Page 18 of A Relentless Rake

Five

Alec stifled a yawn as the lecture entered its second hour. The first had detailed mathematical ratios between points on a Roman arch. He’d hoped the second half would be more interesting, until he discovered that the new topic was the Roman dome. Which was simply a continuous arch.

Good Lord, Henry Everett was boring!

But his sister—Alec’s gaze roamed to where she sat at the back of the auditorium, raptly hanging on every word—was most definitelynot.

Olivia Everett appeared strikingly different from last night. In the alley, she’d possessed bright, flashing eyes even in the dark shadows, and her hair had fallen free of its pins, making her appear even more like a wild creature.

But here, beneath the sunlight that streamed through the tall windows, she was simply…angelic. Nothing about her demure appearance gave even the slightest hint that this same woman had brandished a carving knife at him.

Sweet Lucifer, what an appearance, too. Although her hair was twisted into a conservative chignon, he could finally see its true color—pale gold, the same yellow as the morning sky when the sun first peeks over the horizon. The cornflower blue of her dress matched her eyes and highlighted the pink in her cheeks, and even from this distance, he could see that her lips were just as full as he remembered. Whenever her brother made a comment she found particularly interesting—perhaps the only person in the hall who did—she bit that pouty bottom lip of hers in concentration. That same lip Alec inexplicably wanted to bite himself. If he did that, then she truly would take a knife to him.

A ripple of applause moved through the audience.

Alec dragged his attention back to the brother. Finally, the lecture was over, and Henry Everett was taking his bows.Thank God.Alec might not have learned anything about mathematics, but he now knew for certain that the name on the charred fragment belonged to this man.

But why on earth would a schoolmaster attempt to assassinate the prime minister?

His gaze darted back to Olivia Everett as she rose gracefully from her seat to make her way down from the gallery where the women were seated. What washerrole in this? A fair-skinned, golden-haired, pink-cheeked mystery who didn’t even know enough about fighting to bring a better knife with her into a dark alley? Who didn’t know enough about the evils men committed to not enter dark alleys in the first place? Who now looked upon her brother with adoration even as he ignored her to shake hands with the men who were congratulating him?

Alec had no idea.

But he planned on finding out.

Everett was joyfully led from the hall by a group of Society fellows, but his sister remained behind at the front of the room long after the audience had all left, unaware that Alec lingered in the shadows near the wall. He half expected her to follow after the men. Instead, with a glance over her shoulder to make certain no one was watching, she stepped up to the blackboard where Everett had written his equations and diagrams.

She hesitated, then picked up a piece of chalk and made a quick correction.

Alec watched her, incredulous. She ran her fingers across the long blackboard as if keeping track of printed lines on a page in a novel, her lips moving as she read the symbols and equations. After every few marks she made, she stepped back to survey her work, then darted to the right toward the two diagrams—one an arch, the other a dome—and erased the marks Everett had made, only to place new ones. Finally, she stepped back to take one long scan of the equations and symbols covering the board. With a nod of satisfaction, she returned the chalk to its tray, gathered up the lecture notes, and moved toward the door.

A cold realization lapped at the back of Alec’s knees. Could the Home Office be chasing the wrong Everett?

Impossible.Yet he shoved himself out of his seat and dashed after her just the same.

He caught up with her on the footpath outside the towering front doors. She was leaning into the street in an attempt to wave down a hackney.

“Miss Everett.” With a pleasant smile, Alec slid between her and the avenue, trapping her into conversation.

She took a surprised step back. “I’m sorry.” Her face was blank with a lack of recognition. “Have we met?”

“Not formally.” Fighting back an amused twist of his mouth, he sketched a bow. “Alexander Sinclair.”

“A pleasure to meet you, Mr. Sinclair.”

Still no recognition of him.Good.“I found your brother’s presentation today extremely fascinating.” And he had. Just not for the reasons she’d assume.

“Ah, so you were in the lecture hall.” Her puzzled expression softened, and pride for her brother lit her eyes. They were the same bright blue as the afternoon sky.

For a moment, he lost his train of thought.

“What exactly did you find fascinating?”

You, he almost answered just to see the shocked flush he knew would color her cheeks and part her lips. Yet it would also be the God’s truth. After all, she’d corrected her brother’s work with so much assurance that it was impossible she should be wrong. He knew as certainly as he knew her hair would smell of lavender if he lowered his head to breathe her in that her calculations were correct.

But he also knew from his stint in the army that sometimes the most successful attack required patience and cunning. A frontal assault was not always the best option.

Unable to stop himself, he raked his gaze down her front.Pity.