Page 32 of The Duke and Lady Scandal
“And to you, Miss Prince. Excellent choice, as always.” His mustache wiggled as he offered her a smile, then departed.
“What did you choose for him?” Inspector Drake emerged from one of the back aisles and sauntered toward the counter where she stood.
“An opal-and-amethyst ring for his wife’s birthday.”
“He must trust your judgement a great deal.”
“I’m good at choosing what a customer might like.”
He shot her a look. “So you’re good at assessing people.” Drake inspected the Roman coins arranged beneath glass in another display, then lifted his green gaze to hers. “What would you choose for me?”
Allie’s mouth went dry, and her heartbeat galloped in her chest. Something in his eyes, the low intensity of the question, felt like more than a challenge. It felt a bit like an invitation to solve a particularly interesting puzzle.
The distinct note of challenge in his tone thrilled her.
“Hmm.” She tipped her head as if she was the detective and he was her case to solve.
He held still for her perusal, watching her with an intensity that made her skin prickle, and when she took her time and didn’t immediately offer up a suggestion, a hint of a smile lifted the edges of his mouth.
Oh, he was enjoying this. But so was she.
This close to him, she noted aspects she’d missed in their earlier encounters. The glint of bronze in his hair where the waning sunlight bounced off a mirror and caught the color. A scar at the edge of his mouth and another on his chin. And two grooves between his brows as if he pondered very hard and very often.
“Am I so very baffling, Miss Prince?” He pitched his voice low and teasing.
As soon as the sound rumbled over her, she knew.
“Not at all. I’d never concede so easily.” She crooked a finger at him. “This way, Inspector.”
She led him to a shelf where several unique objects were arranged. They weren’t the items that generally caught customers’ notice, but Allie thought them some of the most interesting pieces they carried at Princes.
“This, I think.” With both hands, she lifted a polished wooden box off the shelf and held it out for his inspection.
“It is a pretty thing.”
The box was covered with elaborate carvings and accented with inlaid abalone shell.
“It’s more than pretty,” Allie told him. “It’s a puzzle box imported from China. In order to open the box, you must solve the mysteries of the box’s design.”
A smile flashed across his face, and Allie felt as if she’d seen a burst of sunlight on a cloudy day. She felt a bit of pride for inspiring that stoic face of his to ease into joy. If even for a moment.
But soon the pensive frown came again. “It does seem a very obvious choice, Miss Prince. Detective. Mystery box.”
Allie laughed. “You impugn my skills.” She pointed at the box. “But you are intrigued, aren’t you?”
His hands were large enough to all but enclose the box completely and yet he handled it gently, turning it this way and that. Allie found herself mesmerized by his deftness, and she noted that the abrasions on his knuckles had already begun to heal.
“I am absolutely intrigued.” The look he shot her from under his brows made her doubt he was talking about the box and hope he was talking about her. A syrupy warmth spread through her body.
She tried to say something in reply, but for once in her life, she struggled to form words.
When she heard movement in the back room, it was as if she’d been tugged out of a trance.
“Mr. Gibson.” Panic welled up and she reached for Inspector Drake instinctively. “I haven’t explained your presence to him. Give me a moment?”
Drake had locked his gaze on her hand where she held him. When he looked at her again, his eyes seemed brighter. “Of course.”
“I don’t want to alarm him, but I think he needs to know the truth.”
