Well, hell and damnation. He was about to discover just how much of a brother Ives really thought him to be.
***
“Do you believe me? That I copied with no intention of selling forgeries?”
Eva asked the question after they returned to the library.
“Of course.”
“There is no ‘of course’ in this, Gareth. I cannot prove it.”
She still appeared embarrassed, and very unhappy. He set his own concerns aside, and addressed hers. “Not all your copies went to Zwilliger. What happened to the others?”
“Mr. Stevenson sold some to people in Birmingham.”
“If necessary, we will talk to those people and learn what they think they bought. However, it is obvious to me that you and Stevenson handled it honestly. It was Zwilliger who stumbled upon an opportunity when he opened Stevenson’s shop door.”
“Obvious?”
“Your distress is sincere, as was his. Zwilliger played a role on a stage.”
A few sparks of humor glinted in her eyes. “Perhaps I play a role too.”
What a charming, ignorant thing to say. “Eva, after what we have shared, there is not anything you can hide from me.”
She smiled wryly. Almost sadly. “There are many things I hide from you very well, Gareth.” She gave her copies a long look, then turned away from them. “I will leave now. Rebecca is probably wondering what became of me.”
“The carriage waits. I told the man to keep it ready.”
She did not talk on the short ride to her house. Her poise and her silence discouraged him from embracing her and offering comfort.
She did not allow him to help her down, but made do on her own, clumsily.
“I thank you for hearing me out, Gareth, and not just thinking the worst of me.”
“I could never think the worst of you, Eva.”
“You may not have, but you were not sure. Nor can you ever be again, can you?”
She turned and walked to her house.
He did not tell the coachman to move on right away. He debated whether he should follow her, and to hell with her composure. He had left London with things to say to her. Important things. After the day’s revelations, it might be a long time now before he could speak them. He could still offer reassurance, though. Better than he had so far today.
He turned the latch and opened the door. He had no experience in really caring for a woman. It made him clumsy. She deserved better of him today than he had given her.
Suddenly, her voice broke the air, screaming his name. She appeared at her door, not at all composed. She called his name again, desperately, then disappeared.
He bolted out of the carriage and ran to her.
CHAPTER24
He charged into the house. Hearing him brought back a little sanity.
She called to him from the library. She stood near the front window, holding the piece of paper. Her hands shook so badly that the paper fluttered like a sparrow wing. She heard his step and turned, frightened and furious.
“What am I to do? I do not know what she means. I do not know what they want.” She wanted to sound calm. Instead she heard herself shrieking.
“She?”
