Page 21 of Lady Liar
“Lord Wembly,” Winsome said, “we could hardly drag Verity out of the library today. She gets so engrossed with her learning. About the slow-moving animals.”
Lady Pegatha’s head snapped up from her soup. “Really?” she said, looking very surprised to hear it.
Lord Wembly had turned to Verity. This was the moment to prove she actually knew something about the lord’s research, and then gracefully exit it, never to be spoken of again. “Indeed,” she said, “I found Mr. Carlisle’s observations regarding the circulatory system particularly illuminating.”
“Oh, I see,” Lord Wembly said. “Well, yes, of course, the dissection of the monkey did provide some valuable foundational information.”
A loud clatter interrupted him. Serenity had dropped her spoon. “Dissection?” she cried. “Of a monkey?”
Lord Wembly looked entirely startled. “Uh…no, no, it was, hmm, what is it called? Ah, predictive research. Meaning, what would be the result if he had. Done anything. Which he did not.”
Verity and Winsome stared at one another, as they both knew the truth of it. She must admit, Lord Wembly was very astute to so quickly recover what might have been a festival of tears. He was very kind to do it, too.
Serenity wiped a tear from her cheek. “Goodness, you frightened me.”
Lord Thorpe stared grimly at Lord Wembly, no doubt displeased that his wife had been frightened.
“You see?” Valor said, apropos of nothing.
“So you are researching the matter, Lady Verity?” Lady Pegatha asked with a raised brow.
Here was her moment to back herself out of this ridiculous situation. Verity said, “I was, but I’ve decided to leave it behind. For now, at least.”
“Ah, I see,” Lady Pegatha said, “no doubt some other subject has captured your attention.”
Verity nodded gratefully. “Indeed.”
“What is it, pray?” Lady Pegatha asked.
What is it? It was nothing. Why was Lady Pegatha asking what it was? Why had she not thought she’d have to come up with some new interest? She’d briefly considered that she might say she was netting purses instead, but that was ridiculous. One did not replace scientific research with netting purses!
Verity felt her thoughts begin to spin. The prickly feeling she sometimes felt on her arms and face rushed over her.
“She won’t say,” Winsome said, attempting to throw her drowning sister a life ring, “but we’re sure it’s very…scientific.”
“Oh, come now,” Lady Pegatha said, “we must know.”
Verity’s thinking had gone blind, it was doing nothing at all. What interest, what interest, what interest?
“I hope it’s more interesting than whatever that other thing was,” Valor said.
Her other sisters were staring at her in alarm. Particularly Patience and Serenity, who knew very well that she’d invented the first interest and now she was to have a second. Even Felicity looked wide-eyed, as she had perhaps heard some of Verity’s ideas in the past that were not quite right. Or true.
“Lady Verity?” Lord Wembly said, looking curiously at her.
Thomas had come round with a platter of whole broiled cod. She stared down at their dead glassy eyes and felt her own eyes go glassy.
“Well, as one might imagine, I’m looking into the ability of fish to see when out of water. Rather, if they can,” she said.
What had she said? What had she done?
Again.
“Well now,” the duke said, “that explains all that hanging around the lake in the Dales. My advice, keep it all to yourself for now, in these early stages. Wouldn’t want to come to any wrong conclusions by rushing the thing.”
Dear Papa. Of course he would come to the rescue. Shewouldkeep it to herself. Forever, if she could manage it.
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