“Uh…um, okay,” I stumbled.
She stared at my left finger. “What’s a married woman doing without her wedding ring? Henry, don’t tell me you never bought her one.”
I almost dropped my glass.
“What did you say?” he asked.
“A ring, darling,” she said, speaking to him like he was a child. “Your wife is the most beautiful woman here and she’s not even wearing a diamond, let alone the four diamonds that she deserves.”
“Delilah and I aren’t married,” Henry said. He glanced back and forth between us as if waiting for another explanation. And I watched as Victoria’s attention began to sharpen, spotting a fake.
“Henry has a…a very dry sense of humor,” I stammered. Two years of training with Freya kicked in. I slid over and wrapped my arm around Henry’s, laying my cheek against his jacket. “He likes to joke around.”
His arm moved—as if to jerk away—and I locked mine tighter. Trapping us together.
“The two of you are just the sweetest.” She pressed her hands to her chest. “I’m sorry if I overstepped my bounds, but any hopeless romantic worth their salt can see it.”
He was struggling to contain his confusion.
“I guess,” I said, shrugging meekly. The ping-pong in my head was back.
But Victoria shook her head in disbelief. “So humble,” she tsked. “It’s glaringly obvious.”
“What is?” Henry asked.
She propped her hands on her hips. “That the two of you are newlyweds.”
5
Henry
“Oh, wait a moment,” Victoria said, holding her talon-like finger up. “Bitzi is coming. You can tell both of us about your wedding. And I want an answer about that ring, Henry.”
“Who’s Bitzi?” I managed. A woman who looked almost exactly like Victoria came striding through the crowd. Victoria waved—but beneath her breath said, “She’s my archnemesis. I despise her.”
And then she proceeded to greet her nemesis like a long-lost sister she hadn’t seen in a decade.
Delilah took the brief reprieve to curve her body into mine, tipping her lips against my ear.
“We’re definitely married. Follow my lead, newbie.”
She moved away but kept our arms lightly entwined.
It was my first day in the field as a private detective for Codex. And I was already fake married to my coworker.
The past three months had been a whirlwind of chaos and change. After many interviews with Interpol, I was—thankfully—no longer a person of interest in Bernard’s case. And like Abe had predicted, the forged letters were discredited almost immediately. I’d resigned from the McMasters Library, much to Louisa’s fury and the community’s shock. Packed up my flat in Oxford and moved back home to Philadelphia, where Codex was located. Began the process of becoming a private detective—all while spending most of my days positive Abe would realize the giant mistake he’d made in hiring a rare book librarian to do the job of a law enforcement officer. I’d mostly been separate, squirreled away doing research for Abe as Freya and Delilah tracked down stolen books.
But deep down I’d wanted this, wanted this taste of the thrilling adrenaline I’d felt the night I confronted Bernard. Wanted to give into that thirst for revenge that was now a constant presence in my thoughts.
And now that I was here, in the field, I realized how little I knew.
“A pleasure to meet you,” Delilah said to Bitzi, who barely acknowledged her before turning toward me.
“And who is this?” she squealed
“My husband,” Delilah blurted, nudging my shoulder. The word husband stunned me into silence—and in reality, I was still stunned from Victoria’s admission that she knew Bernard. I wanted to press pause on this entire interaction and beg her for more details.
But instead I took Bitzi’s hand and brought it to my lips. “Yes, of course. So nice to meet you. How long have you and Victoria known each other?”
“That’s top secret information, Henry,” Victoria crooned. “Now I was telling Bitzi the two of you are newlyweds. How long ago did you get married?”
“One month ago,” Delilah said, at the exact moment as I said, “Six months.”
There was a long beat of awkwardness. Delilah stared up at me with barely concealed irritation.
“Um…” I started.
“Do you not know how long you’ve been married?” Victoria’s words dripped with elegant sarcasm.
“You know librarians,” Delilah simpered. “He’s always got his head in the clouds.”
“I guess…” I started, “it feels like we’ve been married for ages.” I turned to my coworker. Up close, I noted the flecks of sea-green in her blue eyes. “It feels like we’ve always been married, if I’m being honest.”
Her lips parted on a breath.
“So how long has it been?” Victoria’s brow arched.
“One month,” we said in unison. Thankfully.
“Such a perfect young love,” Bitzi said. “I haven’t gotten my husband to look at me the way Henry looks at you, darling, in ages and ages.”
Victoria’s knowing smirk spoke volumes about her opinion of Bitzi’s husband.
“Now tell us about the big day. Are there pictures?” she asked.
Delilah opened her mouth. Closed it.
“We eloped, actually,” I said hurriedly. Delilah squeezed my arm in surprise. “One of those spur of the moment things. We were visiting Trinity Library, wandering through the stacks, and…” I paused, tried to let an imaginary movie play in my mind. I considered my coworker, whom I’d barely spoken to in three months. She had the bearing of a silent film star: tall, lithe, graceful. Delilah had pale-white skin, full red lips, and a mess of raven curls. And she could take down a man twice her size without batting an eye.
How would you propose to a woman like that?
“The sun from the stained-glass windows was illuminating her,” I told Bitzi and Victoria. “And we’ve been together for so long, the only reason we hadn’t done it was because we were waiting for the time to be just right. But really, shouldn’t the time be when you are madly in love?” I didn’t even chance a glance at Delilah—I’d either burst out in nervous laughter or sprint from the room. “So I got down on one knee and asked her to marry me. And when she said yes, I suggested we get married that day, right where we were.”
Bitzi watched me with an enchanted expression. Victoria plucked at her pearls and seemed sad.
“You must have been so surprised,” Bitzi said, clutching at Delilah’s arm.
Delilah nodded. “Yes. Very, very surprised. We got married an hour later. Right in the…in the famous place at Trinity Library where everyone gets married. You know the one.”
“The Long Room?” I asked.
“Is it a question?” Victoria looked as confused as I felt.
I faked a laugh. “It was The Long Room. The library patrons were our guests. They stood around during our ceremony and tossed, um…” I racked my brain. “Tossed rose petals that someone bought at a corner store.”