“Oh, those would fit nicely in my reticule,” she said.
“They would,” Gideon agreed, “but I can’t see you flingingthese at anyone because there’s usually a great deal of blood involved if they meet their intended mark.”
“They’re probably not for me, then.”
“I would have to agree with you there,” he said before he pulled out a curious contraption he explained one could attach to one’s wrist and strap a small weapon to. He then showed her a retractable piece of metal that allowed the user to conceal a weapon under a sleeve while still being easily accessible with a push of a button that rested by the wrist.
After demonstrating how it was to be worn, he set it aside before directing her attention to an oriental vase that stored a variety of canes. To Adelaide’s delight, Gideon showed her one that concealed a sharp blade that was revealed through a twist of the ornate handle, another that shot darts out of the end of it, and a third that had a hard ball attached at the top instead of a handle, something Gideon called a skull-crusher, which sounded ominous indeed.
She picked up the cane that shot darts and tested the weight. “This might be an excellent weapon for me to use, and it would certainly lend me an air of originality if I were seen strolling around town with a cane.”
“It might also land you in jail if you were to shoot a dart at someone by mistake,” Camilla said, Charles nodding in agreement beside her.
Adelaide lifted her chin. “I’m sure it would be next to impossible to shoot someone with a dart cane by accident.”
She was not amused when Charles rolled his eyes. “Please. You shot me with an ice chip by accident only last year when it got stuck in your paper straw.”
“I didn’t realize blowing on it in a somewhat earnest manner would turn the ice into an unlikely missile, but no real harm was done. I mean, it’s not as if you lost an eye.”
“Only because I closed it before the ice struck,” Charles shot back. “And you seem to be conveniently forgetting the bruiseyour unintentional attack left on my face. Mother thought I’d gotten into a brawl, which resulted in an hourlong lecture about dangerous pastimes.”
Camilla gave a bit of a shudder. “I now find myself wondering if providing Adelaide with any type of weapon is a good idea.”
“It’s an excellent idea, since even though I’ll be heavily guarded, someone could very well slip past Charles, Leopold, or Vernon and try to accost me again,” Adelaide argued. She glanced over some of the guns hanging on the wall before moving in front of a silver pistol with a handle inlaid with mother-of-pearl. “Since everyone seems to believe the dart cane isn’t a viable option for me, what about this one? It’s pretty.”
“And would send you on your backside in a second because it has quite the recoil,” Gideon said.
“Then what exactly do you have in mind for me?”
Gideon’s gaze traveled over the wall before he nodded to an empty space. “It’s supposed to be right there, but Duncan, the associate of mine you saw at Bainswright Books, used it last week on an undercover mission and must have stowed it with some of my other weapons.”
“You have more weapons than what’s displayed here?” Adelaide asked.
“The business I’m in demands a well-stocked arsenal,” Gideon said, moving across the room and stopping beside a floor-to-ceiling shelf, filled with books that probably had something to do with espionage. He pulled the arm of a small gargoyle attached to the side of the bookshelf and then stood back as the shelf slid to the right, revealing yet another wall filled with guns that left Adelaide’s mouth dropping open again.
Her attention immediately settled on a fat-barreled pistol. “Is that a blunderbuss?”
“Good eye, and yes.”
She moved closer, gave the blunderbuss a once-over, and nodded. “I read about one of these in a story a few months back. Is that the weapon you have in mind for me?”
“Hardly,” Gideon didn’t hesitate to say.
“It looks manageable to me.”
“Looks can be deceiving because it operates similar to a cannon. You can add nails, glass, lead shot, or any combination of those to it, which then act as projectiles when the blunderbuss is fired. It’s a great weapon to use when you’re faced with multiple foes because the contents spew everywhere, increasing the odds of hitting your marks.”
She winced. “Spewing sounds somewhat dangerous, and I’d hate to shoot some innocuous bystander by accident.” She settled her sights on a gun that had three barrels, along with three hammers, and would certainly intimidate anyone who tried to threaten her. “What about that one?”
“That’s a Knights Templar, but no. The trigger is a little sensitive.”
It quickly became clear that Gideon wasn’t keen to let her use any of his most impressive weapons because he said no to the Assassin’s Creed, although he told Charles he was welcome to take it to a shooting range. He then said no to a gun with four barrels that a person rotated after two shots to access the other two barrels, and no to a femme fatale ring that had five barrels, saying he wouldn’t want her to take off a finger by accident. He even said no to a pepperbox, which didn’t have a barrel at all and was only meant to be used at close range but would have fit nicely into most of her reticules.
She began tapping her foot against the parquet floor. “I’m not sure why you brought us here if you’re hesitant to let me borrow any of your weapons.”
“I told you, I have a specific pistol in mind.” He strode over to one of the cabinets and pulled open a deep drawer, rummaged around in it, then smiled as he held up a gray hat withan unusually wide brim, paired with a large dome that had a wilted feather attached to it.
“I thought you said you had a weapon in mind for me. To point out the obvious, that’s a hat,” Adelaide said.
