Page 57 of A Lady’s Guide to Subterfuge and Science

“I can’t believe a strapping young lad such as yourself has never hunted. Is it not a rite of passage in Gloucestershire?”

“No,” she said firmly.

“Oh, fine. I wouldn’t want you to see how terrible my aim is, anyway.” His easy friendliness had returned, much to her relief. “How about fishing?”

Kalila considered this before nodding. “That could be interesting.”

“Very good.” Oliver hopped off his stool. “I’ll come around at five day after tomorrow.”

“Five?”

“In the morning.”

“In the morning!”

Oliver gave her a devilish grin. “Would you prefer four?”

“No!” she gasped. “No, five suits me just fine.”

“I thought it might.”

Chapter Fourteen

“Please, Kalila, tell me that this is the last shop.”

Kalila turned to Caroline, who was doing very little to conceal her obvious irritation. They’d spent most of the morning and early afternoon combing through shops around Rosewood, and her friend was understandably sick of it.

But Kalila would be damned if she didn’t at least try to track Oliver’s microscope down. She’d spent half the night dwelling on it, dwelling on his poorly concealed pain. She couldn’t be rid of his father for him, but she could try to replace what had been taken.

“We’ll take tea soon, I promise,” Kalila said, scanning the shelves. She knew it was unlikely for William Booth to have strayed far from Rosewood, and so she had restricted their search to the surrounding area. The shop they stood in was stuffed from ceiling to floor with all manner of trinkets, both old and new. The shelves were covered in a light layer of dust, and Kalila wished she had chosen a more appropriate dress for the excursion. No doubt her pale-green skirts would be streaked in grime before the day was through.

“How hard is it to find a microscope, anyway?” Caroline groused, ducking under an ancient chandelier.

Kalila moved deeper into the shop. “Quite hard, apparently.”

“Do you think Mr. Booth would be content with an old pipe?” Caroline asked, picking up the object in question. She perked before reaching for another item on the shelf. “Oh! Or how about a wooden duck?”

“No to the pipe, maybe to the duck,” Kalila said, distracted. “It would remind him of his favorite pub.”

Caroline arched an eyebrow. “Look at you, a veritable expert on all things Oliver Booth.”

“An expert?” Kalila scoffed as her cheeks grew warm. “That’s a bit of an exaggeration.”

Caroline gave an unconvinced murmur before saying, “Perhaps I shall buy this for Dameer. Maybe it will inspire him to improve his whittling.”

“Haven’t you heard?” Kalila climbed onto a rickety stool. “He no longer whittles. He’s interested in book binding now.”

“Then I shall buy him a badly bound book,” Caroline said, putting the duck back on the shelf. “Though I’m sure he’ll have found another hobby by supper.”

“Where is it?” Kalila grumbled to herself, hopping off the stool and pulling it down the aisle.

Caroline sneezed. “I wouldn’t be surprised if this shop has not been cleaned since the day it opened its doors.”

“Nor would I,” Kalila said, glancing at her smudged clothing. “Would you like to wait outside? I know the dust irritates your nose.”

“Are you sure?” Caroline asked. “I don’t want to abandon you.”

“I won’t be long,” Kalila promised, climbing the stool again.