"I shall bear your warning in mind." Olympia frowned as she caught another hint of his perfume. She almost recognized it, she thought. She knew she had smelled it recently. Very recently.
Last night, in fact.
"I say, it's rather warm in here, is it not?" Torbert pulled his handkerchief from his pocket and mopped his perspiring brow.
Olympia stared at the linen handkerchief. It was an exact duplicate of the one she and Jared had found in the garden.
The large clockwork spider crawled relentlessly across the bottom of the glass case. It moved with a jerky, unnatural stride that was nonetheless fascinating. It pursued a mechanical mouse that moved with a similarly uneven gait.
Olympia crowded close to the glass along with Ethan, Hugh, and Robert. They all peered into the case with rapt attention. Jared stood on the other side and watched the spider's progress with an indulgent expression.
"I say, it's awfully huge, isn't it?" Ethan glanced hopefully at Olympia. "Are you frightened, Aunt Olympia?"
"Of course not." Olympia looked up and saw the disappointment in his eyes. "Why would I be frightened when I have you three to protect me from the beast?"
Ethan grinned, satisfied. "Do not forget Mr. Chillhurst. He'll protect you, too. Won't you, Mr. Chillhurst?"
"I shall do my best," Jared vowed softly.
"It's just a mechanical spider," Robert said with the scorn only a ten-year old boy can affect. "It cannot hurt anyone, can it, Mr. Chillhurst?"
"Probably not," Jared said. "But one never knows."
"That's right," Ethan said with relish. "One never knows. If it got loose in here, for instance, I'll wager it could cause all sorts of trouble."
Robert glanced across the room to where visitors were observing the actions of a mechanical bear. "Just imagine what that lady over there would do if she suddenly felt the nasty limbs of a spider on her ankle."
"I'll wager she would scream," Hugh said. He gave the latch on top of the glass case a speculative look.
Jared's brows rose. "Do not even consider the notion."
All three boys groaned with regret and went back to studying the spider.
Olympia glanced quickly around and then moved to Jared's side. This was the first opportunity she had had to talk to him in private. She was anxious to tell him about her discoveries regarding Torbert's handkerchief.
"Mr. Chillhurst, I must speak with you."
He smiled. "I am at your service, Miss Wingfield."
"Privately." Olympia moved into another room full of clockwork oddities.
Jared leisurely followed her to a case that contained a mechanical soldier. "Yes, Miss Wingfield?" He twisted the knob on the base of the case. The soldier started to stiffen and stand tall. "What was it you wished to discuss?"
She shot him a triumphant, sidelong glance and pretended to study the clockwork figure. "I believe I have discovered the identity of the intruder. Perhaps of the Guardian himself."
Jared's hand froze on the knob. "Have you, indeed?" he asked without any inflection.
"Yes, I have." Olympia leaned closer on the pretext of getting a better view of the mechanical soldier. "You will never credit this, but it is none other than Mr. Torbert."
"Torbert?" Jared stared at her. "What the devil are you talking about?"
"I am virtually certain that the handkerchief that we found last night belongs to Mr. Torbert." Olympia watched as the mechanical soldier began to raise his small rifle. "He used one this morning in the society's library and it looked just like the one we discovered."
"Most handkerchiefs look very similar," Jared said dryly.
"Yes, but this one carried the same scent as the one we found."
Jared frowned slightly. "Are you certain?"
"Quite certain." Olympia saw that the mechanical soldier was taking aim with the rifle. "But there is one other possible explanation."
"What is that?"
"Torbert and Aldridge are apparently fierce rivals. Torbert, in fact, took great pains to warn me about Aldridge this morning. It's possible that Lord Aldridge deliberately planted that handkerchief in the garden last night."
"Why in blazes would he do that?"
Olympia slanted him an impatient look. "In hopes that it would make me think the worst of Mr. Torbert, of course."
"That assumption presupposes that you would be able to identify the handkerchief," Jared pointed out.
"Yes, I know, but that is precisely what I did."
"Aldridge could not have guessed it would be so easy for you to recognize it. No, I seriously doubt that he had anything to do with it." Jared turned toward her with a thoughtful expression. "Olympia, I do not want you getting involved in this matter."
"But, Mr. Chillhurst—"
"Leave it to me."
"I cannot do that." Olympia lifted her chin. "This affects my studies, sir. I have every right to protect the diary from the Guardian or anyone else who happens to be after the treasure." She nibbled on her lower lip reflectively. "Although, I must admit, I cannot see Mr. Torbert as part of a legend. I do not think he can possibly be connected to the Guardian."
"Damnation, woman," Jared said between his teeth, "I will protect you from Torbert, the Guardian, and anyone else who comes along. If you require protection, that is."
Olympia stared at him in astonishment. "Whatever do you mean by that, sir? Of course precautions must be taken."
"Miss Wingfield, you will leave this matter of the handkerchief in my hands. I will see that Torbert is made to understand that there are to be no more incidents such as the one that occurred in the garden last night."
"You will speak to him?"
"Rest assured he will get the point."
Olympia subsided, satisfied. "Very well, sir, I leave everything to you."
"Thank you, Miss Wingfield. Now, then—"
Before Jared could finish, a woman's voice cut through the background murmur of conversation and the tick and clink of clockwork mechanisms.
"Chillhurst. What on earth are you doing here?"
Jared's gaze flashed past Olympia to someone else who was approaching from behind her. "Bloody hell."
Olympia barely had time to register the chillingly enigmatic expression he wore before the woman spoke again.
"Chillhurst, it is you, is it not?"
Olympia turned to see a strikingly beautiful woman gliding across the room toward them. The lady came to a halt and smiled coolly at Jared. Her light blue eyes were filled with amused recognition.
For a moment, Olympia could only stare at the lovely stranger. The woman's pale blond hair was elegantly pinned beneath an extremely clever and no doubt exceedingly expensive, little blue hat. She wore a dark blue spencer over her sky blue afternoon gown. The matching kid gloves, Olympia knew, had probably cost more than her own gown, shoes, bonnet, and reticule combined.
The woman was not alone. She was accompanied by an equally fashionable lady garbed in yellow. The second woman was not beautiful in the same sense as the blonde, but there was an unmistakable air of exotic attractiveness about her. She was a brilliant contrast to her friend. Her hair was a deep, rich brown beneath her feather-trimmed hat. Her eyes were dark. Her figure was fuller and more rounded than her sleek companion.
"I could not credit it when I noticed you a moment ago, Chillhurst," the blond woman said. "I had heard that you were in town but I doubted the truth. You never come to London."
"Good afternoon, Demetria. Or should I say, Lady Beaumont?" Jared inclined his head with cold civility.
"Demetria will do." Demetria glanced at her companion. "You remember Constance, do you not?"
"Only too well." Jared smiled coldly. "Lady Kirkdale."
"Chillhurst." Constance, Lady Kirkdale, smiled politely. Her eyes went to Olympia.