“I could see you were enjoying yourself.”
“Could you? Oh. That makes me sound thoughtless, given the awful circumstances.”
“Don’t worry. I’m probably the only one who noticed.”
A knock at the door had Oscar rushing eagerly to open it. “Miss Wheeler, do come in. Gavin is here.”
She looked past him and lifted a hand in a wave. In it, she held the book. “Take it quickly. Mr. Defoe will be here any moment.”
Oscar accepted it and handed it to me without even glancing at it. “Leave him, Adele.” He grasped her hand between both of his. “Leave Defoe and come with us.”
She plucked out her hand. “Thank you for the offer, but I decline. Again.”
“May I write to you?”
“You may not.” She turned her head to the side, listening, as Mr. Defoe arrived. “Also, it’s Miss Wheeler to you.”
Mr. Defoe chuckled. “Give up, Barratt. She’ll never be trapped.”
Miss Wheeler kept her features schooled. “Goodbye, Mr. Barratt, Professor.”
I joined Oscar and held out my hand for her to shake. “Goodbye, Miss Wheeler. Mr. Defoe.”
She removed her hand from mine and offered it to Oscar. “I want to apologize for calling you an idiot after the second shooting. You’re not an idiot. Indeed, you’re far from it. In fact, you’re not a bad fellow.”
“Not bad?” He smiled slyly. “You do recall the way I stopped Jack the footman escaping from the drawing room, don’t you? He’s a big fellow.”
“Handsome, too,” she added, teasing.
“Some would say he’s not rough enough around the edges.” He scratched his goatee beard.
She rolled her eyes.
“Take the compliment, Barratt,” Mr. Defoe chimed in. “She doesn’t hand them out often.” He withdrew his watch from his waistcoat pocket and made a point of checking the time. “Come, Adele, we have a train to catch.”
“Goodbye, Mr. Barratt,” she said, tugging her hand to withdraw it from his.
Oscar lifted it to his lips. “Not goodbye,” he murmured against the glove. “I have a strong feeling we’ll meet again.”
Her gaze met his. Whatever she saw in his eyes unnerved her. She swallowed heavily and snatched her hand free. She picked up her umbrella, which she’d rested against the wall and joined Mr. Defoe. The gentleman touched the brim of his hat in farewell, offered his assistant his arm, and they headed off along the corridor.
Oscar watched them until they turned the corner, but Miss Wheeler did not look back. With a sigh, he closed the door.
I quickly checked the book to ensure it hadn’t incurred any damage and no pages had been torn out. While I trusted Miss Wheeler implicitly, I did not trust her employer. He may have found the book among her belongings while she was out investigating with us. It was in the same condition as the last time I’d seen it, thank goodness. I folded it against my chest and released a sigh that was more satisfied than Oscar’s disappointed one.
The last time I’d seen Oscar this smitten, he’d proposed to Lady Louisa. Before that, he’d been enamored of India Steele. Perhaps it was time to point out a sobering fact about Miss Wheeler to help him overcome this new infatuation before it ate away at him.
“She took advantage of us, Oscar. She knew you liked her, and that I would follow where you led, and she used that to manipulate us. Granted, her manipulations were for a good purpose, but the fact is, only a certain type of person does that.”
“One who is desperate? She wanted to find those women and she didn’t know how else to go about it. She couldn’t do it alone and Defoe wasn’t going to be of any use. I am happy to be manipulated, in this instance.”
It would seem I was too late. He was more infatuated with her than I had realized. That hadn’t taken long at all.
Oscar asked for the book, then placed it inside his valise before locking it. “Do you believe in fate, Gavin?”
“No.”
“Soulmates?”
