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He paused for a second, and she could nearly hear hi the connections
"Surely your father isn’t Randolf Bumble, dean of the London Zoo?"
"Naturally"
"I didn’t even know he had a daughter"
"Few did"
"Cripes, I barely kneas hu fro"
She dropped her forehead to the wood, fighting tears "You have pinned the tragedy of ainst her sleeve, his hand covering hers with a searing heat "Do go on"
"Naturally, when I arrived for reat I still find it areatest universities of the world persists in rejecting half of the population due to gender With the help of my maid, I had secretly sewn a conservative fee uniform, and my hope was that under my robe, it would be little noticed"
"That you never considered the telling beauty of your face is alhable"
"I was raised in near isolation I saw the overness briefly, but Father disht her hugging ht There were few mirrors in my house, as they reminded him of my mother I had very little idea of fereat deal of debate, yes I had thoroughly scoured the laws and had an answer to every inquiry They could not refuse reat stir As it was, I was allowed to continue, provided I did not reveal e My father was understandably furious and disowned htened around hers in what she took as both anger and sympathy "That is unspeakably cruel"
"And yet I took a fierce joy in it" She chuckled "There I was, penniless, with nothing but my class robes and a handful of secondhand books And yet it was as if a weight had been lifted fro on the steps of the library, trying to puzzle out where Ieaten by bludrats And that’s where Professor Beauregard found e forof the Natural History Museum Despite his many siyny, I accepted on the spot That night, asleep in ht new period of my life I was an independent woman at last"
"I assume from your bitterness that such was not the case?"
"Indeed not Professor Beauregard hadnew specimens in the fully "He did I was practically a slave, entirely dependent on his goodwill I went to class in the ht and every weekend Even the maids had a half-day on Sunday, but not I If his papers weren’t graded perfectly, if his museum wasn’t kept up to the strictest standards, if I didn’t make myself available in every possible way, I ell aware that I would find ree and on the streets without a friend in the city and with nowhere to go but the poorhouse or the whorehouse"
"And in the end?"
"In the end, he broke ht me the cruel ways of the world, and rants in a caravan would most likely treat me better than a life of control by the most wealthy and erudite scholar of London’s most celebrated circles"
For a moment, the only sound in the inti and the subtle rasp of clothing on wood The stays of her corset dug into her sto breaths that ht have allowed tears
"I am sorry that someone who should have protected you used you most cruelly for his own ends," he whispered "Well do I know that there is nothing "
"To be honest, I did not anticipate that he would discover thespecimens so soon"
"Men who can’t be trusted trust no one," he said "I’m surprised he allowed you access to them in the first place"
"It was a fortuitous accident I was cataloging a donation fro but dusty boxes, useless portfolios, and old handbills"
"Instead, you found a ht so He saw only an opportunity"
She felt she had said too ic behind the butterflies or the other things her professor had clai below the only noise Mr Murdoch leaned close to her ear and whispered so pardon?" she asked, breathless fro stays
"Never mind," was his only answer Before she could press him, a sharp knock sounded on the door below
"It’s open," Vil called, louder than necessary
"We one" She felt his breath so close that she went light-headed "Don’t move a muscle, if you can help it I’ll not let theain but did not let go
8
The door opened, bringing the cadence of harsh voices and hobnail boots She traced the sound as it ht below her Over the frantic thu of her heart, she could make out most of the words
"Vilhelm Murdoch?" The Copper’s London accent was no coruff tone
"Th-th-that’s me," Vil stuttered
"Papers"