Page 96 of The Duke and Lady Scandal
“I need to solve this case.” That was all that mattered. Especially when he wasn’t certain he was any of those things anymore.
“Sleep. Then think on what I’ve said when the whiskey is out of your system and the case is solved.” She reached out to pat him once onthe center of his chest. “And don’t forget to consult your heart in these matters, not just your very prodigious mind.”
Ben knew she was right, but he couldn’t consult his heart. Not yet.
“I’ll try for a few winks,” he told her. “Thank you, Helen.”
She waved him off, apparently done with the moments of tenderhearted advice. “I’ll thank you to stop drinking my medicinal whiskey.”
Chapter Twenty
Allie strode through the front door of Princes and smiled at the bell’s familiar chime.
For a moment, she simply stood and soaked it all in. The scent of old wood and aged book binding. Beeswax-polished shelves. The dark, enticing aroma of coffee.
As she ventured further into the shop, she danced her fingers over furniture pieces and fabrics. Velvet upholstery, intricate tapestries, the delicate edge of a silk fan.
The shop felt more like home than the expensive townhouse her father had purchased a few years before his death. Or even the upstairs rooms, most of which had been converted to storage space and Dom’s bachelor domain.
She felt useful at Princes. The most useful. Running the shop had fallen to her by default, but it gave her a purpose, even if it would never be as impressive to anyone as Dom’s and Eve’s accomplishments.
“Well, hello. I hoped it was you.” Mr. Gibson emerged from the back room wearing a smile.“This place hasn’t been the same without you, Miss Prince.”
Allie was pleased to see him too. “I’ve missed you, Mr. Gibson.”
“And I you, Miss Prince.” He ducked his head as if embarrassed by their mutual exuberance. “I have something to show you.”
When he scurried into the back room, she felt her first niggle of apprehension, but he soon emerged again with a small stack of papers.
He approached and spread them out on the main counter, and she could see that they were advertisements for various safes and vaults.
“I thought you’d want to have a look at these. Your decision will, of course, be the final say, but I think these two seem quite promising.” He pointed to the two on top. “They’re the most updated devices. And the manufacturer of this one even claims that they guarantee their safes to be theft-proof.”
Allie perused the advertisements, noting the various claims and guarantees. She glanced at Mr. Gibson. “I wonder how many of these guarantees are legally binding.”
He chuckled softly. “As do I. Advertisers are bold nowadays.”
“They are indeed.” She agreed with him about the two that he liked the best, and she was already leaning toward the one that seemed a bit more spacious than their current safe. They needed the extra space and had for some time. “This one, I think.”
Mr. Gibson smiled. “We’re in accord, and I will see to ordering it straightaway if you approve.”
“I do. We must have it in order to reopen.” She dug in her bag before he could depart. “I noticed in the photographs the police took that there are bits of what appears to be a clock advertisement.” She handed him the photograph. “Is this from a magazine of yours?”
He scanned the image with a quizzical frown. “No, not at all.”
“The bits of paper. You’d never seen them?”
“No.” He tipped his head as he assessed her. “What do you think they mean?”
“I wish I knew.”
“Well, as I told the young detective, those pieces were not in the safe the night before. A true mystery.”
“One that I suppose Inspector...” She couldn’t bring herself to say his name. She was being ridiculous, but it caught in her throat.
Mr. Gibson seemed to sense her hesitation and finished the thought for her. “Inspector Drake will suss it all out, I’m sure.”
“I’m sure he will,” she agreed. Then a thought struck. She went behind the counter and pulled out the top drawer.
