As they made to leave, Harriet had handed over a large bag she said were for Alex’s collection. She didn’t respond. ‘Books?’ he said, holding up the bag with one hand and closing the door behind them with the other. ‘There are a lot of things you don’t know about me,’ she said shortly. That stung but he was sure she was right. He wished there was nothing she ought to know about him. ‘First editions, mostly,’ she added. ‘A lot of them aren’t worth anything but they make me happy.’ She said it as if not much made her happy, but he could be looking for these things. ‘Oh, hell, I should have thought of that,’ he said, and stopped walking. ‘O’Reilly’s going to be browned off about Harriet and Mary having the lace. He … This is going to give him one more reason to make digs about interference. He’ll go roaring over there and shake them up.’ ‘They haven’t done anything.’ Alex’s chin came up. She prodded his chest with a forefinger. ‘And he won’t be going anywhere near them.
