Quicksilver - Amanda Quick [66]
Virginia remembered her manners. “This is Mr. Sweetwater, Charlotte.”
Charlotte stared, fascinated, at Owen. “Yes, I know. Indeed, all the Leybrook practitioners are aware of your identity, sir.”
Owen looked amused. “Miss Dean warned me that was the case.”
Charlotte blushed. “You have a certain reputation in our world, Mr. Sweetwater.”
“So I’m told.” He moved one gloved hand toward the tall man in the rumpled suit. “Allow me to present my cousin, Nicholas Sweetwater. Nick, Miss Dean and Miss Tate.”
Virginia and Charlotte both looked politely at Nick, but he seemed unaware of them. He had wandered over to the locked bookcase and was perusing the collection of ancient leather-bound volumes with great interest.
“I say, this collection looks a good deal more promising than I had anticipated, Owen,” he announced. “When you informed me that we were going to visit a bookshop that specialized in the paranormal, I assumed the place would be rife with lurid books on magic and the occult. But I see what may actually be a genuine copy of Wakefield’s Notes on Alchemy.”
“It is most certainly a genuine copy of Wakefield’s Notes, sir,” Charlotte snapped. “I would not have taken the trouble to store it in that locked case if it was a copy or a forgery.”
“What?” Startled, Nick turned around. For the first time he appeared to notice Charlotte and Virginia. He turned red. “Sorry. Good afternoon, ladies.”
Virginia murmured a polite greeting. Now that she could see him more plainly, she realized that Nick Sweetwater was younger than Owen, twenty-eight or twenty-nine, perhaps. There was some family resemblance, most noticeably in the broad shoulders and lean physiques of the two men. But Nick’s intelligent eyes lacked the dark knowledge that burned in the depths of Owen’s disturbing gaze.
“That particular volume is extremely rare,” Charlotte informed Nick in frosty tones.
“I am well aware of that,” Nick said eagerly. “I would very much like to examine it to determine its authenticity for myself.”
“I’m afraid that won’t be possible,” Charlotte said a little too sweetly.
“What do you mean? This is a bookshop. I am interested in examining a book that I might wish to purchase.”
“I’m afraid I only allow legitimate practitioners of the paranormal and researchers who are known to me or vouchsafed by someone I trust to examine the books in the locked cases,” Charlotte informed him in lofty accents. “Many of those volumes contain dangerous information. I cannot let just anyone read them.”
Nick stared at her, shocked. Then he started to scowl. “I assure you I possess a fair amount of psychical ability. Just ask my cousin, here.”
Owen caught Virginia’s eye. She realized he was suppressing a grin.
“I am happy to verify that my cousin does indeed possess a high level of psychical ability,” Owen said.
“What of it?” Charlotte shot back. “That is not as important as his standing as a researcher. What are his academic credentials?”
Nick’s eyes narrowed. “I’ll have you know, Miss Tate, that I can read a number of ancient languages, including three or four that are dead, and I have deciphered the codes of several old alchemists.”
“Hmm.” Charlotte was not impressed.
“I have been a student of the paranormal since I was old enough to open a book. I have, in fact, written a few papers for the Arcane Society’s Journal of Paranormal and Psychical Research, which is, I might add, a far more legitimate publication than the Leybrook Institute’s ridiculous rag. It’s true that I write under a pseudonym, due to the fact that my family does not like to see the Sweetwater name in print, but that does not alter the validity of my work.”
“Oh, dear,” Virginia murmured. “I’m afraid Arcane is not the most helpful recommendation, sir.”
Nick switched his attention to her. “What do you mean?”
Charlotte cleared her throat. “For your information, Mr. Sweetwater, the Arcane Society carries very little weight in this shop.”
“How can you say that?” Nick swept out a hand to indicate one of the shelves. “It looks like you’ve got several years