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“No,” Evelyn said. “Remember, we cleaned the signature off my desk. That would have been the only way for them to believe the Signature Swindler took the painting. If we told them the painting was stolen, we’d get into a lot of trouble.

Breaking in, for one. The museum finding out it’s gone would cast me out forever.

It’s a privately owned piece. If they even noticed its absence, they may simply think your brother came to retrieve it.

That is, until he really does come around for it.

” She now looked directly at Ollie. “I don’t know if I will ever be able to return to my position at the museum because of the runaway bride business, but I don’t want to be remembered as the woman who practically invited an art thief into the museum. I do not want that to be my legacy.”

“Of course not. What do you suppose we do, then?”

Evelyn’s little slippered foot, peeking out from the hem of her skirt, began bobbing up and down. Ollie watched, mesmerized. “We need to find it before anyone realizes it’s missing.”

Ollie tilted his head. This was interesting. “How do you supposed we do that? We have no idea who the Signature Swindler is. All we know is he’s an Irishman and he dresses strange.”

“That was just a costume, Ollie. I doubt that was his normal, everyday attire.”

“Oh.” Once again, Ollie had shown what a dolt he was. Obviously, it had been a costume.

“Let’s go back a bit,” Evelyn said. “What do we know about the Signature Swindler so far? Aside from what you’ve already mentioned.”

Ollie squinted his eyes in thought. “He likes to…steal stuff.” Every time he opened his mouth, he sounded more daft.

Evelyn gave him a small grin. “Yes, that’s correct.

He’s been doing this for a few years. Sticking with small items so far.

But that changed recently.” Suddenly, she clapped her hands together with excitement.

“He stole art from the Bethnal Green Museum! What caused him to go from jewelry stores and houses to that museum?”

“I have no idea,” Ollie admitted. “It seems far riskier.”

“It certainly is. But the items are of far, far higher value.”

“More risk, more reward.”

“Exactly!” She sounded positively gleeful.

“All right, so what are you thinking?” It was clear she was heading in some kind of direction.

Evelyn folded her hands neatly in her lap and began watching the fire again.

“We need to revisit his previous crimes. Talk to witnesses. The police have been tight-lipped about the heists before this. For all we know, the witnesses may have some key information kept secret. That information would never be released to the public.”

“That’s true.”

Evelyn frowned. “The only problem with that is the most logical next step would be going to the Bethnal Green Museum. But how do we approach them without looking suspicious? And that goes for the jewelry stores as well. We aren’t any sort of authority.

Why would they share anything with us? They would probably get suspicious and contact the police, too. ”

A concerning thought crossed Ollie’s mind. “Plus, what if they recognized you?”

“Drat. I keep forgetting about that part.”

Ollie rubbed his chin in thought. “Well, the most easily identifiable part of you is your hair, do you agree?”

Evelyn reached up to touch her hair. “I suppose so. The newspaper article did keep mentioning my red hair.”

“All we really need to do is cover it up somehow. There must be hats that cover your hair fully.” Mrs. Chapman’s hat had only covered the very top of Evelyn’s hair. “What about a bonnet?”

Evelyn laughed. She thought he was joking, and her laugh melted away when she seemed to realize he wasn’t. “Bonnets are very old fashioned, Ollie. I would stand out more by wearing a bonnet than if I walked around hatless.”

“Well, we can’t take you to a hat store, either.”

“No, I don’t have any money since I cannot go to my bank. They will know me upon sight.”

Ollie furrowed his brow. “Surely, you know you don’t need to worry about that.”

She was quiet for a beat. “I don’t want your money.”

“Don’t be silly. If you need something, I will, of course, help you get it.”

To his surprise, Evelyn’s eyes were becoming misty. “Thank you. You are more concerned with my wellbeing than my own parents.”

He wished more than anything that he could go crouch by her chair and take her hand in his. But he didn’t dare. “Not living up to familial expectations is something I can definitely relate to.”

She looked up at him and smiled gently despite the misty eyes. “Oh, Ollie, we are in shambles, aren’t we?”

“A bit, yes.”

She laughed. But then her face became serious. “Wait a minute. I just realized something. Mr. Burlington knows someone at the Bethnal Green Museum. How silly am I? That could be our in!”

“Do you not know them, too?”

“No.” Her face fell. “And I would have to ask Mr. Burlington directly about his contact there. I’m not sure how we could do that without getting into trouble.”

“Would he turn you in for the reward?”

Evelyn considered this for a moment but didn’t decide one way or another.

The long, active day was beginning to weigh on Ollie. He was growing more tired, and he could feel his mind sputtering out. “Why don’t we sleep on it and revisit it tomorrow? I don’t think either of us is at our best right now.”

Evelyn let out a long sigh. “Yes, I suppose that’s best. It’s not like we can do much leaving during the day. At least, I can’t.”

“No. I don’t like keeping you holed up, but I don’t want to put you at more risk than necessary, either.” He wondered what was going through her mind at the moment. Her eyes were expressive, but the events of the last few days had made them more weary than anything.

Don’t you wish you could hold her again? A little voice in his head cut in and Ollie became overwhelmed by the urge to wrap his arms around Evelyn, protecting her from the world, make her feel everything would be all right.

Of course, Evelyn would murder him in his sleep.

Instead, he shook off the feeling. Once this business with Evelyn was over, he was going to have to return to his scoundrel ways and revisit his old flames.

For reasons he couldn’t understand, he had stopped that behavior some time ago and it clearly had addled his brain.

Ollie said goodnight to Evelyn, and each went to their respective bedrooms. Once he lay in bed, he found his mind wandering, that little voice in his head kept repeating her name, haunting him.

Evelyn, Evelyn, Evelyn.

He wondered if she was already asleep, what she was thinking about if she wasn’t, if she felt safe in his home.

Looping his hands behind his head, he stared up at the dark canopy as he recalled catching Evelyn earlier. She’d fit so perfectly against him in his arm. Their faces had been close, breaths swirling together in the autumn night air. It had been a lover’s embrace, though accidental.

And instead of being put off by her nearness, which was how he should have reacted by holding a mere friend in a lover’s embrace, his body had instead hummed in a way he’d never felt before.

Alarmed, Ollie yanked his mind back. He tried to conjure up the identities of the women he’d been with before but for the life of him couldn’t remember. A wave a shame hit him at this realization. And it only worsened when he thought about returning to those old habits.

In truth, it did not sound appealing. And he used to relish women’s attention.

What was the matter with him?