Page 22 of The Missing Book
Pulling her gaze away and falling completely silent, she waited until he had brought her back to her friends beforemurmuring her thanks, praying that he would step away without hesitation. Much to her relief, he answered her silent plea with a nod of thanks before making his way towards his sister, letting Amelia breathe at a normal pace once more.
“Are you quite well?”
She blinked, then nodded in answer to Lady Isobella query. “Quite well, I assure you.” Her friend did not look in the least bit convinced but Amelia, concerned about what she had felt and how she had responded, only made her smile wider. “I must say, I am looking forward to our excursion tomorrow. I do wonder what will be told to us about the theft of these books!”
It was enough to start another conversation, one which left Amelia able to composure herself as her friends imagined what they might learn. Her confusion lingered, however, leaving her worried as to what might happen the next time she dared to look into Lord Broughton’s eyes.
“You are very kindto come here.”
Amelia smiled back at Mr. Lackington, thinking him very genial indeed. “We are grateful toyoufor being willing to speak with us. Society does not always look favorably upon bluestockings.”
He grinned at her. “Ah, but my uncle, the founder of ‘The Temple of the Muses’ did not care what society’s expectations were. When he first opened, his was the only establishment who refused to take credit! There was a great deal of pressure upon him to change, to go along with what was expected but he never did. And I am of the very same ilk, I can assure you. If you are eager to assist in this matter, then I shall express nothing but gratitude to you, I assure you.”
“That is wonderful to hear,” Amelia said, as the other bluestockings nodded along with her. “We have formed a little club – the ‘bluestocking book club’, if you will – and though we do, at times, discuss literature and the like, we have also been eager to solve whatever mysteries are presented to us.”
“It gives us opportunity to use what we have learned, to put our minds to something that we can untangle,” Lady Isobella added. “That is why we are so grateful to you for your willingness to speak with us.”
Mr. Lackington put one hand to his heart and inclined his head just a little. “The honor is mine, truly. You might be a little surprised at this but there have been no other offers of assistance, not even from the gentlemen of renown who come to visit here very regularly!”
This did surprise Amelia a little, though she said nothing.
“Might you tell us about what happened?” Miss Trentworth asked. “Lady Amelia was present at the time but did not see all that took place.”
“I had only just arrived when the two gentlemen ran through the place and outside,” Amelia explained, as Mr. Lackington’s expression grew heavy. “Pursued by Lord Melford, though I did see that he returned some of the books.”
“Indeed, though I am very grateful to him for that,” Mr. Lackington said, quickly. “The two gentlemen in question, though I do not know their names nor their titles, took the six books from the case. Lord Melford returned three of those six books and they are now protected in a safe in my study.”
Amelia’s eyebrows lifted. “They are valuable, then?”
Mr. Lackington nodded. “Yes, they are. That is what they took, you understand. I have… that is, Ihadsix books of great value in a case in the corner of one of the lounges, for I thought it would, most likely, catch the attention of those in the gentry. The price of them would be far too high for any of the lower classes topurchase though I did state I would be very glad for any of them to simply look at the books, should they desire it. In fact, their worth was so great that I had them under lock and key, though there was a glass center so people might see the books.”
“And if anyone wished to see the books, then…?”
In answer to Lady Rosalyn’s question, Mr. Lackington pulled out a set of keys from his pocket. “I would open it myself and personally ensure that the book remained safe as it was studied. If anyone wished to purchase one of the books, then it would return to the case until the money exchanged hands.”
“They were very valuable, then,” Amelia murmured, realizing just how much protection the man had put in place to protect these books. “You must be very upset that they are gone.”
“I have three of them back, so I am focusing on my gratitude in that,” he answered, as Amelia smiled gently. “Lord Melford did an excellent thing in pursuing them, though the case is quite ruined now.”
Amelia glanced at her friends, seeing their eyes flash with understanding. These two gentlemen must have smashed the top of the case and then wrenched it open in order to get the books.
“There was such a commotion thereafter,” she said, as Mr. Lackington nodded. “Can you think as to why they have taken these books?”
“To sell them, I presume,” he said, with a shrug. “There will be those in London and abroad who will purchase these books. They will be of interest to those in the very upper echelons of society. And I am sure, without speaking unfairly, that there are some who will purchase the books without question as to where they came from.”
“So, for money and personal gain, then,” Miss Sherwood said, softly. “And we cannot know where they might have been taken.”
Amelia’s heart began to sink low, her spirits dropping as she realized there was very little they could do at this juncture to help Mr. Lackington. They did not know who had taken the books, nor where they might be now. Exactly how were they going to help him?
“I can give you a few suggestions of places where the books might have gone,” Mr. Lackington suggested, making Amelia’s heart leap up in an instant. “If I were to step inside these places, I am sure no one would tell me anything for they would recognize who I was and would know what I was searching for.”
A flare of hope burst in Amelia’s chest. “But if we go and ask, then – ”
“Then we have a greater chance of finding something out,” Miss Trentworth interrupted, speaking at the very same time as Amelia. “We would certainly welcome your suggestions, Mr. Lackington.”
He nodded and smiled. “Then let me go to write them down for you. I will return as quickly as possible. If you wish, you can look at the broken case, for it has not yet been fixed or even removed! I have had some of my staff make sure any visitors stay back from it for the moment, for the man who made the case is to come to study it within the hour. I hope he will be able to fix it, for it was beautifully made.” He gestured to where they could look and with a nod of thanks, Amelia made her way there, followed by her friends. Looking around the room, she took everything in, thinking to herself that though she had been in this place before, she had not seen the case nor the books within.
“It is tucked right into the corner,” Miss Sherwood said, sounding a little surprised. “I was wondering why I had not seen it before for I have been in the Temple many a time but never once noticed this case.”
