Free Bella and the Beast by Olivia Drake Page A

thought of it caused an irresistible contraction deep in her core.
    No other man had ever affected her that way. Of course, no other man had ever lifted her skirts, either. Aylwin had a virile quality that he’d used deliberately to intimidate her. He had stolen her dagger, a fact that still infuriated her. He was a cad and a despot, and she looked forward to the moment when he would be forced to hand over Papa’s share of the pharaoh’s treasure.
    Lying alone in her darkened chamber the previous night, she had tossed and turned for a long time, mulling over every aspect of their encounter. The Duke of Aylwin was rude and blunt and arrogant. He had snarled and shouted at her, and paced the floor like the beast that he was.
    But she’d had the best of him. And he didn’t even know it.
    She had lied through her teeth to get him to hire her.
    Recalling those falsehoods, Bella reached for a linen towel to dry her face. She had never met Mr. Smithers. If ever the man had traveled overseas as a dealer in antiquities, she didn’t know about it. Lady Milford had instructed her to say those things. For some reason, the woman had gone to great lengths to pave the way for Bella.
    No, for her father.
    Lady Milford had admitted that she’d originally come to the cottage in Oxford to tell Papa about the position of curator. Bella still didn’t understand why. Had Lady Milford nurtured an affection for him all these years? If they were friends, why had Papa never mentioned the woman?
    Regardless of the reason, it seemed an excessive action for Lady Milford to take. Perhaps it was due to some sort of camaraderie between aristocrats. With a sigh, Bella gave up trying to understand the eccentricities of the nobility.
    But she didn’t regret the scheme to dupe Aylwin. Not one whit.
    Return to Oxford, Papa had gasped out on his deathbed. Promise me. Find Aylwin. Find the map . You have half the pharaoh’s treasure.
    Bella swallowed past the constriction in her throat. Now that she’d met the duke, and had seen for herself how cold and callous he was, she had a strong suspicion that he had cheated Papa out of his rightful share of the pharaoh’s treasure. It made her all the more determined to find the map and prove her case.

 
    Chapter 7
    Bella was too edgy to do more than pick at the breakfast of toast and hot chocolate that Nan had brought on a silver tray from the kitchen. By the time the ornate gilt clock on the mantel had chimed the hour of eight, she was ready to start work even though there was still an hour left before the appointed time.
    She checked herself in the pier glass one last time and turned around to view herself from all angles. The marine-blue gown provided by Mrs. Witheridge had a high neckline and long sleeves. Bella’s reflection appeared sober and efficient, especially with her hair drawn back in a severe bun. How had Aylwin disparagingly described the color? A middling brown.
    Pooh on him. Little did he know, it would serve her purpose to look ordinary, unremarkable, inconspicuous. To be the sort of female that no one noticed. By blending into the background, she would avoid attracting attention while she poked through Aylwin’s possessions.
    She left the dressing room to find Nan plumping the pillows on the large bed with the sky-blue canopy. “Does His Grace have a library?” Bella asked. “I should like to see it before I begin work. If you don’t mind, that is.”
    â€œStraightaway, miss. ’Tis easy to get lost in this grand house.”
    They left the bedchamber, the maidservant allowing Bella to precede her out the door. Their footsteps echoed through a long corridor with landscape paintings and myriad closed doors on either side.
    â€œAre these all bedchambers?” Bella asked, boggled by the thought. “Do the servants sleep here?”
    Nan giggled. “Oh, nay, ’twouldn’t be fitting! Our rooms are in the