Page 61 of Her Scandalous Pursuit

“Don’t be silly. That’s what we’re here for.” Kyria took a chair at the card table, and Olivia sat on Thisbe’s other side, their faces so earnest and concerned that Thisbe couldn’t help but feel warmed.

“At least earlier I could cling to the idea that Desmond loved me, that it was only his superstition that kept us apart. But now I know that he never loved me at all. Everything he did was a sham.”

“Are you certain?” Olivia asked.

“He as good as confessed it.”

“I don’t understand exactly what happened,” Olivia said. “What did he do? What is this thing Grandmother says he wanted to steal?”

“Some old artifact that Grandmother owns. They call it the Eye of Annie Blue.”

“Sounds like one of Olivia’s stories,” Kyria commented.

“It is, rather. It’s a strange quizzing glass that they think can enable one to see spirits.”

“Ghosts?” Olivia stared.

“Yes.” Thisbe described the details of the evening before and Desmond’s confession. “Of course, Grandmother refused to lend him the Eye. Desmond left. And that’s the end of our ‘courtship.’ I’ll never see him again, and good riddance.” Tears welled in her eyes. “I feel so stupid. I thought he loved me. I was blathering on about how I didn’t care about the danger—I wanted to be with him. He must think me an utter fool.”

“I don’t understand why he told you what he’d done.” Kyria frowned. “It goes against his own interest.”

Thisbe shrugged. “Does it matter? He was warning me away from Wallace and Dunbridge. That was a kindness on his part, I suppose.”

“But why did he break it off with you earlier?” Olivia asked. “When he told you he was a danger to you.”

“I don’t know. I presume he saw he would never get the Eye and was tired of having to pretend an affection for me.”

“Or maybe he told you the truth,” Olivia suggested. “Maybe he really didn’t know who you were in the beginning.”

“Olivia! How can you stand up for him?” Kyria turned on her younger sister.

“I’m not. I’m just trying to be fair. Thisbe didn’t tell him who she was when they met, either.”

Kyria let out a dismissive snort, and Thisbe said, “It beggars belief that he ‘accidentally’ ran into me at the exact time he was also trying to get our grandmother’s Eye. Besides, I told him my name was Moreland. Surely that would make him suspect I might be related.”

“Maybe he only knew the Duchess of Broughton, not Moreland,” Olivia countered. “Not everyone is conversant with all the titles and names in the peerage.”

Thisbe frowned at her. “You still like him.”

“I’m furious with him for hurting you,” Olivia replied. “And I think he was wrong—and foolish—not to tell you. All I am saying is that it doesn’t mean he lied to you about everything. Even if it started out a deception, he could have fallen in love with you later.”

“You read too many novels.”

“Forget Desmond,” Kyria told her. “You should—”

“I am not attending another one of your parties,” Thisbe interrupted.

“I wasn’t going to say that. I was going to say that you should see that other man—Mason.”

“Carson.”

“Whoever. You liked him enough to let him escort you to a party.”

“Because I hoped Desmond would be there,” Thisbe confessed. “I have no interest in Carson and, anyway, he is after the Eye, too. I intend to avoid all male company from now on.”

Olivia spoke up again. “I don’t think it’s odd that Desmond was afraid you’d hate him if he told you the whole story. I mean, that’s what happened, after all.” Olivia sighed. “And, yes, I do like him.”

“Perhaps you should marry him,” Thisbe responded.