“And yet, you will do it?”
Crackwilder set down his glass and folded his hands, regarding them thoughtfully. “Miss Dell seems to have a particular interest in the Royal Society. She attended one of Mrs. Herschel’s gatherings and appeared most keen to hear of the recent goings on.”
“I cannot imagine that anythinggoes onat the society, but all right,” Giles said. “Teach me some of it and take me to Mrs. Herschel’s next gathering.”
“No, absolutely not, you will not set foot inside that lady’s doors. Mrs. Herschel’s crowd would make mincemeat of you and you’d be worse off than when you started. I have a better idea. Just now, that particular group of men is reading all of the papers published by the society in the last two years. You will read them too. It is not too big a piece of cake for you to bite off, assuming you can read, and it is a subject Miss Dell is interested in.”
“You know full well I can read. Excellent notion!” Giles said. “When can we begin?”
“Considering your lack of academic rigor, we’d best start tomorrow. Though, we must fix a place to meet. It cannot be here, it is too loud during the day. Mrs. Ra-deesh has a lot of children, you know.”
“Destin’s,” Giles said. “There are a few private rooms. I will arrange it. Two o’clock?”
“Two? I suppose you do not rise any earlier?”
“Of course I do. But then LaRue takes his time, and there is breakfast, and somehow I am often running behind. We should make it two so that I am not late.”
“Two it is,” Crackwilder said, almost as a sigh.
Chapter Seven
Sir John Kullehamndhad just been shown into the drawing room. Kitty smoothed her skirts, having made her curtsy, and sat on the sofa next to her mother. Sir John seemed nervous and the baroness said kindly, “How good of you to call, Sir John.”
Sir John nodded. An awkward silence followed and was mercifully broken by Hidgson bringing in the tea tray.
The baroness poured the tea. Seeming to realize that the two younger people in the room had absolutely nothing to say, or if they did, chose not to say it, she said, “My daughter and I were most amused to hear of the mystery of Veritas threatening the Royal Society. Have you discovered anything further?”
Sir John took his cup, looking very grave. “I cannot say that I am myself amused by the plot,” he said. “I believe the man to be dangerous to the continuation of the society. But no, nothing new has been discovered.”
Kitty felt the tension in the room as if it were a thing that might be seen. Sir John and her mother were of such different temperaments! Where the baroness found levity and amusement, he found none.
“Goodness, though,” the baroness said, “can the society really be taken down by one disgruntled individual?”
“Possibly,” Sir John said. “It has only regained its footing in recent years and therefore remains weak and vulnerable.”
“Then you must do everything you can to stop Veritas,” Kitty said, hoping to give Sir John the sense that at least one person in the room took his concerns as seriously as he did himself.
In truth, Kittydidtake his concerns seriously. As much as it frustrated her that the society did not allow women, it could not be permitted to fall! The progression of mankind’s understanding would be delayed and stymied and nobody could wish for that. In any case, Mrs. Herschel was confident that the day would come when the society would see sense and admit females. Kitty dearly hoped to be among them.
Sir John appeared approving of Kitty’s directive. “Indeed, I will do everything in my power to unmask the culprit, Miss Dell. I am diligently reading through all the society has published in the last few years, looking for any sort of clue.”
“Oh, how I wish I could be a part of it,” Kitty said wistfully.
Sir John’s expression went through several changes and Kitty thought she might have somehow stepped out of bounds.
He said, “Naturally, a lady cannot be a member of the society, but I know of no rule that dictates that a lady cannot read the papers published by us. Mrs. Herschel has been known to comment publicly on them and the more noteworthy often appear as excerpts in the newspapers. As well, I believe Lady Stanhope has engaged herself in the task.”
Kitty brightened. All of that was true. She had read various bits of research here and there. Usually things that had been passed along to her father. She had only never considered that one might order copies.
“Though, Sir John,” she said, “how would one go about getting the copies?”
“I will see to it, Miss Dell,” Sir John said gallantly. “In the usual case, I would say that these papers are not suited to the female intellect. However, I believeyourmind quite up to the task.”
Kitty could not help but be flattered. Sir John was not the most lively and amusing fellow, but he saw her mind. He really saw what she was capable of. Further, how exciting it would be to engage in the hunt for the mysterious Veritas!
The distant sound of the door knocker reached them and Sir John rose. “You will have other callers and so I will take my leave.”
Kitty and the baroness rose. “Thank you for your call, Sir John,” the baroness said pleasantly.
