“Is that right?” Mr. Dorian said flatly, making no attempt to hide his disinterest.
But the young man didn’t appear to notice. “It happened to a friend of my uncle’s. Or was it his cousin? Anyway, that’s not important …”
We spent the rest of the ride being subjected to a very long and convoluted story about a man losing his change purse in a pub and then having it returned to him by his long-lost brother, who happened to pass through not an hour after him.
“Now wouldn’t that make an excellent story?” the young man said as the elevator bobbed to a stop.
Mr. Dorian eyed the door, which remained closed, and quickly nodded. “I will take it into consideration.”
The young man looked thrilled. “Really? I can’t wait to tell him!”
“Now, please, open the door,” Mr. Dorian said tightly, and I noticed the panicked look in his eyes.
“Oh, right. My apologies, sir,” the young man said with a laugh and pushed open the door.
Mr. Dorian practically hurled himself out of the elevator, while I gave the attendant an apologetic smile as I exited.
“I’ve had that exact nightmare before,” Mr. Dorian muttered once I was by his side.
“I didn’t know you had an aversion to small spaces,” I replied as we made our way back through the lobby.
“I have an aversion to being trapped with a dullard and forced to listen to his inane suggestions,” he snapped.
“It wasn’t all that bad. Why, I’m sure Arthur Conan Doyle could turn that into an excellent Sherlock Holmes story.”
A weaker person may have been cowed by the withering look he cast me then, but I could only smile back. I hadn’t had the chance to annoy him like this in a very long time, and I confess, I rather missed it.
Once we were back outside on the pavement, Mr. Dorian turned to me. “What next? Shall we meet tomorrow to prepare for our visit to the auction house?”
I shook my head. “I’m visiting Cleo at her school.” I went every Saturday and would continue to do so as long as my daughter welcomed me. “And I’m sure if you will come to my aunt’s flat an hour beforehand, we can discuss the details. No need for this to take up more time than necessary.”
Something flashed in Mr. Dorian’s eyes too quickly for me to name it, but if pressed, I would have been tempted to call it disappointment. “Right. And how is Cleo faring?”
“Good. Wonderful, actually,” I amended.
“Glad to hear that,” he replied, looking anything but. “Well, I’m happy to take you home—”
“No need. Tommy is at my brother’s house in Kensington,and I wouldn’t want you to go so far out of your way.” I then forced a cheery smile in a desperate attempt to stop the awkward feeling that seemed to stretch between us.
But Mr. Dorian was immune to the gesture. “As you wish,” he said with a stiff nod.
I cleared my throat. “Come to my aunt’s home at eight. I’m sure it won’t take us very long to prepare.”
“All right. Until then,” he replied, without meeting my gaze before he turned on his heel.
I watched his retreating figure as he stalked over to his waiting carriage, broad shoulders thrown back and head held high. A trio of finely dressed women passed by him on their way into the hotel, and they made no attempt to conceal their interest, but Mr. Dorian either didn’t notice or didn’t care enough to acknowledge them. It was terribly petty of me, but I couldn’t help feeling rather pleased. Then I turned around and headed in the opposite direction to hail a hansom cab, unable to keep from smiling.
Chapter 19
“I’m sorry, but did you just sayMr. Dorianwent to the Natural History Museum with you?” Cleo looked from her brother to me, her gaze equal parts questioning and accusing.
The three of us were sitting in the large conservatory of her school in Hampstead, along with a number of other people visiting with students, and Tommy had just been catching her up on everything we had done since our last visit.
I bit back a sigh. “Yes. He happened upon us just as we were leaving.”
Cleo raised an eyebrow, immediately seeing this for the weak explanation it was. “How convenient.”
I turned to Tommy, who was blissfully unaware of the growing tension. “Darling, why don’t you go get another biscuit,” I suggested and pointed to the long table nearby that offered tea and biscuits for the visiting families. He was out of his seat at once and didn’t even look back.
