Page 78 of Her Scandalous Pursuit

“Nonsense.” The duke waved off her concern. “Nothing Uncle Bellard loves like research. Keeps him young, in my opinion.”

Proving her father’s words, the old man was soon back, carrying two tomes and beaming. “Such a fascinating topic, Thisbe. I could get lost in this for days.”

“And probably will,” her father said with a chuckle.

“Too true, dear boy. Now...” Bellard opened both the books on the table. “Samael’s connection was that he was the one who collected souls. Abaddon is another angel of destruction. His name is Apollyon in Greek.”

“Ah, yes, of course!” The duke nodded. “I should have known that.”

“And here we have punishment—that’s Kushiel. Dumah’s domain is vindication.” Bellard sent Thisbe a significant look. “Barachiel is considered chief of the guardian angels, and his domain is blessings. And lightning. This one is intriguing.” He turned to the other book. “I could not find it except in Islam. Harut came to Babel, along with Marut, and taught man magic. Sorcery.”

“Goodness,” the duke said. “Your dream sounds rather disturbing.”

“It definitely was,” Thisbe agreed. She sat back in her chair as the two men began to delve further into the books. Anne Ballew was growing more frightening by the day. Thisbe must find the Eye. There was clearly more involved here than recovering one of her grandmother’s possessions. She felt certain that somehow the Eye was the key to resolving her nightmares.

Even after the time spent in discussion with her father and Uncle Bellard, she was ready long before she was scheduled to meet Desmond at the library. Too impatient to sit still, she decided to arrive early and wait for him inside the carriage, and when she saw him walking toward her with that familiar long-legged stride, looking so...himself, her heart leaped in her chest.

This was not a good way to begin. She schooled her expression as best she could—impassivity was not one of her skills—and stepped out of the vehicle before Desmond could reach it. Taking his hand to step down was not a good idea.

She said nothing about the night before, and luckily Desmond appeared as reluctant as she to bring up the matter. They walked to the library in an awkward silence. Once inside, they made their way through the library, earning a number of disapproving looks along the way. By the time they had finished, the awkwardness between them had disappeared, but they learned nothing about Professor Gordon’s whereabouts.

They tried Gordon’s office again, but found it just as dark and locked as the day before. An older gentleman dressed in the robes of a professor emerged from the room next door, and looked disapprovingly at them. “Are you looking for Gordon, as well?”

“Yes.” Desmond walked forward eagerly. “Do you know where he is?”

“Everyone seems to be excessively interested in him these days. As I told the others, he’s gone to visit his sister. She’s ill.”

“The others? Who else asked about him?” Thisbe asked.

The man frowned at her. “I’ve no idea of their names. How would I know everyone who comes to Gordon’s door? Students, I suppose. Someone involved in his wretched experiment.”

“Do you know where his sister lives?” Thisbe took another tack, earning her a second scowl from the professor.

“I say, that’s rather an impertinence. Students chasing him down at his sick sister’s home! There’s no respect anymore. I told them it was a mistake to let females read for the examinations. Opened the gates to all sorts of—”

“Thank you, sir,” Desmond inserted before Thisbe could respond, taking her arm and pulling her away.

“That man!” she fumed. “It’s typical of the sort of narrow-minded, antiquated, so-called teachers at universities. It’s no wonder they turn out so many students reading for perfectly useless fields, yet pay scant attention to something important. Something up-to-date.”

“Yes, yes, I know that they should have more courses in chemistry and physics,” Desmond said, trying, without much success, to suppress his grin. “But it would be a waste of our time to carry on the argument.”

“I know. No one will ever be able to change that locked mind of his. And you’re right—our time is better spent on planning our next step. We can go back to Broughton House, and—”

Desmond’s eyebrows shot up. “Your home? I doubt your family would welcome my presence.”

Thisbe waved off his worries. “It’s probably better that you not run in to Grandmother. But as for the others... Mother is certain the effects of social inequality are to blame for your misdeeds. Uncle Bellard hasn’t yet realized you’re no longer around. And Olivia is rather on your side.”

He followed her into the carriage. “I notice you didn’t mention your other siblings or your father.”

Thisbe shrugged. “They are a bit more protective, but we want to avoid Kyria, anyway, as there are bound to be gentlemen hanging about her. Papa is happily fussing with some new artifacts. And my brothers will be out of the house most of the day doing last-minute things for Theo’s trip. Reed came down from Oxford to see him off.” Unconsciously, she sighed. “Theo’s leaving for Southampton tomorrow afternoon, and the next day he’ll set sail for Brazil.”

“You will miss him.”

Thisbe nodded. “It isn’t as if he’s around a great deal, but I always know he’s not completely out of reach. But the Amazon... He’ll be gone for months and months. He’s never gone that far away before.”

It was easy to talk with Desmond, just as it used to be. Unlike her voluble family, he didn’t jump in immediately with plans or opinions, but listened, was calm and intelligent and understanding. Which, come to think of it, was probably why he had been so popular with her relatives. It was nice to have a calm center in the middle of the Moreland vortex.

When they walked into the house, Thisbe heard voices coming from the sultan room, one of which was her grandmother’s. She made an abrupt right turn into the formal drawing room. “Let’s sit in here with Old Eldric. It’s quieter.”