“Brandy would be most appreciated,” Leopold said, rubbing his leg, “as will cheese and bread because I, for one, worked up quite the appetite retrieving poor Harvey from someone who was determined to hang on to him.”
Edna sat forward, a hand to her throat. “Someone tried to kitty-nap Harvey?”
“Indeed, although I don’t believe he was their objective. My books were,” Adelaide said, flipping open the basket and retrieving Harvey, who, quite like Adelaide, was looking disheveled, his fur matted with dirt and his expression forlorn.
“You need to start from the beginning,” Gideon said, pulling up a chair beside Adelaide and taking a seat.
She dashed a strand of inky black hair out of her face. “It all began as we were making our way toward a line of hansom cabs. Everything was normal until a boy jostled into me, almost knocking me off my feet. Jostles happen all the time, so I wasn’t alarmed, until another boy slammed into my other side, and then someone, it might have been the third one who showed up, but I’m not positive about that, snatched my parcel. As that boy was dashing away, I was suddenly confronted with another miscreant, who grabbed hold of my basket, wrenched it out of my hand, and raced down the sidewalk.”
“Adelaide didn’t hesitate to give chase,” Leopold said, settling a smile on Adelaide. “And while I know, my dear, that Vernon and I recently suggested you take up running in case you’re ever set upon by mad swans again, you are surprisingly fleet of foot. I was truly impressed when you hurtled over the small fence bordering that park and continued running without missing a stride.”
“Leopold and I weren’t that fortunate,” Vernon added as he took out a handkerchief and began dusting dirt from his jacket. “Leopold snagged his trousers on a wrought-iron stake, ripping them in the process. And while I thought I was going to clear the fence, I ended up facedown in the dirt.”
“By the time we got ourselves collected,” Leopold continued, “Adelaide was in the midst of a bout of ineffective fisticuffs with the thief who’d snatched her basket, neither of them landing many punches, which suggests our dear Adelaide might benefit from some instruction in hand-to-hand combat. We were just about to intervene when Adelaide snatched the thief’s hat and ... lo and behold, what we thought was a lad turned out to be a lass.” He touched his puffy eye. “That girl then dropped the basket, and in her attempt to flee, barreled into me. I snagged hold of her arm, and you could have knocked me over with a feather when she made a fist and planted it smack into my eye.”
“We’ve obviously lost our touch,” Vernon said rather forlornly. “There was a day when Leopold and I could take on numerous outlaws at one time, but today we were bested by a young girl.”
“And a tree,” Leopold added.
Gideon arched a brow. “A tree?”
“The lid to the basket came undone when the girl dropped it,” Adelaide said. “Harvey shot out of it as if he were on fire. He then dashed through the park and clambered up the tallest tree.”
“I offered to rescue him,” Leopold said.
“Which failed horribly because you got stuck,” Vernon said, earning a harrumph from Leopold in return.
“I wasn’t stuck. The tear I suffered from the fence debacle allowed my trousers to get snagged on a limb. They were stuck, not I.”
“Adelaide had to scale the tree to rescue you, but”—Vernon hurried to add—“not because I didn’t want to do the extrication myself.” He shook his head. “The second Adelaide realized I was reaching for a branch, well, bossy doesn’t begin to describe her immediate attitude.” He caught Gideon’s eye. “She told me in no uncertain terms that my rheumatism was sure to become aggravated if I climbed a tree. She then ordered meto stand back before she scrambled up the tree, an impressive feat considering she was wearing a gown.”
Adelaide caught Gideon’s eye. “Before you ask, I didn’t abandon my gown at any point because I didn’t believe it would be proper for me to shuck it off in the middle of Greenwich Village.”
It came as no surprise when silence descended over the parlor, the looks on Vernon’s and Leopold’s faces making it rather difficult for Gideon to resist a grin.
“Was abandoning your gown an option you were considering?” Leopold finally asked.
Adelaide’s eyes began to twinkle. “I only contemplate those types of actions when I’m relatively convinced no one will happen upon me.”
“A, ah, prudent contemplation if there ever was one,” Leopold muttered. “But to continue our story, after Adelaide got my trousers free—er, not that I took them off, she simply got the fabric unstuck—she helped me reach the ground and then climbed up the tree again and rescued Harvey.”
Even though he was in the midst of a concerning circumstance, to be sure, Gideon was finding himself plagued with the distinct urge to laugh over the telling of what had to have been a most trying situation, even though it appeared Adelaide and her elderly chaperones had weathered an attack quite well—give or take a few bruises, some dirt, ripped trousers, and one traumatized kitten, who was now sound asleep on Adelaide’s shoulder, emitting little snores.
“We then had to find a hired hack,” Adelaide continued. “That turned into a bit of a debacle because most of the drivers thought we were looking far too derelict to allow us access into what everyone knows are questionable interiors in the first place.”
“It took us seven attempts before we finally found a driver willing to take our money,” Vernon said. “I had to offer him triple his normal rate to drive us here.”
“All in all, it was a troubling afternoon,” Leopold said. “Poor Adelaide not only had to rescue me and Harvey as well as participate in a bit of a brawl, but she also lost her new books to thieves, although...” He frowned. “I find it interesting that Vernon and I weren’t relieved of our recent purchases.”
Gideon shot a glance to Adelaide. “You were the only victim of theft?”
“Indeed, and if you ask me, that was telling.” She turned to Mr. Timken, who was pushing a tea cart into the room, and waited until he passed tea all around, along with glasses of brandy to Vernon and Leopold. She took a sip of her tea, then set aside the cup and caught Gideon’s eye. “Someone evidently wanted one of the books I bought today and took extreme measures to get it.”
“Were the books valuable?” Gideon asked.
“Not at all. One was an illustrated copy of medicinal herbs, but it was in grim shape, which was why Mr. Bainswright sold it to me for a few dollars.” She nodded to Edna. “I’d forgotten what one of the other books was until I saw you. It was a collection of sheet music I thought you would enjoy since you’ve taken on the responsibility of playing for our dance sessions every evening.”
Edna smiled. “What a thoughtful young lady you are, my dear. I’m sure I would have enjoyed some new songs to play.”
