“Hello, Mr. Van de Berg,” she replied, smiling back at him. There was something about Sam’s man of business that made one feel calm and secure. He was the sort of person you wanted to be able to send for if you were suddenly clapped into jail or if your house burned down, because he would almost certainly know what you should do next. “Are you browsing for business or pleasure? Because if it’s for your employer, I’m fairly certain I’ve already got the only relevant text.”

“Ah, Mrs. D. E. Clarke,” he said, sitting smoothly in the chair next to her. “You may currently be in possession of the only copy, but I’m afraid I have the trump card.”

“A warrant for its immediate arrest?”

“Better.” He leaned forward slightly, dropping his voice as though imparting a precious secret. “Permission to take it from the premises.”

Alva pretended to gasp. “Surely not. I was told very sternly it was not to leave the room!”

“Ah, but that’s only the rule for you common people. For the brilliant Professor Moore and his terribly charming associate, rules must be bent.”

“I see what happened,” Alva said. “He came in here and smiled, in a perfectly harmless, genial sort of way, and before they knew it the poor women who volunteer here were putty in his hands. And then, if I understand the relationship the two of you have correctly, you swooped in while they were still puddles on the floor and maneuvered things exactly how you wanted them.”

Henry beamed. “You understand matters perfectly. And as this establishment is closing in fifteen minutes, I have come to collect my ill-gotten gains.”

“Fifteen minutes!” Alva looked at her watch, pinned low on her bodice.

“They close early in the winter,” Henry said, standing politely as Alva rose. “It occurs to me that I face a certain difficulty.”

“I can’t imagine it’s anything the combined forces of Moore and Van de Berg can’t leave crushed and mewling in the dirt.”

“Ah, even we are helpless to resist the forces of chivalry, ma’am. You see, I can’t very well seize the book out of your hands, can I? Were you a man, it would pose no difficulty at all. I would simply insist the book was by rights mine and abscond with it before a reasoned argument occurred to you.”

“Reasoned arguments occur to me very quickly,” Alva protested. “Although perhaps, were I a man, my intellectual capacity would be somewhat reduced.”

“A hit, a hit!” Henry exclaimed, staggering slightly and clutching a hand to his chest. “Here is what I propose: we shall divide custody of the book between the houses of Moore and Webster.”

“That’s a very kind proposal, Mr. Van de Berg. Are you certain you have Professor Moore’s blessing for such generosity?”