Chapter Nine

T he after-dinner round of cigarettes and brandy that night seemed interminable to Julius. His grandfather's smoking room, decorated to resemble a cooling-room in a Turkish bath, was hazy with smoke, not unexpected as all the Quartermains indulged in their grandfather's store of fine Turkish tobacco. Tonight, however, the last thing Julius wanted was for the gentlemen to linger, talking about the wager, weddings, and when the next one of them would find a bride.

"So, who's next?" Alex took a long drag on his cigarette and sent a long tendril of smoke shooting upward. "Three down, three to go." He turned to Julius with a smirk. "Are you still wooing Lady Augusta? After your last drubbing from her at the chessboard, I'd have thought you'd leave well enough alone and seek another prospective bride. Tempus fugit , Jules."

It took all of his patience not to bark a retort at his cousin, but Julius refrained from engaging with him. The sooner they quit talking, the sooner they could join the ladies. "No, I'm not, Alex. I'm traveling to London with Mother when I quit here. She'd promised to introduce me around to some of her friends' daughters. I hope to have an announcement for the family by spring." That he managed to keep the misery out of his voice was a miracle.

"She led you a merry chase, Boxted." Grandfather came over and draped an arm around his shoulders. "I'd hoped you'd have made a match of it. It would have been a solid alliance for the family and she seemed to suit you." His grandfather peered at him and Julius shrank back. "Are you certain you don't want to continue your attentions to her?"

"I'm afraid not, Grandfather." Julius had to find a way to make the torture stop. "I discovered that her affections lie with another gentleman. I have tried, as you know, to persuade her to transfer those affections to me, but she assures me her mind is quite fixed upon him. I will not disrespect the lady with further offers for her hand."

His grandfather gripped his shoulder in sympathy, then shook his head. "A shame, Boxted, but your instincts are correct. Mustn't devil the lady if she's made up her mind elsewhere." He released Julius and strode to the sideboard to refresh his glass. "Never fear. There are plenty of ladies who will be happy to bear the title of Lady Boxted."

Unfortunately, the only lady he wanted to marry did not.

Mercifully, the party broke up a quarter of an hour later, Julius being the first one out the door. He strode down the long corridor from the back of the house, where the smoking room had been relegated by his grandmother, who hated the smell of the tobacco, and at last entered the drawing room. He gazed all around the room, searching for the single lady he sought. At last his eyes hit upon her figure, standing at the window that overlooked the back lawn, gazing out into the darkness. With a sigh of relief at finding her to herself, Julius hurried toward her.

"Good evening, Lady Augusta." He bowed and waited for her to turn toward him, anticipating the moment he could look on her face once more.

"So you are speaking to me, Lord Boxted." The words were spoken with a hint of surprise wrapped in a cloak of sarcasm. "Had I wagered upon it, I fear I would have lost that bet."

Well, he'd known she'd been offended by his recent standoffish manner. "My lady, I beg your pardon. I have been remiss recently in not taking the time to converse with you. I pray you will forgive me, but I have been occupied with the preparations for Yule's wedding." That was a flat falsehood, but he hoped she didn't know that. The lie was better than telling her he'd been avoiding her. "But now the wedding is done, and I want very much to talk with you."

"Indeed, Lord Boxted." She turned to him at last, her face all frowns. "What could you wish to say to me?"

I love you and want to marry you with every fiber of my being . That's what he longed to say to her, but couldn't. "It's more of a question, really."

Lady Augusta straightened her shoulders and drew herself up to her full height. Her nose flared, her eyes snapped, and her chest jutted out, her magnificent breasts heaving with indignation. "What question could you possibly wish to ask me, my lord?"

"Would you please come out for a carriage ride with me tomorrow?"

As if his question had deflated her, Lady Augusta sank back on her heels, her shoulders now slumped. "What? Why do you want me to go driving with you?"

"Because I wish to spend time with you, my lady." The truth of that rang in his voice. "I have not had the opportunity to do so since we were at the Kastners' party, and I very much want to make amends for that." He looked at her with pleading eyes. "Will you come?"

She stared at him, her breath coming in little gasps as she thought about her answer. What he would do if she refused, he didn't know. Abandon the scheme, he supposed. But he so hoped she would agree. More than anything he wanted to give her this one little adventure before they parted company.

"Very well." There was still doubt in her face, but now that she'd agreed, he knew she wouldn't renege on him. "What time should I be ready? And where are we going?"

"I think after breakfast will be best." He gave her a sly look. "As to our destination, that must remain a mystery for the time being. However, I do have one piece of advice for you."

"Pray there will be no stags tomorrow?" He so adored her wry wit.

"No." He grinned broadly at her. "Dress for adventure."

*

Once more Augusta found herself wrapped well against the cold, waiting in the foyer for Lord Boxted. His cryptic advice to "dress for adventure" had intrigued her, although she had no idea what he was up to. Nor what exactly she should wear. There was no sort of adventure she could think of to be had in Hertfordshire.

There were no jungles to explore, no ruins to uncover, no river rapids to shoot. Well, there was the Mimram River that ran through the property. She'd seen it when they'd arrived for the wedding. But the river had looked broad, scarcely deep enough to float a boat, much less allow them to paddle down it. So the adventure Lord Boxted had alluded to must be of his own invention. Which actually made his request for her company all the more appealing to Augusta, once she put aside her pique at his strange behavior the past few days.

She'd hoped they would meet during the holidays—somehow she'd clung to his suggestion of going to London to see the pantomimes until she'd believed it was a fait accompli . But her parents had preferred to remain at home and Augusta had passed a quiet and dull Christmas, much as she always had. So when her mother had announced they were traveling to Welwyn Manor at the duke's request for the marriage of his grandson, she'd literally jumped for joy and danced around her bedchamber. Because she knew, without a doubt, Lord Boxted would be in attendance.

Much to her consternation, in the weeks since their thrilling sleigh ride—and that unexpected kiss—Augusta had thought constantly about Lord Boxted. Even though she'd always found him attentive as a suitor, she'd never seriously considered marrying him. She'd been convinced she would marry Mr. Burton and set out on a life of freedom and adventure. Absence was supposed to make the heart grow fonder, according to the poets, however her regard for Mr. Burton had seriously dwindled over the many months since she'd last heard from him.

Especially after her last meeting with Lord Boxted, who had shown his mettle admirably in bringing their sleighing adventure to a safe end. The gentleman's ready smile, easy conversation, and his long list of travels, while not as impressive as Mr. Burton's, certainly gave him the air of a debonair adventurer. Not to mention his excellent skill at chess coupled with his ability to take his losses to a lady with a grace not many gentlemen would possess.

All these considerations had come to the forefront when, just after the new year, her father had received a letter from Mr. Burton announcing his forthcoming marriage to Miss Isabelle Arundell. Father had sat her down in his study and ordered strong tea before he read the letter to her. Perhaps he'd expected hysterics from her, and rightly so considering how stridently she'd proclaimed she would marry Mr. Burton no matter what he and her mother had said. Instead, she'd had scarcely a twinge of regret, which she noted had puzzled her father immensely. She hadn't told him of the relief she'd felt upon hearing the news. Nor of her newfound regard for Lord Boxted. So she'd been excited to learn they were to journey to Welwyn Manor to the wedding.

But Lord Boxted had turned into an absolute boor toward her. When they'd met on the first evening, he'd scarcely spoken two words to her other than good evening. He'd avoided her after dinner as though she'd offended his closest relations, and had steadfastly refused to even look at her during the wedding or the breakfast. If she'd not had the company of her dearest friend Emma Bancroft, and her counsel not to ask Lord Boxted directly what was wrong with him, she'd have gone mad. Was there any wonder she'd been surly toward his lordship when he finally approached her last evening?

"Good morning, my lady."

She turned to find Lord Boxted, a charming smile on his lips, fastening his gray overcoat and looking more handsome than she'd ever seen him.

"Are you ready to set off on our expedition?"

Augusta pulled on her gloves. "That depends on where we are going. An expedition to the market in Welwyn will scarcely count as much as a daring trek across the Andes."

"You will have to wait a little longer for our destination to be revealed," he said, his eyes twinkling with mischief, "however I assure you it is neither the market nor the mountains."

"Very well, my lord. Lead the way." She declined his arm and marched out the door to the carriage, although she did allow him to assist her into it. Without hoops, she didn't want the long skirts of her riding habit to get caught on the carriage steps so she landed unceremoniously on the floorboards in front of his lordship. "I hope this outfit will suffice as adventure ‘dress.' I have no idea what an adventurer wears in the wilds of Hertfordshire."

"Oh, you have chosen wisely, my lady. I believe your riding habit will suit the day's activity admirably." He tapped on the trap and the coachman opened it. "Drive on, Talbot."

Augusta gazed at him with narrowed eyes. "He knows where to go?"

"Yes, he does." Lord Boxted looked serenely out the window.

"And I am not to know?"

Smiling, Lord Boxted shook his head. "That would be telling, and I don't want to ruin the surprise." With that, he chuckled heartily.

Interest piqued in spite of her companion's glee, Augusta peered out the window at the wide fallow fields which quickly gave on to forested lands. The trees were thickly clustered, but as before in December, their leaves had left them spiky towers of black sunk into the pristine white snow. A landscape beautiful in its starkness.

Before long the carriage turned off the road and struck off to the right onto a faint pathway scarcely wide enough for a vehicle to navigate. Perhaps the adventure was beginning, although all Augusta could think was she hoped they did not get stuck in the snow and mud. The pathway wound through the trees toward a steep embankment that ran for some way in either direction. Curiosity rising, Augusta glanced at Lord Boxted who was smiling again.

"We're here."

The carriage pulled to a halt, seemingly in the middle of nowhere. The embankment before them seemed unremarkable, the grass and leaves covered in snow.

"Where is here?"

Lord Boxted opened the door, jumped down, then held out his hand to her. "The adventure begins."

Completely unsure what to think, or how to respond, Augusta put her hand in his, the warmth of him penetrating both his glove and hers. She stepped to the ground and gazed all around, confused as to why Lord Boxted believed a stroll in the snow and mud would constitute an adventure.

"Here you are, my lord." The coachman handed Lord Boxted two round glass-paned lanterns, the candles already lit.

"Thank you, Talbot." He took the lanterns, inspected them briefly, then handed one to Augusta. "Here. Follow me."

Amazed and amused, Augusta took the lantern and dutifully followed him toward the embankment. "Are you expecting an eclipse, my lord?"

Her turned back to her, his lips curled in amusement. "Not exactly. This way." He led her right up to the point where the land began to slope upward, then stood back peering at the thick leaves and vines covering the ground under the snow. Two more paces to the right and he handed his lantern to her, then reached forward, grasped the undergrowth, and parted it.

A slight rush of cold air brushed Augusta's face as a dark opening appeared where Lord Boxted had moved the dead leaves, revealing a round opening in the earth, the edge ringed in stone.

Augusta gasped, her body trembling from excitement. "It's a cave?"

"Not just any cave, my lady. Here, hand me the lantern and let me go first." Lord Boxted took the light, holding it up near the top of the opening. "Give me your right hand and hold the lantern with your left."

She readily complied, trying to look everywhere at once. The smoothness of the stones suggested the rocks were not put there by nature. "Did the duke have this built? Or is it left over from an older mining operation?"

"Wrong on both counts." There was eagerness in Lord Boxted's voice. "But you are correct, it was built by someone." He walked slowly inside the cave and, trembling with excitement, Augusta followed.

The ground wasn't paved so she had to watch her step, but she trusted Lord Boxted implicitly. As they moved further into the cave, the outside light dimmed and they became dependent on the small circle illuminated by the lanterns. They revealed the sides of the cave were pockmarked here and there where stones had been dislodged, falling to the ground and making for treacherous footing.

Lord Boxted seemed sure-footed, however, and as the cave curved, he held his lantern higher, shedding more light into the cavern where the tunnel opened out. "This is what I wanted you to see, my lady."

Augusta held her lantern high as well, the small flame bringing into relief broken walls made of stone in the shape of a rectangle. A smooth section of stone seemed to rest atop the walls, although it was partially broken as well. She turned to Lord Boxted, her mouth agape. "What is this place?"

"As nearly as we have been able to find out, it is the ruins of a Roman bath house." Even in the flickering light, the excitement in his face was unmistakable.

"Roman ruins?" Heart beating so hard she had to gasp in air, August gazed back at the walls, imagining the ancient Romans who had inhabited Britain thousands of years ago standing where she now stood, going about their ordinary lives, getting ready to bathe. Awe filled her as never before. This was what it felt like to be an adventurer, to unearth something that no one had ever looked on before. Even though Lord Boxted obviously knew of it, still few people had stood where she was, looking at it. And now she was one of those few. Overwhelmed, Augusta had to simply concentrate on breathing.

When she could finally speak again, she asked, "How long have you known about this?"

"Oh, since I was a boy. Here, let's go this way." He led her forward, toward a smaller, round hole in the ground, also lined with stone. "Being brought to the baths was a rite of passage in the Quartermain family. About the time a boy reached the age of ten, Grandfather and some of the older family members would bring him out here and show him the ruins. He'd explain what they were, why the artifacts were important, and why it must be kept a secret."

"A secret?" Augusta looked back at him, frowning. "Why keep it secret? This find could be another Pompeii."

"For that very reason." Lord Boxted nodded. "I've been asking my grandfather to allow an archeologist to excavate these ruins completely ever since I was old enough to understand their importance. He does not want the site disturbed, doesn't want the Welwyn area to become overrun with all the people and machinery it would take to unearth the baths. Or the eyesore the area would become removing the tons and tons of earth it would take to bring the ruins to light."

"I suppose I understand that." Augusta gazed at the round hole, fascinated and frustrated at the same time. "It's a shame, however, that we can't know what these different areas were."

"The first area, the rectangle room is most likely the warm room. Romans had three rooms for bathing—a warm room, a hot room, and a cold room or bath." Lord Boxted moved them closer to the round area again. "This, I think, is the cold bath or pool, for cooling off after you came out of the hot bath." He raised his lantern again. "At the far end there is where they would have stoked a fire. Closest to that is a small room that would have been the hottest. The Romans sat there and steamed themselves. Then they moved into the warm pool to begin cooling down, then plunged into the cold water to finish their bath."

Augusta gazed up at him, awestruck. "How do you know all this?"

He shrugged. "I was curious, so I went to Bath and studied the baths there. Then I did extensive reading on the ancient Romans, especially anything on their architecture or on their baths." A satisfied smile curled Lord Boxted's lips. "My hope is that when my cousin, Lord Royden, inherits the dukedom, he will finally allow an excavation to begin. But until then, the family has a lovely little secret all to itself." He smiled at her, that joy on his face once more. "Don't you think so? I thought you would enjoy seeing it."

So much could hinge on the briefest moment of clarity.

Lord Boxted had known of these ruins for years, had visited them, studied them, knew them intimately. Yet the joy on his face when he first showed her the ruins was as though he was seeing them for the very first time. Because his pleasure wasn't in the ruins themselves this time, but in the joy it brought her . He truly understood what she desired in life and had managed to find a way to give it to her.

In that moment of perfect clarity, Augusta fell completely in love with Lord Boxted. It didn't matter that they were in the dark, they were cold, the air was dank, or the candles were flickering dangerously. All that mattered was that she loved him, wanted to be with him for the rest of her life. Who wouldn't wish to be with the man who would find a way to grant her wishes, even if they seemed impossible. Their life together would be the best adventure of all.

Suddenly, Augusta realized that she hadn't answered his question and the smile had begun to slip. "Oh, yes, my lord," she gushed, which she never did. "I cannot thank you enough for showing me a real archeological dig. This has quite been the adventure."

His smile returned, lighting up his face until her heart pounded like a hammer. She could stand and stare at him for the rest of eternity. But the chill was seeping through her shoes, and her shivers now were from cold rather than elation.

"Then I am a happy man, Lady Augusta." He gazed at her with such longing, she thought her heart would melt. "I wished to give you at least a taste of the adventure you seek." He sighed and glanced around the cavern. "We had best be getting back to the carriage. I tend to visit the ruins in the summer and it is cold here even then. The last thing I wish to do is give you a severe chill."

The heat Lord Boxted was generating through their clasped hands would keep some of the cold at bay, but he was correct. It was time to go, though she was loath to give up exploring the ruin. But she was comforted by the thought that they could return in the summer as he said, every summer or as often as they wished. She squeezed his hand. Once they were married they could find adventures whenever they chose. "Thank you, my lord. I do think that may be best."

The carriage ride home would be the perfect time for him to propose to her. After showing her how much he cared for her by bringing her here, the natural thing would be to ask her once more to marry him. She had been a fool to refuse him before, but she would not be so foolish now. As they picked their way back through the cavern and down the tunnel toward the light, Augusta could not remember ever being as happy as she was at this moment. She could imagine only one other that would exceed it—when she said "yes" to Lord Boxted.