26 of Lord of Fortune
“Nothing you aren’t already aware of. I’m doing my best to put aside our initial meeting—and the fact that you want to defame my grandfather.”
“I want to do no such thing. Anyway, if I can overlook your trying to shoot me, surely you can move past any reservations you may have about me. Especially after meeting with the Ladies’ Society today.”
He made a valid point. “Clearly, I am trying to do that; otherwise, I wouldn’t have come,” she said. In an effort to change the topic, she looked around the library. “This is quite a collection.”
He followed her gaze. “It is. My father is a renowned medieval scholar who collects and translates rare books, but even his library isn’t this large.”
Amelia walked toward one of the walls of books. “How old is Septon that he’s accumulated such a huge collection?”
“He’s in his late fifties, but he inherited a large portion of this from someone he knew at Oxford.”
She turned to look at Penn. “Not a relative?”
“No, a friend.”
“How generous.” She finished her stroll to the bookshelf and walked along it until she reached a cavernous fireplace where a low fire burned.
Penn followed her. “It’s my understanding the man had no heirs, and he knew Septon would value it as much as he did—if not more.”
She turned to face Penn. “Do you know if this man was a member of the Order?”
“I don’t, but I’ve wondered. The members are either descendants of the knights, or, as in Septon’s case, they are scholars with an exceptional knowledge and understanding of Arthurian lore. I know this man—Pritchard—was a mentor to Septon. It’s possible he recruited him into the Order.”
Amelia shook her head as if that might somehow sort all the new information invading her brain since she’d met Penn Bowen two days ago. Had it just been two days? Everything seemed so different. She could measure time before encountering him and after. Put like that, their meeting seemed a significant event.
“This is all so much…bigger than I realized,” she said. “To think that my grandfather was somehow involved with this secret group is difficult for me to comprehend. His was a gentle, peaceful soul. He always seemed quite content with his books, his herb garden, and his family.” Her happiness and that of her father had been supremely important to him.
“We’ve no confirmation that your grandfather was involved with the Order at all.”
It was time to share at least some of what she knew with Penn. “I don’t know whether he was involved, but he was aware of them.”
Penn took a step toward her, his eyes widening. “In what way?”
She nodded. “He had a journal—I’ve brought it with me—and there’s one entry that mentions the Order.” She recited it from memory:
The Order will stop at nothing to find the treasures. Why? They proclaim they are protecting them, but there is something off. If only I’d been able to read the book. I feel certain it would provide the answers I seek.
“So that is why you didn’t seem surprised when I brought it up. What book is he referring to?”
“That I don’t know.” And the more she thought about it and tried to determine what it might be, the more she was convinced it was important. “It’s a mystery we’ll need to solve.”
He took another step toward her so that they were barely two feet apart. “We. I like the sound of that.”
There he went, flirting again, or at least infusing his words with heat and the hint of innuendo. And there went her body responding—a warmth building in her chest and a pleasure suffusing her limbs. It had been so long since a man had paid her attention. It was only natural she would feel flattered. It meant nothing.
She put her mind to the matter at hand. “I searched my grandfather’s library when I arrived home from Burrington, but nothing stood out to me. There’s nothing to do with the Thirteen Treasures at all, save a collection of medieval romances he transcribed, including Ranulf and Hilaria.”
“Did you also bring that by any chance?”
“I did.”
His gaze sparked with admiration. “You are going to be quite good at this. Hunting for antiquities, I mean.”
“Is that what we’re doing?”
He lifted a shoulder. “Iam. I’m looking for the Heart of Llanllwch.”
She narrowed her eyes at him and clasped her hands. “Well,Iam keeping an eye on you and will gleefully say, ‘I told you my grandfather’s was real,’ when you fail to find it.”
