Quicksilver - Amanda Quick [73]
“Why do you say that? Because she is quite pretty?”
“Hmm? No.” Nick gripped the edge of the railing with both hands. “I find it all very interesting because Leybrook is showing a rather intense interest in Miss Dean. He is moving toward her now. The fact that Owen is by her side does not seem to have put him off in the least.”
Charlotte peered over the edge of the railing. “Oh, dear. You’re right. Good heavens, surely you don’t think that Leybrook has an unhealthy, obsessive interest in her?”
“Yes, I do,” Nick said. “And so does Miss Walters.”
“What does that mean?”
“It means, Miss Tate, that the danger to your friend is coming from a number of different quarters.”
TWENTY-SEVEN
Gilmore Leybrook smiled at Virginia. “You and Mr. Sweetwater have caused quite a stir among the practitioners here at the Institute. I gather you have consented to allow him to study you while you work. How very daring of you, Miss Dean.”
Owen drank some champagne while he listened to Leybrook talk with Virginia. Idly he toyed with the notion of ripping Leybrook’s head off his shoulders. It would be a very pleasant, extremely satisfying project, but Virginia would probably not approve.
Good lord, I’m jealous, he thought.
The realization jolted him. It had been so long since he had experienced the primitive emotion that he had almost failed to recognize it. There were, after all, other sensations that raised the hair on the nape of a man’s neck and induced a fierce, battle-ready tension that tightened every muscle in his body. Hunting had a similar effect. But there was nothing else on the face of the earth that twisted the gut and threatened to override common sense the way jealousy did.
Approximately a minute after she had made the introductions, Owen had concluded that the founder and director of the Leybrook Institute was intelligent, cunning and ruthless. No great insight or intuition was required to produce that analysis. Those qualities were only to be expected in the man who had managed to create a successful financial enterprise based, for the most part, on fraud and deception.
The truly intriguing thing about Leybrook was that the atmosphere around him was ever so slightly charged with the telltale energy of some strong talent. Many of his practitioners were frauds, but Leybrook himself possessed a strong psychical nature. That made him far more dangerous than any charlatan.
“Mr. Sweetwater is a professional researcher,” Virginia said. “I saw no reason not to allow him to observe me.”
Adriana Walters smiled at Owen. “How fascinating, Mr. Sweetwater. Do tell us what you have discovered about Miss Dean.”
Objectively speaking, Adriana was a stunningly beautiful woman, Owen thought. It was a pity about the eyes. They reminded him of the eyes of the clockwork dragon.
“I have no doubt at all about Miss Dean’s talent,” he said. “She is a very powerful practitioner.”
Leybrook looked at him, one dark brow elegantly arched. Icy speculation glittered in his eyes. “Unfortunately you did not come to the same conclusion about two other practitioners associated with the Institute.”
“I’m certain they will recover their careers,” Owen said. “It takes more than a few negative comments in the press to destroy a clever practitioner. The public is only too willing to believe. But then, I’m sure you already know that, Leybrook. You have built a very successful business on that concept.”
“Sadly, the two glass-readers who suffered mysterious and untimely ends in the past two months will not be able to recover, will they?” Leybrook asked softly.
Virginia froze. So did a number of other people in the vicinity. Heads turned. An acute and unnatural silence fell on the guests who happened to be standing nearby.
Adriana took a sharp breath. “Gilmore? What are you implying?”
Virginia’s expression tightened. “We all know what Mr. Leybrook is suggesting. He is trying to plant the notion that Mr. Sweetwater had something to do with the deaths of Mrs. Ratford and Mrs. Hackett. That is quite untrue.”
Leybrook turned back