“Oh, you would have to put that scenario in my mind, wouldn’t you?”
“Hey, you raised that possibility when you thought he might be responsible for the dropped calls earlier this evening. But I’m sure we don’t have anything to worry about.” He tried for a grin, but it looked weak.
Amelia shook her head. “Forget sex. I couldn’t relax enough to enjoy it now, wondering if we were being observed by a voyeur.”
“Maybe we could go to a motel,” Jack suggested hopefully.
“No. It was a bad idea. Forget I mentioned it. Anyway, I’m not ordinarily in the habit of having sex with men I’ve just met. This is an unusual circumstance.”
“Think of it this way. Maybe we really met two hundred years ago.” He wasn’t smiling, and Amelia wondered if he’d experienced some of the same sensations she had, sensations that suggested they weren’t really strangers after all.
She cocked her head to one side and stared at him for a few seconds. His gaze was just as solemn as hers, but she wasn’t anywhere near ready to explore this particular topic with him. “I’m not sure what you’re trying to say.”
He shrugged. “Mainly I’m trying to backtrack and figure out some way to take you up on that offer of sex.”
Amelia finally smiled, but she still shook her head. “Sorry, but like I said, it was a bad idea. Maybe I was thinking of appeasing the duke in some way, but frankly, I’m tired of being jerked around by a hallucination. If he’s all that interested in sex, let him have sex with your hallucination.”
“In case you haven’t noticed, neither of them seems interested in the other. Unless they’re getting together to compare notes after they make you and me climax. Separately, unfortunately.”
“Argh! You’re just planting more and more unpleasant pictures in my mind. I think you’d better go now.”
Jack’s shoulders slumped, then his eyes brightened. “I can’t leave yet. You haven’t explained to me why the Hardwicke Act is so relevant to our situation.”
“I don’t want to talk about any of this again tonight. Call me tomorrow. In the meantime, try researching the Hardwicke Act online and read up on it yourself.”
“I’ve done that. It didn’t help all that much, but I’ll try again.” He grabbed the bag containing his laptop. “Look, I’m sorry if the way I reacted to your suggestion upset you. I’m just not accustomed to having visitors from the past, and I know you’re not either. Let’s continue the research and maybe we’ll figure out what’s going on.”
“Sure,” Amelia responded. She had a hand on his arm, gently herding him towards the door. “We’ll try again tomorrow.”
“Well, I certainly have renewed motivation to get rid of these damn visitors,” he announced. “Because I’ve got a strong feeling I’m not getting lucky until we do.”
Amelia laughed. “Getting rid of them might prove lucky in more ways than one.” She opened the door and held it while he stepped outside. “Give me a call tomorrow and we’ll talk about when we can get together.”
He agreed, said goodnight, and she closed the door and locked it behind him. Somehow, she didn’t think she’d ever felt lonelier than when she turned back around to an empty apartment.
Chapter Six
The duke arrived at his usual time, around three-thirty in the morning. Amelia had been asleep for less than two hours although she’d gone to bed early, simply because she couldn’t think of anything else to do.
She’d tried to continue transcribing the diary after Jack left, but Martha had gone back to writing her usual boring entries and Amelia couldn’t tolerate any more repetitive complaints about the weather or the servants. She then tried calling Julie, who wasn’t answering her cell, which Amelia took to mean that she was out with her new boyfriend. She even tried calling her parents, but she got their answering machine, then remembered it was bingo night at the
“Hey, you raised that possibility when you thought he might be responsible for the dropped calls earlier this evening. But I’m sure we don’t have anything to worry about.” He tried for a grin, but it looked weak.
Amelia shook her head. “Forget sex. I couldn’t relax enough to enjoy it now, wondering if we were being observed by a voyeur.”
“Maybe we could go to a motel,” Jack suggested hopefully.
“No. It was a bad idea. Forget I mentioned it. Anyway, I’m not ordinarily in the habit of having sex with men I’ve just met. This is an unusual circumstance.”
“Think of it this way. Maybe we really met two hundred years ago.” He wasn’t smiling, and Amelia wondered if he’d experienced some of the same sensations she had, sensations that suggested they weren’t really strangers after all.
She cocked her head to one side and stared at him for a few seconds. His gaze was just as solemn as hers, but she wasn’t anywhere near ready to explore this particular topic with him. “I’m not sure what you’re trying to say.”
He shrugged. “Mainly I’m trying to backtrack and figure out some way to take you up on that offer of sex.”
Amelia finally smiled, but she still shook her head. “Sorry, but like I said, it was a bad idea. Maybe I was thinking of appeasing the duke in some way, but frankly, I’m tired of being jerked around by a hallucination. If he’s all that interested in sex, let him have sex with your hallucination.”
“In case you haven’t noticed, neither of them seems interested in the other. Unless they’re getting together to compare notes after they make you and me climax. Separately, unfortunately.”
“Argh! You’re just planting more and more unpleasant pictures in my mind. I think you’d better go now.”
Jack’s shoulders slumped, then his eyes brightened. “I can’t leave yet. You haven’t explained to me why the Hardwicke Act is so relevant to our situation.”
“I don’t want to talk about any of this again tonight. Call me tomorrow. In the meantime, try researching the Hardwicke Act online and read up on it yourself.”
“I’ve done that. It didn’t help all that much, but I’ll try again.” He grabbed the bag containing his laptop. “Look, I’m sorry if the way I reacted to your suggestion upset you. I’m just not accustomed to having visitors from the past, and I know you’re not either. Let’s continue the research and maybe we’ll figure out what’s going on.”
“Sure,” Amelia responded. She had a hand on his arm, gently herding him towards the door. “We’ll try again tomorrow.”
“Well, I certainly have renewed motivation to get rid of these damn visitors,” he announced. “Because I’ve got a strong feeling I’m not getting lucky until we do.”
Amelia laughed. “Getting rid of them might prove lucky in more ways than one.” She opened the door and held it while he stepped outside. “Give me a call tomorrow and we’ll talk about when we can get together.”
He agreed, said goodnight, and she closed the door and locked it behind him. Somehow, she didn’t think she’d ever felt lonelier than when she turned back around to an empty apartment.
Chapter Six
The duke arrived at his usual time, around three-thirty in the morning. Amelia had been asleep for less than two hours although she’d gone to bed early, simply because she couldn’t think of anything else to do.
She’d tried to continue transcribing the diary after Jack left, but Martha had gone back to writing her usual boring entries and Amelia couldn’t tolerate any more repetitive complaints about the weather or the servants. She then tried calling Julie, who wasn’t answering her cell, which Amelia took to mean that she was out with her new boyfriend. She even tried calling her parents, but she got their answering machine, then remembered it was bingo night at the
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