Chapter 18 #2
Was . . . was that a smile tugging at the man’s lips? Warmth swept over Margaret from head to toe. Gracious, the man’s fever must be catching. “Well. Then.” She cleared her throat, now suddenly all too dry. “I—”
“There are two matters Professor Quimby admonished me to apprise you of before we commence working together, Lady Margaret.”
“Oh?” Margaret tilted her head. “Go on.”
“Firstly, as I already informed your chief, I agree that something is amiss at the Invention Factory. One night, when I chanced to stay late, I heard some rather strange mechanical noises resounding through the building—long after all the inventors had ceased working and left for the day. I never could find a source or explanation for what I heard.”
Margaret gnawed her lip. Another puzzle piece to add to her growing collection. “And the second?”
“I’ve been well acquainted with Mr. Harrison for over a year now, and I don’t believe the man is guilty of the crimes being laid at his factory’s doorstep.”
Margaret’s brows vaulted. Her covert asset was convinced of her prime suspect’s innocence? Rusted cogs, but that was going to make working together rather complicated.
Reverie, the woman Charles already thought of far too often, had a secret. One he was even now wrapping his mere mortal mind around.
Lady Margaret Kingsley—that beautiful moniker being her real name—was not only a titled lady of nobility, but an inspector and tinker for a clandestine organization known as the Daughters of Genius Society.
Apparently, she’d been posing as a journalist to investigate a purloined patent case, which had led her to the Invention Factory.
He wasn’t angered by this revelation, only stunned.
The woman, in all her beauty, was an enigma.
One moment, she serenely sat before him in a wheeled chair.
The next, she quite literally took to the air. Right over his head!
Soaring in a perfect arc across the parlor, she’d landed with unfathomable grace and then disappeared.
This hadn’t surprised him in the least, as he’d witnessed Reverie’s ability to vanish in a blink on their first meeting.
What had surprised Charles was being ambushed by five ladies the moment he’d given chase.
Surrounding him in skirts, the women had hastened his progress into the corridor and boxed him into an alcove.
The tiniest and eldest assailant, one Professor Quimby, had then commenced a swift interrogation of his moral character.
Once appeased in this regard, she’d given him a whirlwind education on the Daughters of Genius Society, Lady Margaret Kingsley, and a clandestine case of patent fraud before saying, “Now that you know our secrets, Mr. Noble, we might as well utilize your connections. I assume you won’t mind working alongside Inspector Kingsley until this case is closed? ”
He had not minded this notion whatsoever and promptly signed the secrecy agreement for D.O.G.S.
covert assets Professor Quimby had drafted on the spot, using the pen and notepad produced by one Lady Louisa.
The interim document, which he’d read thoroughly, would serve until the signing of an official contract could be arranged.
He was stunned, yes, but he was also the son of a barrister, and no man—or lady’s—fool.
Since his declaration of belief in Harrison’s innocence, Lady Margaret had taken to studying him intently.
She blinked. Once, twice. Great Gustav Mahler, but a man could be blown away by those dark lashes.
The silence stretched, an unnaturally long pause.
Was she waiting for him to say something more?
He cleared his throat. “So, when would you like to dispose of me, Lady Margaret?”
Well, perhaps he was one lady’s fool.
Charles swallowed and tugged at his collar. “Should I expect you on Monday? At the factory, that is. To w-work on the case.” Shut up, man!
“Indeed, Mr. Noble. I shall see you on Monday at half past two.” Grasping the wheels of her chair, Lady Margaret rotated toward the door as though to depart, but then halted.
She lowered her voice confidentially. “Please forgive my presumption, but I do hope you will tend to your welfare and seek a doctor’s counsel.
The glassy twinkle in your eyes and recurring feverish flush may well be symptoms of a serious underlying medical condition.
It’s no business of mine, of course, but I know from experience the import of having matters of health tended to in a timely manner, so I felt the need to hazard rudeness by speaking up.
There’s no shame in seeking help, Mr. Noble. ”
Charles smiled. How could he not when Reverie was all sincerity? “Thank you most kindly for your concern, Lady Margaret. I shall take your advice into account.”
Seemingly satisfied, Lady Margaret nodded and took her leave.
Now it was Charles’ turn to blink. Had she truly misinterpreted his embarrassed blush as illness?
Could it be Lady Margaret truly had no clue of the effect she had upon him?
No notion of his attraction? Of the fact that she enchanted him, body and soul?
The thought cooled his cheeks even as it raised a dangerous question.
Was this reason for relief or regret that his growing feelings for Lady Margaret were as yet unperceived?