Page 91 of Her Scandalous Pursuit

“Oh, really?” She raised one eyebrow.

“He told us you were always reasonable,” he quipped with a grin. “You’d have to be blinded by love to believe that.”

“Ha! Maybe he just recognizes reason more clearly than you.”

“He should have told you who he was, but it’s easier to say that than to do it when you think you’ll lose someone you love. Tell me, would you have told him your father was a duke if you thought he’d leave you for it?”

“He did leave me.” Thisbe avoided the question.

“I can’t blame him for wanting to protect you. I should cancel my trip and stay here to help you.”

“Don’t be silly. I am perfectly fine. They have the Eye, so there is no need to threaten me any longer. Grandmother and I have already dealt with the only dangerous person involved in this affair. Are you saying that I cannot deal with one aging scientist?”

Theo held up his hands in a warding-off gesture. “I value my life too much to ever say that. It’s just... I feel as if I’m deserting you.”

“You’re not. I refuse to let you ruin an expedition you’ve been wishing to do for years. You better get on that train to Southampton this afternoon.”

“All right. I will. But Reed—”

“Must return to school,” she said, finishing his thought. “You say you trust Desmond, and he will be with me. Now, go upstairs and pack. If I know you, you haven’t finished that yet.”

He smiled and swept her into a short, fierce hug. “Love you, Thiz. I’ll send you something from the Amazon.”

“You better write.”

He laughed as he turned and walked away. “Now, that is less certain.”

Thisbe watched as he strode down the hall, a lump rising in her throat. She had meant everything she said to him; what she hadn’t said was how much she would miss him.

“I CANNOT BELIEVE it’s Professor Gordon.” Those were the first words out of Desmond’s mouth when he joined Thisbe in the sultan room a few minutes later.

“Why would Grieves lie?”

“Because he’s a criminal?”

“But why not say it was Wallace? It makes no difference to him which man it was, surely.”

“It could,” Desmond said stubbornly. “He might protect Wallace so the man would continue to hire him. Wallace could hardly do that from Newgate.”

“Still, it seems foolish to not look for Professor Gordon.”

Desmond let out a gusty sigh and sank down onto a chair. “I’m sorry. Of course we must search for him.” He set his elbows on his knees and leaned his head on his hands. “It’s not that I cannot believe he took the Eye. He was desperate to get it, and to his way of thinking, it didn’t really belong to your grandmother. It was Anne Ballew’s and belonged to science. But if he hired Grieves to do that, then it means he also sent Grieves to coerce me into taking it. It was he who told Grieves to threaten you.”

“Not necessarily.” Thisbe fought the urge to go to comfort him. “Wallace could have hired him for that coercion, and Gordon for the theft. He said that he worked for anyone who would pay him, and I believe that. He’s not a man with loyalty.”

“Thank you for offering me that sop.” Desmond raised his head and half smiled at her. “But you’re right—the logical course is to look for Gordon first. Should we go back over the same ground? See if we can find someone else who might know where he went? A neighbor, perhaps. We didn’t knock on all the other doors at his lodgings yesterday.”

“Nor did we go to his sister’s home,” Thisbe pointed out. “He could have taken the Eye and gone there, after all. At least she might have a better idea where he might run.”

“I don’t think we can overlook the possibility that he might have taken it to Wallace,” Desmond said.

“True. Their joint absence is suspicious. Well, we must choose one and start with it.”

“It’s almost noon,” Desmond said. “I’m not sure there’s time to go to Chelmsford and return.”

“Then let’s save it for tomorrow. We can set out early in the morning.”

Desmond sighed. “That leaves us with the undoubtedly fruitless option of retracing our steps.”