Chapter 14 #2
Flipping the piece on its side, Cart identified the subtle orange undertones created by the artist, the rough base, and the nick Lord Gunther had caused himself.
He kept his gaze trained on the vase, for he was certain his eyes would give away his anger, his shock, and his total disbelief.
“Where did you get this?” he questioned in a whisper.
“It is beautiful, is it not?”
For a moment, Cart felt sympathy for her.
Certainly she did not know the vase was stolen or that Cart had been retained to find the piece and get it back at any cost to its owner.
She could not be the heartless woman he saw before him, a woman playing off his emotions and using him for her own gain.
“I asked where you obtained it.” His voice was deep, almost a growl as he slowly pronounced each word.
“I told you—I…”
Her words were lost to the severe pounding in his head. “When did you get it?”
“Some time ago.”
“How long ago?” he prodded. “Precisely.”
“Several months, I would guess,” she answered. “I have kept it safe and away from natural light until I brought it here. To you.”
“I will purchase it,” he said. Everything began to make sense—their chance meeting at Lady Haversham’s, her claimed interest in him and her untrue obsession with antiquities.
Her presence outside the night watchman’s house was enough to convince him that trouble with the authorities was likely not a new thing for her.
Cart had been a fool once more. “How much do you want for the vase?”
In his hands, he held the item that Lord Gunther had commissioned him to locate almost three months ago—a vase that had seemingly disappeared from view, not a single collector having been approached to purchase the stolen piece.
He couldn’t look at her, for if he did, he’d see the woman who’d been hidden from him since their forced meeting. Not the beautiful, enchanting, intelligent woman he’d grown to care for, who he looked forward to seeing, but a conniving, scheming… a charlatan.
“Is that not why we are here?” she asked. “We must research the piece and discover an appropriate price.”
“I will pay anything. Please, name your rate.”
He couldn’t handle looking at her as he reluctantly handed the vase back to her. His stomach rolled at the thought of allowing her to walk from the circulating library with the vase in her possession, but he had no other choice.
“Fifty pounds,” Jude said confidently. “I believe that is a fair price.”
A fair price to pay a thief? Cart wanted to inquire. He should alert the proper authorities immediately and allow them to handle the situation and return the vase to its rightful owner.
Instead, he heard himself answer, “That is an agreeable price.”
Cart wanted away from this woman, out of this airless room, and to put distance between him and her. After all he’d been through, he was still as gullible as he’d been as a young lord, newly titled. He was the prey with ample predators to hunt him.
He was unsure what wounded him deeper, that he’d been taken advantage of again or that it had been by her.
The vase could fall to the floor and shatter into a billion pieces and Cart couldn’t care less. He’d still be overwhelmed by the enormity of her betrayal.
He stood abruptly, his chair scraping the floor, causing others to look his way at the noise.
Nodding and waving them away, he turned to finally meet her stare—her unknowing, innocent stare.
Fifty pounds. The measly amount of coin was nowhere near what the piece was worth. In Cart’s mind, the vase was priceless, something of such rare and ancient origins that no other treasure compared.
And she’d asked a paltry fifty pounds.
He wanted to laugh but kept the sound within. And to think, he’d possessed half that amount not long ago before he’d given it to his mother.
If she were playing him, then she was the greater fool, for the vase could fetch close to ten times that amount at Stanford’s auction.
“I will send word when I have arranged the funds you request,” he said with a curt bow. Not that she deserved such respect, but Cart needed to keep his anger hidden well or she and the artifact would likely disappear. “It will not be long, a few days at most.”
“You can keep the piece,” she insisted with a reassuring smile, pushing the vase back toward him as she too stood.
“That is not how such things are done, Miss Judith.”
The smile dropped from her face as she scrutinized him, noticing his suddenly guarded nature. “Oh, I trust you, Cart.” She attempted once more to hand him the piece, but when he took a step back, Jude quickly wrapped it back in the shawl and stowed it in her tote, holding the bag close to her body.
Cart held her jacket out for her to slip her arms in, pulling it onto her shoulders with more force than was necessary. His meaning was clear.
She turned back to him, her lashes lowered as she inspected his demeanor.
Their afternoon at the library was over—never to be repeated.
The furthest thing from his mind suddenly was the only thing that’d been on his mind all day.
He wanted to walk out of the library and never set eyes on Jude again, but he had to collect Theo first, which meant he needed to stay long enough for Jude to depart before locating his sister.
And within a few days, he’d need to face Jude again—the thief. “Good day, Miss Jude.”
“It was a lovely time,” she said cautiously, trying to lure him into further conversation. “I would much enjoy doing it again.”
He’d conveyed himself more bluntly than he ever had previously.
However, she stood before him…making no move to depart and making her intentions known that she planned to continue her scheme.
She was more versed in the art of deception than Cart had suspected.
If he hadn’t discovered her misdeeds, he wouldn’t hesitate to agree to her request for another afternoon together.
The seconds passed, making Cart nervous. He adjusted his coat and reached for his artfully tied cravat, tugging at the corners. She expected him to answer. Cart was afraid if he opened his mouth, nothing good would come forth and attention would be drawn to them.
With one last look, she slung the satchel over her shoulder and turned to leave, her brow furrowed in concern.
Cart sagged in relief when she took her first step toward the crowded main room.