He had seen her when she’d first walked in?

“That is most likely because I’m a thorn in that man’s side.”

Lady Emily’s chest rose and fell. “Then I suppose that must be what he has been looking for.”

Diana had no idea what she could mean by that. But the thought of Lord Bryant watching her was making the back of her neck itch. He couldn’t see her—the bookshelf was covering both of them—but he must be wondering what they were talking about. A niggle of guilt touched the back of her mind, but she brushed it away. She hadn’t said anything wrong. Not really.

Diana brushed the dust from the bookshelf off her gloved finger. “My chaperone is waiting outside for me. I should go.”

“It was nice to talk to you. It isn’t very often that I meet someone else who is as fascinated by fossils and stones as I am.”

Diana smiled and gave a short curtsy.

She would have to read up on a few books on the off chance she met Lady Emily again. Coprolite was about the only paleontological term she knew, and it wasn’t one she was ever planning on using.

She didn’t look for Lord Bryant’s gaze as she walked past his group. She nodded a brief goodbye to the shopkeeper and burst through the door and out onto the street.

Everton made certain the door shut behind Miss Barton. She should have left the first time he had asked her. Then again, he should have known she wouldn’t.

This trip to the bookstore had been a disaster.

Miss Barton and Lady Emily had conversed, a room full of tongue-wagging socialites and their mothers had seen him engage with Miss Barton, and lapidaries all over London were going to have to figure out how to polish and shape coprolites.

All because he thought a trip to the bookstore would be a more comfortable outing for Lady Emily than a dinner or a ball. And in truth, she had been more comfortable here. Too comfortable. Coprolites and Mary Anning were not going to improve her social situation.

He turned around only to see that Lady Emily had, once again, hidden herself away behind a bookshelf. In order to find her, he would have to navigate back through the crowd. He sighed, but there was nothing to be done about it. He couldn’t leave without bidding farewell to Lady Emily. Most of the young ladies in the shop were pleasant on their own or even in a group of two or three, but there were seven or eight of them here, and even for him, that was quite a lot.

It took him over half an hour to make it out of the bookshop, but eventually, he did. Instead of sending someone to fetch his carriage, he walked along the store-lined street. He was a long distance from Rochester Street and the Richardson Rail office. Miss Barton must have hired a cab, so there was no chance he would overtake her if he set out to find her. He didn’t know what he would say to her if he did.