Page 62 of A Duke for Adela
Ambrose had kept his temper in check until now, but the thought of that bounder doing anything to his museum had him seething. “He wouldn’t dare.”
“I hope not,” Adela said gently. “However, I am the bane of his existence and you are now betrothed to me and have put the Bow Street men on him night and day. It is quite conceivable that he has turned his outrage on you, too.”
“Arrogant knave,” Gory said with a huff. “He would rather blame anyone but himself for all his miseries.”
Adela nodded. “I always knew he was fiendish and never to be trusted. We really must find that book, prove he stole it, and then have him expelled from the Royal Society. I will certainly urge the Duke of Lotheil to–”
“You will keep out of it, Adela. This is no longer a game.”
“It never has been a game. Did I not warn you about these relic hunters? They are not scholarly academicians. They seek glory, not knowledge. I understand there might be some danger, and I will use proper caution. We all will, right Gory?”
Her friend nodded. “Absolutely.”
“There, you see?” Adela turned back to him. “Caution is one thing, but you cannot ask us to sit home and cower in fear.”
“I am not asking, Adela. I am commanding you to keep your nose out of it from here on out.”
She huffed, obviously indignant. “Fine. If we are not going to search the building, then let’s move on to the Bow Street office.”
Julius had been listening to their exchange and now cleared his throat. “Ambrose, I could stay behind and search. Now that the visitors have all cleared out, it should not be too difficult to scout out the exhibits. I’ll have the cleaning staff help me.”
“That won’t do,” Gory insisted. “They may be good at finding lost mittens and scarves dropped on the floor or left on a bench. But a priceless book? Or what if that fiend has set an exotic poisonous spider loose in here? Or a snake? I’ll know how to safely handle them. I’m staying with you.”
Julius shook his head and laughed. “You are a very scary girl, Gory. Has anyone told you that?”
She smiled back at him, appearing to be not at all offended. “All the time.”
By this time, Octavian and Syd, no doubt wondering what was taking them so long, had descended the carriage to join them.
“I’ll search with you,” Syd insisted, wincing as she began to remove her arm from the sling.
Octavian immediately stopped her. “Are you mad?”
“Perhaps, but I am staying to search.”
He shook his head. “Then I am staying, too. You are as helpless as a bird with a broken wing. Someone had better look after you since you obviously have no intention of looking out for yourself. Are all bluestockings this foolhardy?”
“Are all duke’s brothers this oafish?” Syd shot back.
“If there is a poisonous spider and it bites you on the rump,” Octavian muttered, “rest assured I will not be sucking out the venom.”
Syd gasped. “You are appalling!”
“Children, behave yourselves,” Julius said with a chuckle, now turning to Ambrose. “You and Adela are the best ones to talk to Mr. Barrow anyway. Come back and pick us up once you are done. I expect Octavian and Lady Sydney will have killed each other by then, but Lady Gregoria and I will be ready and waiting for you.”
Gory nodded. “We’ll be hungry by then. Your Grace, I think you should take us all out to supper afterward.”
“Gory! That is very forward of you.” But Adela’s eyes brightened. “However, it is an excellent idea. We can all compare notes while we dine. In fact, why not dine at The Red Drake and we–”
All three brothers howled in disapproval of the idea.
Adela sighed. “All right. Perhaps it is not the best plan. But what if Runyon went there today to make certain the book was still safely hidden? We cannot dismiss that it might still be there. Should we not search the tavern as diligently as my friends and your brothers are about to search here?”
“No.” He took Adela by the elbow. “Mr. Barrow and his men will deal with it. Come along, he’ll be waiting for us.”
He nudged her along toward the carriage.
“Will my friends be safe with your brothers? Octavian really did look exasperated with Syd. He doesn’t hate her, does he?”
