Eros Element by Cecilia Dominic Read Free Book Online Page B

equipment as well,” Miss McTavish said. “I assume you have a separate lab.”
    â€œOf course. Some of my devices are too delicate to trust to the crudeness of our transportation systems, but I shall take what I can.” He thought through his laboratory and what could be transported. “It should only require five or six crates. Let’s say six to be safe.”
    â€œYou haven’t traveled much, have you?” Miss McTavish asked him.
    â€œI’ve journeyed enough. My brother has an estate in the countryside. It’s a good ten miles outside of town. It can take an hour by steamcoach if the weather makes the roads muddy.”
    She tugged on the edges of her wrist-length gloves and flexed her fingers. “Let’s think this through, Professor Bailey. If you look at the itinerary, you’ll see we leave the continent of Europe at some point, and with it access to wheeled conveyances. Thus, you have to think about packing in terms of what you can fit on a horse or camel.”
    â€œA horse? You mean we may have to ride?” Edward spent as little time as possible around those smelly, biting brutes, and he pushed away the mocking voice from his memory. “What, are you scared of them? Is poor little Eddie afraid of the big bad horsie?”
    â€œI’m afraid so. This isn’t a pleasure trip.”
    â€œNo, that is apparent.” He took a deep breath and tried to blow out his frustration, but it didn’t help. If anything, it contributed to his anxiety about the whole thing being too big for his insides. No wonder he had an almost constant state of indigestion. Speaking of which… “Excuse me,” he told the two ladies and bolted from the office.
    â€œBig hairy ox’s bollocks.” Iris allowed herself to swear after the professor left the room.
    â€œMiss!” Sophie looked at her with a shocked expression.
    â€œI don’t know who to be angrier at, the ridiculous Professor Bailey or his friend who has gotten me into this situation.”
    â€œWhy are we here, Miss?” Sophie had been so busy packing their things for the journey that Iris hadn’t been able to fill her in on Bledsoe’s stealing the telegram.
    But if I tell her he has it and we are revealed, she may refuse to come with me for fear of exposure, and where would I be? I would have to excuse myself from the trip because I couldn’t go unchaperoned. And we’ll all be poor and ruined.
    â€œBecause Professor Bailey needs our help packing for the sake of the entire party’s sanity,” Iris said. “As you can tell, he’s somewhat quirky.”
    Sophie shot her an I don’t believe you glance but didn’t say anything. “It seems we should let him bring some sort of equipment to keep himself occupied on the trains and boats we’ll be on. And a book or two to keep him quiet.”
    â€œYes, that sounds wise.” It’s like packing for a child.
    The child himself returned with a worried expression and picked up a pen to toy with. Iris thought he would be much handsomer if he would relax, then wondered where that notion had popped up from.
    I have no desire to ponder whether Professor Bailey is good-looking or not.
    â€œOh, you’re still here,” he said, his tone indicating he did not find their continued presence to be pleasant.
    â€œYes,” Iris replied with a brightness she would use with a capricious toddler. “Perhaps you could aid us with your prodigious intelligence and let us know what would be most important for this particular journey. You can’t bring everything, I’m afraid,” she added before he responded that all of it was necessary.
    The professor closed his eyes for a moment, then opened them and looked around the office, anywhere but at her. “Well,” he said with the deliberate air of a man who picked his words from the torrent flowing through his brain, “we’re