Free The Janus Affair: A Ministry of Peculiar Occurrences Novel by Pip Ballantine, Tee Morris Page A

the sandwiches, the comforting warmth they still had, or feeling her fingertips brushing his; but suddenly Eliza’s wits returned—with a vengeance. “A delightful happenstance? Really, Douglas?” She fixed him with a sharp look, and eventually even he succumbed to it.
    “I misspoke,” he conceded, standing a little taller, “since you are correct. I came here hoping to find you. One of the local suffragists recognised you from your rather daring exploits the other day.”
    “Daring? Tosh.” Eliza stared down at Wellington’s slightly crumpled lunch for a moment, and then her eyes flicked up to his. “You know very well my line of work, Douglas.”
    “And I know you, and how you tend to tempt Fate.” His smile darkened slightly before he added, “Thank you, Eliza. It could have been my mother in that grate instead of poor Melinda.”
    Eliza felt heat rise in her again—but this time not only in her cheeks. Catching her breath, she noted Ihita looked between them, one of her eyebrows crooking. In her confusion, she had almost forgotten her colleague was with her. “Ihita Pujari, may I present Douglas Sheppard.”
    Douglas tipped his hat to the Indian. “Charmed.”
    Eliza had never seen Ihita’s eyes grow so large. “Douglas Sheppard ?” she asked. “As in Crossing the Void: My Adventures Across the Serengeti ? As in Touching Heaven: On Scaling Mount Everest ?”
    “Oh, you’ve read my journals?” Douglas blushed slightly, earning a silent eye-roll from Eliza. “Thank you so much for taking the time.”
    “Eliza, you never told me you were friends with the adventurer and explorer Douglas Sheppard!”
    Now it was Eliza’s turn to blush. “Ihita . . .”
    “Just friends?” Douglas smiled ever so slightly. “Well, I shouldn’t be surprised. I should have tried harder, I suppose.”
    Ihita looked back and forth between the two New Zealanders, and then understanding washed over her face. “Oh. Oh, I see. Well then . . .” Her imagination had to be running at a pace rivalling the White Star hypersteam. “I have no doubt the two of you have a lot to catch up on, so I’ll be off. Good day.”
    Then she was gone, clutching Brandon’s sandwich with both hands.
    Eliza knew there would be many questions to answer over luncheon tomorrow. She turned to her new companion. “I am glad to see you, Douglas.”
    “And that’s why you stopped to chat up Mother after saving her life? Find out if I had come along, how I was managing?”
    “Douglas—”
    “Perhaps the Good Lord gave you a sign the other morning? You are not some villain in our eyes. You’ve saved Mum’s life. Twice now.”
    “The first time the cost was too high,” she stated.
    “Are you still carrying that burden? It was Premier Seddon, not Mother, who sent you away. We miss you.” He dared to gently lift her chin up to him. “I miss you.”
    They stood there for a moment, their eyes locked in a stalemate of wills, until he relented by offering her the crook of his elbow. She took it easily. Despite it being years since she had seen him, some habits and relationships remained etched in the memory. His cologne also had not changed—clean and crisp, it reminded her of the Pacific.
    “So tell me,” Eliza began, breaking the momentary awkwardness, “what would truly possess Douglas Sheppard, gentleman, adventurer, and New Zealand man-about-town, to go just a bit out of his way—”
    “Oh, come now, would passage across two airships, one transcontinental train, and the Manchester express really put me out?”
    “Douglas, please don’t.” She kept her voice light, though being this near to him was reminding her how they had once promenaded around Auckland in such a manner, but with her head resting against his shoulder. “Why are you here? Talking to me?”
    “Do you think you really could just give my Mother a quick kia ora and then disappear without so much as a word on how you’ve been?” He cleared his throat. “I