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G abby ignored her twin brother’s chortles as he held open the door into the office of the Lindsay Detective Group’s office, and instead sailed through with her head high. “Thank you.”

“Ye’re welcome,” he snickered. “ Protrusible copulatory organ ? That’s really what I’m supposed to call a cock from now on?”

Oh Lord, he was still harping on this? “How is it we are the same age, and you clearly have the emotional maturity of a child?”

“ Ye’re the one who wants me to go around talking about animal cock,” he shot right back, still smirking.

From behind his desk, Bull cleared his throat. “I realize this might be a silly question, but… what ?”

Heaving a put-upon sigh, one of her specialties, Gabby settled herself in one of the leather chairs in the same position she’d been in last week when she’d accepted this case from Bull.

“I explained the mission to Hunter, and that he would have to play the role of the veterinarian. This will allow me more freedom to poke about for answers?—”

“I’ll be poking too,” Hunter interrupted, leaning his hip on the desk and crossing his arms. “I’m an excellent poker—I cannae believe ye didnae come to me first.”

Bull’s brow rose. “And ye ken enough about animal husbandry to travel to Inverlochy on yer own to care for a pregnant elephant?”

“I ken all about how the thing got pregnant,” he smirked. “Ask me about the protrusible copulatory organ .” He stretched his open palms about two feet apart. “Apparently male elephants’ cocks get so big?—”

“Oh for goodness’ sake, remind me not to teach you anything ever again, ever .”

“Anything about copulatory organs, certainly,” Bull quipped dryly. “Are ye aware of the facts of the case?”

Hunter, who was still measuring out the size of an elephant’s penis with his hands, turned the move into a dismissive gesture.

“Secret service, traitor, missing evidence, explosion, dead spies.” He ticked the points off his fingers.

“Hiding at Inverlochy Castle—I havenae had decent trout in months, looking forward to being up there?—”

“ Hunter ,” Gabby interrupted sternly. “Focus.”

She loved her twin dearly, but the nincompoop definitely had different talents than hers.

It was what made him a much better agent for Bull than she was…

although his deductive reasoning skills were weaker, he always said his mu scles were stronger than his brain, and there were times Gabby might agree.

Luckily, he was good-natured about it, and nodded once in her direction before ticking off the last points.

“Host has a sick elephant—I’d hate to see her if she’s vomiting, can ye imagine?

—and asked for a veterinarian. Gabby is qualified, but he willnae believe her—so she says—because of her lack of a copulatory organ?—”

“Hunter!”

“—so I’m going along to pretend to ken about animals, and check the big girly’s pulse while Gabs’ll be whispering in my ear, presumably stuff about elephant fetuses and whatnot.

” He swung suddenly horrified midnight blue eyes on his sister.

“I’m no’ going to have to stick my arm up anyplace unpleasant, am I? ”

Gabby rolled her eyes dramatically, her hands fluttering in a dismissive wave as if shooing away a fly. “Not if you follow my directions.”

Bull hid his smile as he shuffled through the papers on his desk. “And what, exactly, do ye ken about caring for animals, Hunter?”

“Sweet fook-all,” the other man replied cheerfully. “I’ll be following Gabs’ directions.”

Gabby leaned forward, her eyes sparkling with determination. “I will pass you notes, or—as you say—whisper what you need to know. It will be simple to convince our host that you are the veterinarian, something he will undoubtedly be more than happy to believe.”

This last was laced with just a touch of bitterness .

Bull noticed the change in her tone and raised an eyebrow, concern etched momentarily on his face before it was replaced by his usual charming smile.

“Because of course Sir Richard Biggenpans would be more likely to believe a gregarious, well-dressed man like Hunter would be the scientific expert, rather than Gabby.”

Gabby shot a mocking smile at her brother, who was now preening slightly at the mention of being well-dressed. “ Gabby , who not only has years of experience, but actual schooling in London and America, on how to care for animals…but also the unfortunate luck of not having been born with a?—"

Hunter interjected with a smirk, “A dashing smile and a charming personality?”

Gabby scoffed, “A penis, Hunter. A phallus, a mentula. We are a year away from the twentieth century, and males still believe women incapable of scientific thought and discovery. A disgrace.”

“Well, Gabs, it's a good thing I’m here to help with my hugely impressive…” He wiggled his eyebrows. “Smile.”

Gabby couldn’t help but roll her eyes again with a mocking sigh. "Yes, because your smile has done wonders on elephants before, has it not?”

This world might not be ready for a female veterinarian yet, but she’d long ago decided to build a better world for the next generation of women.

She wouldn’t be having any daughters, of course—at eight and twenty, she was no longer interested in marriage, not when she could dedicate her life to science, and when there were no men who would give her the equality and adventure for which she yearned.

But her family—both blood and otherwise— contained plenty of young women she’d helped grow over the years.

Uncle Rourke and Aunt Sophia, who had raised her and Hunter, now had Barrett and Lizzie, who at thirteen years old were somehow precocious and precious.

Aunt Georgia and Demon—he’d long ago forbidden anyone to call him Uncle , even Georgia’s nieces and nephews—had Rosie and her younger brother.

Rosie was a full eighteen now, and Gabby liked to think she’d helped the girl turn into the determined little firebrand she was now.

So yes, it was at times ridiculously frustrating to know Gabby would never be taken seriously by her peers, but hopefully future generations of women would live their lives and find their passions without such prejudice, thanks in a small part to her.

And who knows? Maybe this mission could be a part of that. Maybe Sir Richard will surprise you .

She snorted softly to herself. Unlikely .

“—easy as that, isn’t it, Gabs?” Bull prompted her. “Or do you disagree?”

Oh blast. As she’d been fuming about the state of women’s rights, Bull had continued to brief Hunter on the mission, and she’d missed most of it. Now she shook her head once, not bothering to lie. “I was thinking of something else. Do you have our cover stories for us?”

“I do.” Her uncle-turned-friend scooped up the documents in front of him and passed them out. “As you ken, it’s usually easier to use yer first names and change the last. I’ve set ye up new identities, and quite a few references. ”

“All forged, of course,” Gabby murmured, glancing over her papers. “Because Hunter does not know a zebra from a quagga.”

Her brother glanced up in excitement. “No, wait, I ken this! A zebra is a stripey horse, and a quagga is the adorable smiley mouse from Australia?”

Smiley mouse . Gabby frowned to cover her smirk, leafing through the fake references. “That is the quakka , and they are marsupials, not mice.” Although they were adorable. “A quagga is non-stripey zebra in South Africa that is likely extinct by now, thanks to hunting.”

It was Bull’s turn to cross his arms and glare. “A stripey zebra and a non-stripey zebra? That seems like some niche knowledge, Gabby, ye cannae expect him to?—”

“An exotic veterinarian would know it,” she challenged, sending him a raised brow.

Bull inclined his head with an impressed grin, and she knew she’d won that point.

“Hunter Butcombe?” her brother suddenly blurted, squinting at his papers. “I’m supposed to be Hunter Butcombe?”

“ Doctor Hunter Butcombe,” Bull corrected, leaning nonchalantly against the desk. “Respected veterinarian.”

“My name is supposed to be butt cum? Are ye certain ye didnae miss an H?”

Gabby leaned over to tap his references. “I seriously doubt you would find Butt-chum to be less offensive.”

“Butt-chum?” Hunter repeated, then shook his head. “I meant Butch-um. ”

Well how in the world did he think it was spelled? “ Butch ‘em does not make sense.” Gabby waved her papers. “Besides, at least you are not Miss Butcombe.”

Her brother’s eyes widened as he read her alias. “Och. Ye’re right, that’s bloody awful. But how am I supposed to keep a straight face, eh? I can see it now, poor elephant looking at me like, Ye dinnae ken what ye’re doing, Butcombe.”

Gabby shook her head. “Well, hopefully the elephant will not be the one judging your qualifications.”

They both swung on their uncle, who held up his hands in surrender, a playful gleam in his eyes, not quite successfully hiding his smirk.

“There just so happens to be a famous animal doctor in France named Hunter Butchom. This is close enough that if Sir Richard investigates, he’ll hear back about him . ”

“And will he investigate?” demanded Hunter.

Gabby sighed and placed her hand on her brother’s arm.

“Not if we do our job well enough. I have researched the probable causes of his elephant’s distress, but until we get there I cannot give you any specific insight.

Hopefully we can impress Sir Richard well enough on first meeting that he leaves us to it.

While I am working on his menagerie, you can be working on his houseguest.”

As he nodded somberly, Gabby knew her brother understood. “And we can find evidence against this traitor, and bring him to justice.”

She answered with a nod of her own, her fingers tightening. They were a good team, the two of them, and she was pleased they would be able to work together on this mission. One way or the other, they needed to be welcomed at Inverlochy, and the sick elephant was their ticket.