Page 44 of Anything But a Duke
“You’re right on time, Miss Ashby.” He had the urge to take her hand, but she had her hands folded around a folio she kept tucked against her chest.
“I expected the address to lead me to an office.” She spared him only a glance before continuing to take in the items on display.
“There are several upstairs, but I thought we could discuss strategy at the tea shop across the street.”
She nodded but then stepped past him. “You own all of this?”
“I do.”
“Will you show me the rest?”
Aidan smiled at her eagerness. Not even Wickett’s arched brows as they passed could diminish the pleasure of being able to show Miss Ashby something that he’d built. Not in the way she did, of course, starting from an idea to create a working machine. Aidan’s talent was for seeing potential, improving what was faltering, or championing inventions that others saw as newfangled nonsense.
As they explored the shop, he enjoyed hearing her sounds of interest or surprise. At the section containing ladies’ accoutrements, she stopped and tapped a finger against her lip. A shopgirl stood on a ladder returning a bolt of fabric to a shelf high on the wall.
“A simple pulley system would save her the trouble of climbing.”
Aidan frowned as he considered her idea.
“And those workers carrying items up and down the stairs. Do they do that all day?”
“Stock is carried from the delivery dock to the departments upstairs.”
She twisted her lips into a thoughtful moue. “A pulley system might be useful there too, though I’ve been working on a lift device that uses the same pneumatic pressure as my cleaning system.”
Aidan chuckled as he watched her. He could almost hear the calculations clicking in her mind. He might see things that needed tidying, but she saw ways to improve how the world worked.
“Are you always like this?” The question emerged bluntly, honestly, before he had a chance to soften it.
She offered him a wary look. “How do you mean?”
“You see that things could be better and come up with solutions.”
“I suppose I do.” A bit of the wariness faded, but her tone remained cool. “The ideas come unbidden at times.”
“It’s admirable.” He meant the compliment. “And I understand the impulse.”
The curve of her cheek flushed pink, then she tipped her head dubiously. “Do you?”
“I don’t have a scientific mind like yours.” He hated the prospect of her discovering how woeful his formal education had been. “But I do admire innovation. Progress is always a consideration when I invest.”
She assessed him and then leaned close enough for him to catch her floral scent on the air. “Corset unlacers and cleaning devices aren’t progress enough for you, Mr. Iverson?”
“I believe you are in possession of two hundred of my pounds to fund your device, Miss Ashby.”
“Yes. I haven’t forgotten our deal.” There was a strange note in her tone. A thread of uncertainty.
Aidan almost reached for her. He lifted his arm; the impulse to soothe whatever concerned her was so strong. He’d touched her too often already, and yet it wasn’t enough. He wanted to every time he was near her.
She swallowed hard. He’d given too much away. Something must have been there in his gaze or in the quickening of his breath. But she didn’t step back.
There was a boldness in the way she held his gaze that made his pulse quicken.
“We should discuss a plan for this evening,” she said quietly.
“Yes.” He knew he should be more interested in the dinner at Lady Sophie’s. “Shall we head across the street?”
As they made their way toward the front door of the shop, a broad-shouldered gentleman barreled past, and Aidan reached out to keep the man from bumping into Diana. But he took care not to touch her.
