Page 75 of Her Scandalous Pursuit

Desmond nodded. “I wonder...”

“What?” Thisbe asked. She knew that look on his face. “What are you thinking?”

“I’m thinking that Carson left us too easily. I would have expected him to protest or come up with reasons to stay.”

“The way he did this afternoon when we went to the university,” Thisbe agreed.

“The question is why, when he was so eager to be with us before, was he so willing to leave now?” Desmond asked.

“Perhaps he simply wanted you gone, as you did him,” she suggested.

“Possibly. If so, he may turn up on your doorstep soon. That was my intention.”

It shouldn’t have pleased Thisbe so much that Desmond hadn’t wanted to part from her. “Did you think I wouldn’t come around to get you?”

“Yes,” Desmond answered simply. “I’m not one of your favorite people at the moment.”

Thisbe didn’t want to get drawn down that path again. “Why do you think he wanted to get away from us?”

“One possibility is that Carson is the thief. He seems a much more likely candidate for breaking into your house than a portly, sedentary man of middle years such as Professor Gordon. And why was he hanging about Gordon’s flat when we went there? Did you notice that he never really answered my question?”

Thisbe nodded. “Yes, I saw that. And you’re right—Professor Gordon doesn’t seem the sort to break into Broughton House. Neither does a gentleman of Mr. Wallace’s position. But if Carson is the thief, why did he join us?”

“To throw us off. To fix it in our heads that the culprit is Gordon or Wallace.” He shrugged. “Or he could be entirely innocent of the theft and helped us search as a kindness, then merely wanted to get home for his supper.”

“But you don’t believe that.”

Desmond shrugged. “I’m not sure. I can’t help but be suspicious of him. At the beginning, when we first learned that the duchess wouldn’t let us study the Eye, Carson was the one who brought up stealing it.”

“I see.” Thisbe tried to ignore the pang in her chest at this reminder of Desmond’s betrayal.

“On the other hand, Carson is prone to jests and sarcastic remarks, and I’m not sure he means them. He has this way of talking...”

“As if everything is ironical—as if he’s amused and cynical all at the same time.”

“Exactly.” Desmond flashed her a grin. “It makes it hard to figure him out.”

“What if...Carson has a partner,” Thisbe mused. “Carson was keeping us on a false trail, giving the other man time to go to ground with the Eye. Once that was accomplished, Carson was eager to join his partner.”

“So he could be in league with Gordon or Wallace. Or maybe a conspiracy of all of them.”

“Another possibility is that Carson had nothing to do with the theft, but he wants the Eye himself,” Thisbe continued. “So he helped us, hoping he’d get a clue.”

“That’s it.” Excitement threaded Desmond’s voice, and he turned to her. “Perhaps he realized where the thief might have hidden the Eye. He covered half the library by himself. What if he met someone who knew where Gordon went and he didn’t tell us?”

“He set off to find Gordon without any interference from us.” Thisbe caught Desmond’s enthusiasm. “We must go back and see if we can find who talked to him.” She turned to look in the direction of the university.

“I think it’s too late,” Desmond said. The afternoon had turned to dusk, with evening falling rapidly, as it did in winter. The purplish sky was deepening to black, and along the street, the gas streetlights were already on.

“Oh.” Thisbe’s voice fell. “Yes, of course. Whoever he talked to would be gone by the time we arrived.”

“It doesn’t matter. We can revisit the library tomorrow morning. If he did find someone there, it’s quite possible the man could be there again. Or there might be someone we didn’t talk to today who could give us the information we want.”

“Yes. Of course. That’s a better plan.” They started toward Thisbe’s house again, their pace picking up. “That will give us time to think about everything. I’ll talk to Grandmother about Mr. Wallace, see if she knows whether he has a house in the country he might have gone to. She knows an amazing amount about everyone.”

As they walked, they made plans for meeting at the library the following morning. It was a little disturbing how much Thisbe’s heart lightened at the prospect of continuing their search the next day. That was dangerous.

She should keep her distance, maintain the proper perspective. It would be foolish to rely on her growing belief that Desmond had not stolen her grandmother’s artifact. After all, the reasons for Carson joining their search applied to Desmond, as well. He could merely be trying to mislead or distract her.