Free A Thoroughly Compromised Lady by Bronwyn Scott Page A

could listen to Dulci talk all day, although given the choice there were other things he’d rather do with her. He’d wanted to see the artefacts but this evening appointment was proving ill founded. Fencing had been quite a stimulating exercise, her body pressed to his as he showed her the appropriate move and she’d not been immune.
    Jack was impressed with her reasoning and said so. Dulci shrugged. ‘I’ve picked up many tips from the lectures at the Royal Geographic Society. When they say something like that it seems so obvious, yet I wouldn’t have thought of it on my own. It’s quite a reminder about how locked into our worlds we get, the blinders we wear without knowing it.’
    â€˜Still, your applications of the knowledge are very insightful,’ Jack complimented.
    â€˜I am hoping Señor Ortiz can fill in some blanks for me, however. The British library was severely deficient in any relevant texts, another reason why I want to do an article,’ Dulci said with more enthusiasm than Jack liked. It was the second time she’d mentioned wanting to use the Spaniard as a resource.
    Jack had to prevent such a discussion from happening. It didn’t matter if this was the same cargo Ortiz was looking for, suspicion on Ortiz’s part would be enough. Jack did not want to think what lengths Ortiz might go to in order to retrieve the cargo. But now wasn’t the time to dissuade Dulci. He had to choose his moment. Jack picked up a heavy mortar to examine. He ran his hands over the smooth rock surface, an idea taking root. If this was the missing cargo, what would Ortiz be looking for? An artefact with a hidden cavity? If he could find the map first, he could use it to lead Ortiz away from Dulci.
    â€˜The tribes Schomburgk and I ran into on the Anegada mission were infamous for their booby-traps. There were all kinds of secret levers and counter weights to spring trap doors and such. Do you think the Arawak have secret hiding places? Have you read of any similar traditions?’ Jack kept a certain amount of levity in his tone. He didn’t want to appear too eager.
    Dulci knitted her brow, making an honest effort at recalling. ‘You mean like a false bottom? I haven’t heard of anything like that. It would be exciting though, wouldn’t it, to find a hidden treasure.’ She scanned the assortment of items on the table. ‘I am afraid most of these items are too small, and I’d doubt stone is very easy to carve out a hidey-hole in.’
    â€˜I suppose so.’ Jack assented. Many of the items did look too crudely carved from hard stone to hide a secret compartment with much skill. But his eyes silently lit on a wooden statue at the far end of the table and a collection of boxes with carved lids. He’d like to study those further without drawing Dulci’s attentions. Maps could be folded. They didn’t have to be rolled. Folded, they would take up far less room. A paper map could be folded down quite small.
    â€˜A single item contains an entire belief system if one knows how to look at it. This one tells me about their religious preferences. Nature is their god,’ Dulci was saying. ‘I think this item is almost beautiful.’ It was the soft, reverent quality of Dulci’s voice that drew his eyes to her and the item she held in the palm of her hand, a fertility fetish. ‘It’s been carved out of turquoise and someone spent hours polishing it. Perhaps it belonged to a tribal queen.’
    The fetish was beautiful and highly corporeal with its full breasts and round belly or maybe the moment owed its sensual over tones to Dulci’s voice. Jack felt his member stir in response. It had been stirring for the past three days since the first night in the ballroom, if the truth be told. Did Dulci have any idea how she was affecting him? The evening, the delightful company, the temptation of Dulci’s fire were over