Page 32 of Her Scandalous Pursuit

Kyria gave a lazy flap of her hand. “Pfft. They’re deadly dull, anyway.”

Somewhere in the distance there was the sound of sharp voices raised. “Uh-oh. That sounds like Grandmother.”

Kyria nodded and stood up. “Alex, Con, I’m afraid it’s time to face the reckoning. You know you shouldn’t explore in your grandmother’s room.” They nodded, coming down from their high spirits. “You need to explain what happened and give her back the box and tell her you’re sorry.” Kyria took the box from Desmond, and reluctantly the twins fell in with her. She turned back to Thisbe. “I think they may be coming downstairs. If I were you, I’d take this chance to escape.”

Thisbe nodded and jumped to her feet. “Desmond, I think it’s time you had a tour of the garden.”

BUNDLED UP IN their coats, they went out the rear door. Here, in the middle of the city, lay a small park. There was a formal garden just beyond the house, and beyond that trees and grass all the way to the far wall. No doubt, in summer, when everything was green, it was a beautiful sight. Desmond drew in a sharp breath. It was a trifle hard to believe they were still in the city.

Thisbe tucked her hand in his arm, and they started down the central path. Desmond knew it would be hard for him to feel any more perfect than he did right now. Beside him, Thisbe said, “You were very good with the twins.”

He laughed. “They’re dynamos. Sharp as tacks, too. Did you see how they followed what I was doing to the music box?”

“Yes. There are those who say they’re troublemakers, but they aren’t, really. They’re just lively and curious.”

“And quick,” Desmond added. “You think they’ll be scientists or scholars?”

Thisbe laughed. “Neither would be exciting enough for them, I’m afraid.”

They walked along in silence for a few moments. Thisbe’s hand slid down his arm to take his hand. Desmond glanced at her, smiling, and laced his fingers through hers. “Desmond...thank you for coming to call this afternoon.”

His hand tightened around hers. “I couldn’t have stayed away if I’d wanted to. It was so startling last night that I could hardly think. I can’t help but see the barriers between us, but that doesn’t change how I feel about you.” He gazed down at her, his voice serious. “Thisbe, I don’t see you any differently because I know who you are. You are just as you have been—beautiful and intelligent and strong. But others...”

“They’ll talk, perhaps.” Thisbe shrugged. “But everyone already talks about us. They call us the Mad Morelands.”

“Mad? But why?”

“Because we are different. We do odd things. Think odd things. Worse, we say what we think. But, you see, we are so very odd that we don’t care what others think. Mother offends a great number of people. They say I’m peculiar because I mess about with chemicals. They say I blow things up—but it isn’t as if I do that regularly. There was that explosion I told you about.”

“And the one that set fire to your draperies,” he reminded her.

“But that’s only two.”

Desmond laughed. “Such a trifling number.”

“What I’m saying is that I don’t care what society says about me.”

“But what about your family. What they would say?”

“You can’t be serious. You’ve met my mother.”

“Yes,” he agreed. “The duchess was very kind. Tactful.”

Thisbe snorted. “Tactful is the last word anyone would use to describe my mother. She was herself, Desmond. That’s all. She liked you. If she had not, she would have been the same with you as she was with Kyria’s callers. Polite, not saying much. Besides, you saved the Greats from Grandmother’s wrath. Mother would like you for that alone.”

Her grandmother. The dowager duchess. Desmond’s mind skittered away from that subject. “Then you think...it will be all right if I call on you again?”

“Yes, of course. It’s far better than the British Museum.” She turned down another path, taking them away from sight of the house. “I must apologize, too, for not telling you about my family. It was wrong—I shouldn’t have kept Papa’s title hidden. It was just...everyone acts so differently when they know who I am. They become formal and distant or horribly ingratiating. Women suddenly want to befriend me and introduce me to their friends and invite me to everything. Men tend to flee or act as if I’m someone different. Kyria says she cannot tell which men actually like her and which just want her money and connections.”

“Thisbe, I would never—”

“I know.” She smiled at him. “I never thought that of you. But I was afraid my name would color your perception of me. It’s hard enough for me to be accepted as a scientist because I’m a woman. I think it would be impossible if everyone knew I was a duke’s daughter. I feared that you might think me just a dilettante like Mrs. Burdett-Coutts.”

“No. No. I know you’re not just dabbling.”

“I realize that now, but I couldn’t be sure of that when I met you.”

“I understand. You’re right. I admit I wouldn’t have felt so at ease with you if I had known the truth. One hates to contradict Shakespeare, but I fear there’s a great deal in a name.”