Page 78 of Let Me Be Your Hero
“That’s probably wise,” Anne said.
“Some portions of the project can proceed,” Izzie noted. “My desk is being built off-site, and when it gets delivered, Archibald’s men can carry it upstairs. The same thing goes for the window seat. His men are handy enough to install it. But my floor-to-ceiling bookcases will have to wait until the threat is resolved.”
“Have your contacts come up with any leads, Anne?” Caro asked.
Anne shook her head. “It’s strange—my network is usually able to uncoversomething. But there’s not even a whisper of a plot against you, Izzie. Either whoever is behind this is unusually skilled at keeping their mouths shut, or your attackers are not connected to any of the usual criminal groups. I’m not giving up, though,” she hastened to add.
Izzie sighed. Bow Street wasn’t having any more luck. At this rate, she would be imprisoned in this house for the rest of her life…
She reminded herself that she was lucky to be alive. That many people spent their lives imprisoned in a hovel, not by danger but by poverty, and they would have traded their lot for a chance to live in this mansion without a second thought. And that she was exceptionally lucky to have a husband who would move mountains to secure her safety and happiness.
She forced herself to smile as she pushed open the door to her future library. “This is it. Tell me what you think…”
A chorus of oohs and aahs erupted behind her. Lucy and Diana had visited the room several times, but it was Anne and Caro’s first time seeing it. Izzie gave them the full tour, showing them where the window seat would be built, where her desk would go, and telling them of Archibald’s plans for her floor-to-ceiling bookcases.
“It’s perfect,” Caro declared. “The only thing missing is a pet raven to perch on a stand beside your desk.”
“Don’t tell Thorpe,” Diana said. “If you put the idea in his head, by this time tomorrow, she’ll have a whole flock.”
They all laughed as they filed out of the room.
As Izzie shut the door, Anne said, “And it will be lovely having your husband so close at hand.”
Izzie tilted her head. “What do you mean?”
“This is Thorpe’s workshop, is it not?” Anne asked, gesturing to the locked door across the hall. “Or have I misremembered the way? I’ve only been in there the one time.”
There was a sudden roaring in Izzie’s ears. “You’ve been inside Archibald’s workshop?”
“Yes,” Anne said, oblivious to the jealousy raging in her sister’s gut. “It was when he first became involved with the Ladies’ Society. I had just started my campaign against the use of chimneysweep boys, and he created this marvelous long-handled broom that could bend through the crooked corners so many flues have.” Anne laughed. “He built it in one night. Ithought that was impressive enough. But it doesn’t hold a candle to his other inventions.”
“What other inventions?” Izzie burst out. At Anne’s surprised look, she modulated her tone. “It’s just… Archibald keeps all his most impressive creations at his main machine shop. The one at Nettlethorpe Iron.”
Anne waved a hand. “I’m sure you’re right. This was more than a year ago. He’s probably moved things around since then. But when I visited, he had one of his screw-cutting lathes in there!”
“His screw-cutting… what?” Izzie asked.
Her words were effectively covered by Diana, who said in the same breath, “Oh! I read an article about his screw-cutting lathe! It sounded absolutely fascinating, and the implications for precision-engineered machine parts are tremendous. Did he demonstrate it for you?”
“He did not,” Anne said. “But I’ll bet he’s done so for Izzie.”
Everyone turned to her expectantly. For once, Izzie was at a loss for words. Not only had she not seen Archibald’s device in operation, but up until a moment ago, she hadn’t even been aware that he’d built something called a screw-cutting lathe.
Even worse, she wasn’t entirely sure what a screw-cutting lathewas.
And she knew that this was partially her own fault. That she tended to become so absorbed in the imaginary worlds she built inside her head, she didn’t pay as much attention to what was going on around her as she should. Diana knew all about his invention without having a particular acquaintance with Archibald.
But she had asked him to tell her about his work multiple times. Now that she thought about it, he had changed the subject each time.
It was almost as if he was trying to avoid her questions.
But why? She could only come up with one possibility.
Because he thinks you’re too silly to understand it.
Everyone was staring at her, waiting for her to answer. She scrambled to come up with a face-saving excuse.
They always said the best lie was the one that was closest to the truth…
