Page 26 of A Lady’s Guide to Subterfuge and Science

“I’ve been watching you these three days, Rafiq,” he said finally. “You’re clearly an intelligent lad.”

Kalila remained alert. While it was possible that he’d brought her here to compliment her, it was also possible that he was in the process of setting her up for a thrashing. Comerford stared at her expectantly, as if waiting for a response.

“Oh, uh,” Kalila stammered, “thank you, sir.”

“Which leads me to ask—why are you so dedicated to that paper of yours?”

Kalila knit her brow. “How do you mean?”

“You’re a fine biologist.” He pushed the papers out of the way and gave her a pointed look. “You needn’t rely on novelty to move ahead.”

“Novelty?” Kalila forced out, feeling as though she’d been kicked.

“Not that it is entirely such,” Comerford continued, twirling the end of his gray mustache. “I can see the logic in some of your ideas. But—you have never, for example, submitted work to the journal’s Current Techniques section.”

Kalila paused for a moment, crestfallen. Then, as the awkwardness of the silence settled upon her, she brought herself back to the conversation. “With all due respect, sir, I have never been interested in contributing to the Current Techniques section.”

Comerford sat back and folded his hands over his stomach. “Give it more consideration when you’ve the time. Being the sole champion of new ideas attracts more negative attention than one might expect.”

Kalila shook her head, unable to understand. Did he think he was protecting her from something? From the likes of Jennings?

Or did he just not like any tension in his precious group?

“I can’t say I follow, sir. And I’m not sure I’m willing to let go of what I’ve worked on for years.”

For a beat, Comerford did nothing but hold her gaze. Kalila responded in kind, refusing to crumble.

“As you wish,” Comerford said. “Return to 107. I will follow shortly.”

As soon as Kalila had returned to her bench, Young murmured, “What was it?”

“Nothing of note,” she said, avoiding his curiosity by peering into her microscope. “Guidance about my theories.”

“Lucky you, Rafiq.” Young reached over to pat her on the back. “Not everyone is able to capture Comerford’s interest like that.”

Kalila bit back a sigh. She was inviting the wrong sort of attention, but she couldn’t say that to Young. If it wasn’t Booth coaxing her into forgetting why she was here, it was Comerford trying to derail her life’s work.

“I have here a box of marine slides.”

Kalila jumped at the sound of Comerford’s voice, having failed to notice his reentry into the room. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Booth slip back into the laboratory. He glanced at her as he passed, his face taking on a momentary expression of sympathy. What for, she did not know.

As the session proceeded, the other men’s energy rubbed off on her, leaving her lighter, a touch more inspired, and hungry for more work. When they were dismissed, she approached Comerford and asked to have use of the lab for the evening.

“Taking my advice, Rafiq?” he asked.

“Yes,” she lied. It wasn’t about moving onto something else, of course, but rather that she wasn’t ready to abandon the luxury of the lab for her attic at the townhouse.

“Very well.” Comerford fished a key out of his pocket. “Now, I am trusting you with this. Lock up after you’re done and slip the key under my office door. No wandering around after dark. I don’t want to hear any complaints from the Zoological Society’s nocturnal study team. Am I understood?”

Kalila nodded and returned to her bench as the men filtered out of the room. She thought she saw Booth hesitate to leave but he, too, eventually followed suit. As the silence of the lab settled over her, she began to relax. It hadn’t been the best of days, but she’d made it through, even if it was now clear that she needed to work harder on impressing Comerford. His belief in her intelligence wasn’t enough—she needed his respect.

And Jennings—well. She wouldn’t even bother with him. She knew a losing battle when she saw one.

With only the delicate tinkle of glass slides meeting her ears, Kalila continued to work, peering into the microscope. For the first time that day, she felt her guard slip.

Let it.

It would, after all, go back up tomorrow.