to take care of the problem." "There is no need to snarl at me, sir." She splashed the liquor into the second glass. "I was merely being polite." "Between us, madam, there is no need for such niceties. We are partners, remember?" She handed him one of the glasses. "is there a rule in the private inquiry profession stating that partners do not have to be civil with each other?" "Yes." He downed a large quantity of the contents in a single swallow. "I just invented it." "I see."
She took a healthy sip from her own glass. The warmth of the sherry had a reviving effect on both her spirits and her temper. if the man did not want polite concern, she would certainly not go out of her way to smother him with the stuff. She stalked to one of the chairs in front of the fire and dropped into it with a small sigh of relief. The heat of the flames drove out the damp chill that had clung to her after leaving Mrs. Vaughn's establishment. Tobias took the large chair across from her without waiting for an invitation. They sat together in silence for several minutes, sipping from their glasses without comment. Tobias began to rub his left leg. After a while, Lavinia got restless. "If your leg pains you greatly, sir, I might be able to relieve some of the discomfort with a mesmeric treatment." "Don't contemplate such a notion for even a moment," he said. "Do not take offense, Mrs. Lake, but I have absolutely no intention of allowing you to put me ipto a trance." She stiffened. "As you wish, sir. There is no need to be rude." His mouth twisted. "Forgive me, madam, but I do not believe in the so-called powers of mesmerism. My parents were students of science. They agreed with the results of the public inquiry conducted by Dr. Franklin and Lavoisier. The whole business of inducing therapeutic trances with the power of the gaze or with magnets is utter nonsense. Demonstrations of that sort are best suited to entertaining the gullible." "Bah. That inquiry was conducted over thirty years ago, and bear in mind that it was held in Paris. I would not put too much stock in it if I were you. You will notice that it did nothing to lessen the public's interest in animal magnetism." "I have noticed that fact," Tobias said. "It says little for the intelligence of the general public."
if she had any sense, she would let the conversation end there, she thought. But she could not resist probing deeper. "Your parents were students of science?" "My father conducted researches in electricity, among other things. My mother was very taken with the study of chemistry." "How very interesting. Do they continue to perform experiments? " "They were both killed in an explosion in their laboratory." She caught her breath. "How dreadful." "From what I was able to make out from their last letter to me, I believe they had hit upon the idea of combining their two fields of research. They decided to conduct a series of experiments involving certain volatile chemicals and an electrical apparatus. It proved disastrous." She shuddered. "Thank heaven you were not injured in the explosion." "I was away at Oxford at the time. I came home to bury them." "Did you return to Oxford after their deaths?" "That was not possible." Tobias cupped the glass in his hands. "The explosion destroyed the house and there was no money. My parents had used all of their financial resources to fund their last great experiment." "I see." Lavinia rested her head against the back of her chair. "Yours is a very tragic story, sir." "It all happened a long time ago." He took another mouthful of sherry and lowered the glass. "What of your parents?" "They were invited to America to give a series of demonstrations of mesmerism. They accepted. Their ship went down. All aboard were lost." His jaw tightened. "I'm sorry for your loss." He glanced at her.
"You said you assisted them in their demonstrations. How did it happen that you were not with them?" "I had recently married. The gentleman who had invited my
She took a healthy sip from her own glass. The warmth of the sherry had a reviving effect on both her spirits and her temper. if the man did not want polite concern, she would certainly not go out of her way to smother him with the stuff. She stalked to one of the chairs in front of the fire and dropped into it with a small sigh of relief. The heat of the flames drove out the damp chill that had clung to her after leaving Mrs. Vaughn's establishment. Tobias took the large chair across from her without waiting for an invitation. They sat together in silence for several minutes, sipping from their glasses without comment. Tobias began to rub his left leg. After a while, Lavinia got restless. "If your leg pains you greatly, sir, I might be able to relieve some of the discomfort with a mesmeric treatment." "Don't contemplate such a notion for even a moment," he said. "Do not take offense, Mrs. Lake, but I have absolutely no intention of allowing you to put me ipto a trance." She stiffened. "As you wish, sir. There is no need to be rude." His mouth twisted. "Forgive me, madam, but I do not believe in the so-called powers of mesmerism. My parents were students of science. They agreed with the results of the public inquiry conducted by Dr. Franklin and Lavoisier. The whole business of inducing therapeutic trances with the power of the gaze or with magnets is utter nonsense. Demonstrations of that sort are best suited to entertaining the gullible." "Bah. That inquiry was conducted over thirty years ago, and bear in mind that it was held in Paris. I would not put too much stock in it if I were you. You will notice that it did nothing to lessen the public's interest in animal magnetism." "I have noticed that fact," Tobias said. "It says little for the intelligence of the general public."
if she had any sense, she would let the conversation end there, she thought. But she could not resist probing deeper. "Your parents were students of science?" "My father conducted researches in electricity, among other things. My mother was very taken with the study of chemistry." "How very interesting. Do they continue to perform experiments? " "They were both killed in an explosion in their laboratory." She caught her breath. "How dreadful." "From what I was able to make out from their last letter to me, I believe they had hit upon the idea of combining their two fields of research. They decided to conduct a series of experiments involving certain volatile chemicals and an electrical apparatus. It proved disastrous." She shuddered. "Thank heaven you were not injured in the explosion." "I was away at Oxford at the time. I came home to bury them." "Did you return to Oxford after their deaths?" "That was not possible." Tobias cupped the glass in his hands. "The explosion destroyed the house and there was no money. My parents had used all of their financial resources to fund their last great experiment." "I see." Lavinia rested her head against the back of her chair. "Yours is a very tragic story, sir." "It all happened a long time ago." He took another mouthful of sherry and lowered the glass. "What of your parents?" "They were invited to America to give a series of demonstrations of mesmerism. They accepted. Their ship went down. All aboard were lost." His jaw tightened. "I'm sorry for your loss." He glanced at her.
"You said you assisted them in their demonstrations. How did it happen that you were not with them?" "I had recently married. The gentleman who had invited my
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