Eros Element by Cecilia Dominic Read Free Book Online Page A

family money, though, so it might not matter so much to him.
    All the more reason to go on this expedition and achieve my own fortune.
    Now if only she felt more confident she could pull it off. Sophie appeared with a folded piece of paper and said, “Tea is ready, Miss, if you would like to take it. Cook has made tarts.”
    â€œI’ll be there in a minute.” Iris took the note from Sophie and ignored the throb of disapproval emanating from her. Iris unfolded the slip of paper to find a message from Johann Bledsoe: Edward Bailey will be packing tomorrow morning at nine o’clock. Suggest you help him.
    Why would he want me to help him? I thought he wanted me to stay away from him. A drop of sweat trickled down Iris’s temple. What sort of game is he playing?
    Aetherics Department, Huntington University, 08 June 1870
    When Edward arrived at his office, he found his old friends the water stains Hickory, Dickory and Dock had been painted over. The sun shone through the windows with obscene brightness, and he had to squint to make out the jumble his carefully organized books, journals and other things had become when the shelving had been moved away from the walls.
    â€œNow I’ll never be able to pack,” he lamented to anyone who might be in earshot. As it was summer and the department therefore quiet, his complaints met no ears but his own. Still, grumbling under his breath provided an outlet for the frustrating pressure that built from his middle. It was bad enough his biological schedule had been thrown off since Monday, when he’d had to take his morning tea twenty-one minutes early, and the cream puffs at his brother’s house the day before had seduced him into a heavier teatime than usual, which meant he ate his dinner on a non-empty stomach, which led to indigestion all night. Now here he was, his stomach unsettled along with his brain, and he would have to organize and pack with his mental faculties at the lowest they’d been in years.
    A knock on his door startled him, and he yelled, “Come in.”
    The two women from the meeting on Monday opened the door.
    â€œI can’t help you right now,” Edward snapped.
    The more petite of the two smiled with the same patient look in her eyes his mother had when he was demanding she do something he thought was reasonable but she didn’t. “We’re here to help you. Your friend Mister Bledsoe suggested it.”
    â€œWhat, why?”
    The woman, whom Edward recalled was named Miss McTavish, gestured to the mess. “He seemed to think you would require some assistance packing for our expedition, at least with regard to academic materials. I often helped my father pack for his trips, so I have some expertise in the matter.”
    Edward looked around the office and closed his eyes against the chaos. “I cannot be bothered to determine what is important and what isn’t, so I shall take everything.”
    Miss McTavish’s eyes widened, and he noticed their unusual dark bluish color, that of her namesake the iris. Fickle things, they bloomed for a short time in the late spring, and he supposed he couldn’t count on her to be constant for much longer than that. With her striking eyes and light blond hair, she was the type Johann went for—the dramatic ones like actresses and singers—so it wasn’t a surprise his friend had taken an interest in her. If Edward were to care about matters of the heart, he might allow himself to feel disappointed, but as it was, his friend was welcome to her and her meddling ways.
    â€œYou mean to take…everything?” Miss McTavish asked.
    The other young woman, Miss Smythe, coughed. “I believe he does, Miss McTavish.”
    â€œWell, of course,” Edward said. “While the rest of you are off traipsing about large cities that harbor who knows what diseases, I shall continue my work as best as I am able.”
    â€œSo you mean to bring