Page 6 of A Daring Pursuit

All that is precious to me is in your hands. Everything in my posse—

That was where the letter stopped. Geneva lifted her head, her own vision obscured, and met her friend’s eyes, which were filled with concern. She looked down at the letter. A splash plinked on the paper. Geneva flipped it over, but the backside was blank.

“What does it say?” Abra asked.

Geneva handed it to her and brushed away a tear. Now was not the time to blubber like an infant.

“At the least, we have a name,” Abra said. Then, scowling, added, “Lord Pender is a scoundrel along with that libertine son of his. Every time I think how he deserted Meredith in the wilds of Cornwall, I’m angry all over again. I vow, their reputations know no bounds.” She folded the missive over and handed it back. “What do you wish to do?”

Geneva’s determination firmed. “Find my locket, of course. Now that I know it truly exists.” At least, she hoped that was the case. She came to her feet, swooping up the box from the floor, then stopped. “Is there anything else in there?” She waved at the floor.

Abra dipped her head, then looked up. “Nothing. Oh, wait.” She reached down then brought out her hand and opened her palm. “A pearl earbob.”

Black edged Geneva’s vision. She fell back to her knees, hardly able to catch her breath.

Abra grabbed her hand and plopped the pearl into it. “The other one must be here somewhere.” She bent over the opening, blocking it from Geneva’s sight. “Blast. There’s nothing—wait. There is something.” She reared back and traded the earbob for another key. This one, small and rusty, left marks on Geneva’s hand. Abra held the earbob to the lamp, studying it from allangles. “I don’t know much regarding the value of jewels and such, never having so much as a chain to wear about my neck, thanks to my dear stepmother, but… this appears significant to me. What do you propose to do with it?” She held the earbob out in the flat of her hand.

It was a singular piece of delicate yet striking craftsmanship; its age was evident in the faint patina and whispered of a storied past. The pearl itself was lustrous though slightly irregular in shape with a soft, creamy sheen that caught the light and glowed with an otherworldly beauty. Its surface bore the subtle mark of time with tiny imperfections that only enhanced its authenticity and rarity. Geneva couldn’t pull her eyes from it and responded without hesitation. “Sell it. We shall need the blunt.”

A searing hatred pierced her that was ages old. If she had to describe it, it would have resembled something like a large, black greatcoat smothering her senses, blinding her, muffling all sound. Suffocating her ability to breathe. “Let’s set this plank back in place. We’ve plans to make.” She tightened her fist around the piece of metal she still held and stopped, peering at her very good friend. “If you… will you accompany me?”

Abra’s straight, white teeth gleamed in a huge grin. “Just try to stop me.”

“What about the evil stepmother?”

“I’ll tell Papa we are to visit Meredith. He trusts me implicitly.”

“But… if he learns the truth, he might quash our friendship.”

“You let me handle Papa,” she said with a wave of her hand.

A rush of gratitude filled Geneva. “Of course, Pasha—”

“Adores you.” Abra glanced over to Pasha who was watching them, eyes wide. “Don’t you, Pasha?”

“Of course, my lady,” she dutifully responded, though Geneva detected a gleam of excitement in her eye.

It wasn’t as if they hadn’t managed to fool Abra’s parents before. They could now as well. “All right,” Geneva said softly. She leaned over and gave her a fierce hug. “Thank you,” she whispered. No one had a better friend.

Chapter Two

The scientific formulaconverged in a blur that made Noah’s eyes ache. He dropped his pen and whipped off his spectacles. With his forefinger and thumb, he rubbed his eyes then stood and raised his arms over his head in a stretch that cracked his spine one vertebra at a time. Over the last fourteen years, his study in chemistry had migrated to attempting to understand the musculoskeletal anatomy, his main focus being the foot and ankles. It was complicated research that involved observing gait and balance and functional limitations. He lowered his arms then pinched the bridge of his nose, drawing in a deep breath.

Besides downing several cups of strong Brazilian coffee, he’d yet to breakfast. He tugged out his watch and flipped it open. Only eight-thirty. An ungodly hour of the morning. He’d been in his laboratory already over two hours.

Uncle Sander and Aunt Verda were due home any day from their long-deserved holiday on the Continent. His youngest brother, Julius, was on Grand Tour and scheduled to return home with them. Noah couldn’t have been more thrilled. He missed his family.

Smiling, he snatched up his spectacles. After securing the wire handles behind his ears, he leaned down and scribbled a few more observation notations in his journal then closed it. He was weary to the bone. Admittedly, he’d been able to focus on his research uninterrupted, but there were hitches in Noah’s well-ordered life outside the last month. One was his father’sbehavior, which was growing disturbingly erratic. Inconsistent at best, and worst? Unstable…

The other was his eldest brother, Lucius, who hadn’t recovered his fury upon learning he hadn’t been free to marry Miss Docia Hale. Father had apparently signed that right away as part of a gaming vowel. According to Uncle Sander, in 1827, Lucius’s hand had been tied to the Duke of Rathbourne’s only child, Lady Meredith Jephson. At the ripe old age of thirteen. His brother had every right to his anger, of course. But the wedding had been three years ago. And unfortunately, Lucius had directed his anger at Lady Meredith by consigning her to the Cornwall property, Perlsea Keep, within days of their nuptials. Meanwhile, Lucius had maintained his residence at the Pender mansion in London year round, doing God knew what.

As far as Noah could tell, Lucius hadn’t returned once to Cornwall. He let out a sigh. And, yes, he missed him too.

Since Lucius’s unavailability, Docia had been dropping less than subtle hints of accepting an offer from Noah. Sadly, Noah couldn’t think of a single reason to keep ignoring those hints.Sadly? An odd way to consider the possibility of one’s own lifetime union. Therein lay the rub… a lifetime. With Docia. He shuddered.

God, he was tired. He dropped his spectacles on the table and rubbed his eyes again.

Across the chamber, the door flew back. The velocity of wind created threatened the stability of the charts pinned to the walls.

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