Page 34 of Her Scandalous Pursuit

“Professor, I know how much this means to you, but—”

His mentor brightened. “But that means...you don’t have to steal it, do you? You can simply ask the duchess for it.”

“Ask her to give me the Eye? I don’t think so.”

“Why not? You’re a friend of the woman’s granddaughter—she won’t feel the same as she did about handing it to a stranger. You can talk to her, explain how important it is. Tell her we need to study it.”

“The dowager duchess will have no reason to give it to me. She knows nothing about me.”

“Then have your friend ask her. The woman wouldn’t refuse her own granddaughter now, would she?”

“Professor, I can’t. Miss Moreland will think I had ulterior motives, that I cultivated our friendship to get to the Eye, and I won’t have her thinking that. I refuse to ask her for anything. I’m sorry. If you want me to leave the study, I understand, but I—”

“I don’t want you to leave. I want you to get the bloody Eye. You don’t have to ask her. You could simply bring your friend by the laboratory one day. Let her see the work we’re doing. I’ll talk to her, explain how important it is. You said you met her at a lecture—she must have some respect for science.”

“She more than respects it. She is a scientist.”

“A girl?”

“Yes, she is a woman. That’s not the point. Miss Moreland is not likely to be swayed by your argument. She doesn’t believe in this sort of thing.”

“But we can show her, convince her.”

“I doubt you can, but that doesn’t matter. If I bring her here, and you start talking about the Eye, she’ll suspect that I have been using her to get the Eye. And if I did that, I would be using her, using our...friendship. I won’t do that.”

“Blast it, boy, think!” Gordon’s face reddened. “This is bigger than you or some silly friendship. This is important. It’s vital I have the Eye. You know what this means to me, to you, to all of us. This is the chance of a lifetime, and you’re throwing it away for some girl?”

“She’s not just ‘some girl,’” Desmond retorted hotly.

“What? You think you love this girl? Are you daft?”

“I may be,” Desmond admitted.

Gordon gaped at him. “Do you think there’s a chance in this world that you can marry into nobility? Not just nobility, a duke! Why don’t you aim for a royal?”

Desmond flushed. “I didn’t say I thought I could marry her. I know that’s foolish.”

“Foolish doesn’t even begin to describe it,” Gordon went on harshly. “Have some sense, lad. Even if you can convince her for some mad reason to do it, her father would never allow it. If you tried to elope, he’d send men after you in a second, and even if you were lucky enough to escape with your hide still intact, the marriage would be annulled. You have no money. No name. Your father a crim—”

Desmond looked up sharply at him. Gordon knew about his father?

Gordon had the grace to break off his words. He stepped back, crossing his arms. “Are you really this selfish, Desmond? This unreasonable? To deny science the opportunity to study the Eye? To use it? Just because you are suddenly head over heels about some girl!”

Desmond rose to face him. “Yes. I think I am exactly that selfish and unreasonable. Perhaps you’re right, and the study of the Eye is more important than my heart. Perhaps I should care more for scientific discovery than I do for Thisbe. But the truth is, I don’t. I am not giving up Thisbe.”

Grabbing his jacket, he turned and started for the door.

“Wait! Desmond, please.” Gordon hurried after him, adopting a wheedling tone. “All right, I accept that you feel you cannot ask for it, that it would break her trust in you. But, surely, while you’re there, you could look around for it a bit. Couldn’t you?”

“So that you could steal it?”

“No, no,” Gordon said hastily. “Not to steal it. You are probably right—it would be impossible. But to just...see it.” His eyes took on the glow of a visionary. “Desmond, think...to know that it actually exists, to know what it looks like. You could describe it, draw it. Maybe we’d be able to replicate it. But even if we can’t... I have been looking for this my whole life—I want to have proof that I haven’t been chasing a fool’s dream. Not to show to others, just for me. Even if no one ever acknowledges it, I would know in my heart that I hadn’t wasted my life, that I hadn’t ruined my reputation for nothing.”

Guilt and sorrow twisted Desmond’s gut. How could he destroy the man’s last hope? All he asked was for Desmond to keep an eye out for the instrument in Thisbe’s house. Gordon wasn’t suggesting Desmond steal it or ransack the place. Perhaps it was in plain view. Perhaps the dowager duchess even carried it on her person.

Desmond sighed, already regretting his words, but was unable to say anything else. “Very well. I will look for it.”

THISBE HAD NOT really considered the problem of her grandmother until after Desmond came to call. Desmond was bound to meet her; she could hardly introduce him to the rest of the family without introducing him to her grandmother, as well. For one thing, the dowager duchess frequently served as chaperone for Kyria’s afternoon callers—causing the less brave of them to cease calling. Thisbe feared that the woman would have an even worse effect on Desmond.