Sir Richard waved an arm in a vague gesture of acknowledgement, not in the least distressed by the description. ‘Very good, very good, this way now, the observatory is just down the hall.’ The directions were for Dashiell’s benefit. She’d been here before under the auspices of going out to see a girlfriend, but never at night.
‘The comet reappeared then? Elisabeth asked, catching up to Sir Richard.
His face lit up with excitement. ‘Yes, just as you thought it would. It was your calculations I used, Elisabeth. I spotted it last night for a brief time before the fog settled in.’
A thrill shot through her. ‘Mine? I was right?’ She turned to Dashiell with a quick explanation. ‘The comet passed perihelion on November 16 and then it disappeared. I calculated that it would return to our sphere of visual reference by December 20 and it has!’
Dashiell’s face registered a look of fuzzy congratulations as they stepped into the makeshift observatory but she hadn’t expected more. Most people were overwhelmed when she started talking astronomy. She turned back to Sir Richard, striding towards the long telescope. ‘Will we be able to see it?’ She already had her eye to the viewfinder, searching the sky.
She followed the familiar trail, starting north of Alpha Tauri, to Pollux then came the tricky part, travelling the path to Alpha Orion where the stars between Pollux and Alpha Orion weren’t visible yet. The whole path wouldn’t be visible until three in the morning if it was going to be visible at all under these conditions. Over and over, she traced the path with the telescope, hoping for a glimpse of the comet.
It wasn’t until she became aware of a mug of tea at her elbow that she recalled Dashiell.
Oh, dear! He must think she was a terrible ingrate. She’d ignored him almost entirely since she’d stepped into Sir Richard’s observatory.
Elisabeth stepped away from the telescope and rubbed her eyes. She reached for the tea and took a sip. She grimaced. It was tepid. The mug had been sitting awhile, further proof she’d shamelessly abandoned Dashiell to the chaos of Sir Richard’s observatory after referring to him as the transportation. Well, no wonder she was the Four Season Failure. Tonight proved she’d not earned the moniker without cause. A charming man had offered her a ride and look what she’d done with a plum of an opportunity.
She searched the disorganized room for Dashiell, part of her hoping he was still there.
She couldn’t find him amid the stacks of papers and charts left strewn across any available space. Elisabeth felt a sinking disappointment. One more man chased away by a woman’s scientific mind. It had been nice while it lasted. Better than nice. She’d remember those kisses in the carriage the rest of her life.
‘No luck?’
Elisabeth turned towards the door, startlement, relief and even disbelief a whirling mixture inside her. ‘I thought you had gone.’
‘Did you want me to go?’ Dashiell stood in the doorway, carrying a tray of sandwiches. ‘I thought I’d make myself useful. It looked like it was going to be a long night.’ The thoughtfulness of the gesture was as sexy as the man making it. She’d been a clumsy hostess by comparison, entirely lacking in manners.
‘No, it’s just that I’ve been terribly rude. I’ve abandoned you. I didn’t expect… Well, I didn’t expect this. I didn’t deserve this.’ Elisabeth cleared a space for the tray on one of Sir Richard’s long, cluttered work tables. ‘You made these?’
Dashiell laughed and picked up a sandwich, settling into one of Sir Richard’s old overstuffed chairs. ‘A man can cook, you know, especially if he doesn’t have to fire the oven.’
He was entirely masculine in that moment, sprawled in the chair, feet kicked up on one of Sir Richard’s much used hassocks. His coat had come off at some point, as had his waistcoat and cravat. When she’d met him he’d been dressed for dinner in London. Now, he was down to his trousers and a white linen shirt undone at the throat and rolled up at the sleeves. It occurred to her that his clothes had come off while she’d been busy watching the skies and she’d missed it.
Dashiell made an expansive gesture to include the room. ‘So this is what you climbed out the window for?’
‘Yes.’ Elisabeth took a sandwich and pulled up another hassock.
‘Was it worth it?’ Blue eyes the colour of an English summer sky studied her intently.
He wasn’t only asking about the comet. The heat she’d felt in the carriage rushed back.
‘Yes.’ Elisabeth swallowed, trying not to focus overmuch on his lips and finding it hard not to. ‘I haven’t spotted the comet yet, but perhaps later in the evening it will be more visible. The reports of the comet in August said visibility was better towards the end of astronomical twilight.’ It had to be. She’d risked too much, come too far, for it to be otherwise.