“I’m glad my life can lift your spirits.”
“You have no idea, old friend.” Warren chuckled and took his seat. Although Warren had long encouraged Daniel to reconcile his differences with his father, he never failed to hide his enjoyment of the ongoing battle of wills between father and son. “No idea.”
“Then perhaps this will add to your amusement.”
“I would have said my cup is overflowing at the moment, but if there’s more…” Warren grinned. “Do go on.”
“In the park today, I was approached by a lovely young woman.”
“And that’s amusing?”
“The amusing part is,” Daniel smiled slowly, “that she mistook me for you.”
“That is amusing,” Warren said under his breath, then looked at his friend. “How lovely?”
“Very.”
“Really?” Warren’s expression brightened. “And she was looking for me?”
“She was.” It was Daniel’s turn to feel smug. He and Warren had competed for the same women from the first day they’d met.
Warren considered his friend for a moment. “From the expression on your face, I gather you didn’t correct her mistake.”
“Absolutely not.” Daniel grinned. “It would have been rude of me. It might have caused her great embarrassment. Besides I was protecting you.”
“Protecting me? From lovely young women?” A wry note sounded in Warren’s voice. “What a good friend you are.”
“You would have done the same for me.”
“Saved you from a lovely young woman?” Warren nodded in an overly somber manner. “Absolutely. You may count on it. The very next time a lovely young woman approaches you, I shall throw myself between the two of you and fend her off. You have my word on it.”
“She might have been a fortune hunter, you know.”
“Not an especially good one.” Warren laughed. “I have no fortune.
“But you will one day.” Daniel shook his head. “It’s never too soon to take precautions.”
“Ah yes. Lord save me from lovely young women.” Warren considered his friend. “Were her eyes green?”
“Yes.”
“That explains a great deal. You’ve always had a penchant for green eyes. So what did this lovely, green-eyed young woman want with me?”
“She wanted to talk to you.” Daniel paused for emphasis. “About me.”
“I should have known.” Warren rolled his gaze heavenward. “Well, what did she want to know about you and more to the point, why?”
“She wanted to know what kind of man I am, that sort of thing.”
“Damnation. That would have been fun.” Warren heaved a dramatic sigh. “One’s life is filled with missed opportunities.”
“As to why.” Daniel crossed his arms over his chest and leaned back in his chair. “It seems the lovely young woman, a Miss Sarah Palmer, is the companion to Lady Cordelia.”
Warren stared for a moment. “That is convenient.”
“I’m meeting her again tomorrow,” Daniel said with a note of satisfaction he made no effort to hide.
“To talk about yourself?”
“With any luck at all.” Daniel grinned. “Although my ultimate goal is to learn more about Lady Cordelia.”
Warren narrowed his eyes in suspicion. “Why?”
“It seems like a good idea, that’s all. The more I know, the better I can decide how to escape from this proposed marriage. Besides.” Daniel shrugged. “I rather enjoyed my chat with Miss Palmer. She’s clever and resourceful and—”
“Pretty and green-eyed.”
“That too.”
Warren studied him for a long moment. “Do you know what you’re doing?”
“Yes,” Daniel said firmly. “I am furthering the acquaintance of an intelligent, pretty woman in hopes of saving myself from an unwanted marriage with an Amazon.”
Warren stared then shrugged. “As long as you know.”
“I do.”
“There is, however, one more thing you should know about the letter from your father.”
“Oh good, there’s more. I was so afraid all the surprises were over.”
“The letter was dated three days ago.”
“Three days…” Daniel winced with realization. “Good God, that means—”
“Indeed it does.” Warren chuckled. “Your father is here in London.”
A thorough reading of the reports of travelers who have gone before you to any exotic land, in advance of stepping foot upon its shores, is an excellent way to avoid unpleasant surprises.
An English Lady’s Traveling Companion
Chapter 3
Dear Mr. Sinclair,
Please accept my sincere apologies for the forward nature of this missive but I was assured that, as an American, you would not find it particularly offensive. As you are no doubt aware, it is the desire of our parents that we marry. This note is by way of an introduction and was suggested by my mother since it may well be several weeks before we are able to meet in person.
Each year at this time, my family takes up residence in Brighton…
“I absolutely cannot allow this.” Sarah clenched her jaw. “When you told me yesterday you intended to meet this man again, I thought you would come to your senses.”
“There was no need to come to my senses. My senses are just fine.”
“That’s open to debate. Cordelia.” Sarah drew a deep breath. “This is not merely a question of propriety, but the man is a stranger. He could be dangerous.”
“Don’t be absurd.” Cordelia sat before her dressing table, studied her reflection in the mirror, and adjusted her hat. “He’s not the least bit dangerous. He’s very nice although perhaps not as competent as I would have expected from someone in his position.” She thought for a moment. “I probably just caught him unawares, he certainly didn’t strike me as stupid.”
“I don’t care if he’s the cleverest man in the world—”
“He’s definitely handsome enough.” She met Sarah’s gaze in the mirror. “Did I tell you that he has the most fascinating scar above his right eyebrow?”
“You mentioned it.”
“One would think a scar would detract from a man’s appearance, but instead it enhances it. It makes him look quite dangerous and very much like a pirate.” She grinned at Sarah. “I’ve always rather liked the idea of pirates.”
Sarah eyes widened with dismay. “Dear Lord.”
“I find them romantic and quite exciting.”
Sarah groaned.
“Although I admit their appeal is strictly fictitious. In reality, they were bloodthirsty and not at all pleasant. I doubt that I would like a real pirate if I were to meet one.” Cordelia tied the ribbons of her hat and tried not to grin at Sarah’s horrified expression. “I daresay, pirate is more a description of character than anything else. No, Mr. Lewis is quite like the sort of pirate one would meet in a novel. Pirate, in reference to Mr. Lewis, is an attitude. It makes him very dashing and quite intriguing.”
“What about Mr. Sinclair?”
“Oh, I suspect he’s probably a pirate as well.”
“That’s not what I meant.” Sarah crossed her arms over her chest and glared. “I meant, do you find anything you’ve learned about Mr. Sinclair to be as intriguing as you find Mr. Lewis?”
“Not yet,” Cordelia said lightly. “Which is precisely why I’m meeting Mr. Lewis again today.” She swiveled to face her cousin. “I wasn’t as prepared yesterday as I should have been. Indeed for a cleverly conceived plan, it was not well executed. Today, however, I am prepared.”
“I’m almost afraid to ask what that means.”
“I have compiled a list of specific questions I want answered about Mr. Sinclair.”
“That makes sense, I suppose,” Sarah said in a grudging manner. “But I don’t like this at all. If your parents knew you were meeting this man, I could be let go.”
“That’s nonsense and you know it.” Cordelia s
coffed. “You’re a member of the family. You only insisted on having a position in the first place because you didn’t like being completely dependent.”
“I should have left long ago to get a real position,” Sarah muttered.
“That would be most dreadful and would make no one the least bit happy.” Cordelia met the other woman’s gaze firmly. “Should you ever do such a thing, Father would feel guilty. Mother would worry about you constantly. I would be quite alone and who knows what I would do. And you, dear cousin.” Cordelia met her gaze firmly. “Would be nothing short of miserable.”
“Yes, well, you do have a point.” Sarah sighed and pulled on a short, lace-trimmed mantle that nicely matched her pale green gown. With her blond hair and brown eyes, she was most fetching even if Sarah herself did not seem to realize it. Once again, Cordelia vowed to do something about her unassuming cousin.
“What are you doing?”
Sarah stepped to one side to study her reflection. “What does it look like I’m doing?”
Cordelia widened her eyes. “Surely you do not plan on coming with me?”
Sarah snorted. “Surely you don’t imagine I would let you go alone?”
“Sarah, I’m an adult. I can certainly go to a booksellers unaccompanied.”
Sarah gritted her teeth. “It’s my job to accompany you. Regardless of whether or not we all consider my position something of a sham, I shall do it to the best of my ability. And I do think, as I am in an official sense your companion, that you should do more with my opinion than ignore it completely.”
“I can’t imagine Mother or Father has ever really thought you were—”
“In charge?” Sarah said wryly, fastening the mantle. “Probably not. But I suspect they do expect me to keep you out of trouble.”
“And you’re doing a fine job. I am not in trouble nor do I intend to be.” She cast Sarah her brightest smile. “Why, I really am doing nothing more than being a dutiful daughter.”
Sarah raised a brow. “Oh?”
“I wrote Mr. Sinclair yesterday, according to my mother’s suggestion, dispatched a footman to deliver my note to his residence rather than posting it, in the interest of efficiency, and all I’m doing now is trying to determine if I could indeed bow to my parents’ wishes and marry the man.”
Sarah stared. “You do have the remarkable ability to twist something to your benefit.”
Cordelia grinned. “I shall take that as a compliment.”
“It was not mean as one,” Sarah snapped. She picked her hat up off the bed and jammed it on her head.
“You needn’t take your frustration with me out on an innocent hat.” Cordelia shook her head. “Crumpled hats are not at all in fashion these days.”
“It’s not crumpled,” Sarah muttered, picking at a section of her hat that did appear a tiny bit crumpled. “Why don’t you just meet Mr. Sinclair in person and end this farce altogether?”
“I’m not ready to meet him, that’s why. A face-to-face meeting implies something on my part I am not yet ready to imply. Until I know whether or not there is the chance of, well, happiness with him, I don’t intend to meet him. Besides, it will be much easier to escape this marriage if we don’t meet in person.”
Sarah’s gaze met hers. “In spite of what you’ve said, is that the ultimate point of all this then? To avoid marriage to Mr. Sinclair?”
“The ultimate point, Sarah, and you should know this as well as anyone, is to find the right man. Mr. Sinclair could well be the right man. Mother suggested fate might have played a hand in all this and you must admit it is an interesting idea. When you consider that the elder Mr. Sinclair comes along just when Father’s business is not doing well and each of them has a child they’d like to see suitably married, it does indeed seem as though unseen forces are at work. And, to be honest, I rather like the idea of fate presenting me with just the right man.”
“Then why don’t you—”
“Because fate is vague and elusive. You have no way of knowing if fate is involved or not. Fate doesn’t slap you in the face and announce its presence. It’s simply not practical to accept that something is fate when in truth it might be a dreadful mistake.”
“But—”
“And even if you want to accept that fate brought Mr. Sinclair, the younger Mr. Sinclair that is, to me, isn’t it entirely possible that fate intended for us to dispense of the notion of marriage to one another so that our true matches might appear?”
Sarah stared in obvious confusion. “What?”
“I know, I too find it confusing. Precisely why I have to take a hand in,” Cordelia smiled in a satisfied manner, “determining my own fate.”
“But perhaps if you were to meet him—”
“Where would be the fun in that?”
“Is that why you’re continuing this masquerade of yours?” Disbelief sounded in Sarah’s voice. “Because it’s fun?”
“Well, it is fun.” Cordelia grinned. “The most fun I’ve had in a long time. I like pretending to be someone I’m not and I don’t see any harm in it.”
Sarah studied her cousin. “What happens when Mr. Lewis and Mr. Sinclair find out about your little charade? And they will find out eventually, you know.”
“Of course they will, but only if…” She paused to choose just the right words. Sarah did have a tendency to be a bit skittish about things like deception. “If I decide to marry him. Then I should hope he’s the kind of man who would see the humor in my actions and understand as well the practicality of knowing something about a man before promising to marry him.”
“And if you decide not to marry him?” Sarah said slowly.
“We should be off.” Cordelia took the other woman’s elbow and steered her toward the door. “Murdock’s opens in a few minutes and I told Mr. Lewis I would meet him there soon after the shop opens.”
“You haven’t answered my question.”
“And I think it would be best if you were to stay in the carriage.”
“I’m not staying in the carriage.” Sarah pulled out of Cordelia’s grip and stared at her. “Why on earth would I have to stay in the carriage?”
“I don’t know how to explain you, who you are that is.”
“Why explain me at all?”
“It simply stands to reason if I am pretending to be you, Lady Cordelia’s companion that is, the woman with me would have to be Lady Cordelia.”
“You want me to pretend to be you?” Sarah glared. “Absolutely not. That’s taking this entirely too far.”
“I thought you’d say that. Honestly, Sarah, sometimes you have no sense of adventure.” Cordelia sighed. “I suppose if you were to stay on one side of the shop and pretend not to know me…” She nodded. “Yes, that will do.”
“I do not intend to take my eyes off you.” A warning sounded in Sarah’s voice.
“Nor do I expect you to. It is your job after all.” Cordelia cast Sarah a pleasant smile. “And I shall make your life easier by being on my best behavior.”
“Beginning when?” Sarah muttered.
Cordelia hooked her arm through Sarah’s and started toward the door. “Now then, let us be off.”
“You still haven’t answered my question. How does this deception of yours end if you decide not to marry him?”
“I’m not quite sure yet. But at that point, I suspect the easiest way to break it off with him, the best course for all concerned”—Cordelia pulled open the door—“will be to indeed have you pretend to be me.”
Cordelia perused the books on the back shelves in her favorite section of Murdock’s, the section devoted to foreign lands, all the while trying to keep note of where Sarah was and watching for Mr. Lewis’s entrance as well. She was fairly certain he wasn’t here yet unless he was hiding behind a shelf somewhere. Which was an absurd idea. What on earth did Mr. Lewis have to hide? No, he was simply late, although she probably shouldn’t have expected him to be prompt. Not that it mattered. If she had to wait for anyone, this
was the perfect place to do so.
Cordelia had loved Murdock’s Stationers, Booksellers and Circulating Library from the moment she’d first crossed its threshold and breathed in the heady scent of old books nearly a decade ago. Certainly her family’s library was extensive and sufficient for her needs in a general sense, but here were books she could purchase for her very own as well as endless volumes she could borrow for a modest annual subscription on an unimagined number of topics: foreign countries, ancient civilizations, modern inventions, and best of all, novels. Adventurous, romantic novels about star-crossed lovers or hapless governesses or, even, she grinned at the thought, pirates.
“Dare I hope that smile is for me?” A distinctly American voice sounded by her side. The oddest thrill of excitement raced up her spine. No doubt because he was standing entirely too close than was proper. Still, as he was an American, such lapses could be overlooked.
“Rather arrogant of you to think so, wouldn’t you say?” she said without looking at him.
“I didn’t think so.” Mr. Lewis chuckled. “I merely hoped.”
She stifled a smile and glanced at him. “Is Mr. Sinclair as charming as you?”
“More so. Indeed, I pale in comparison.” He kept his gaze directed toward the books on the shelf in front of him but leaned slightly sideways toward her. “Tell me, Miss Palmer, are we to pretend we are searching for books and not actually speaking to one another for the length of our conversation, or are we allowed to face each other and converse like normal people?”
“I’m not sure I’ve decided yet, Mr. Lewis,” she said in a lofty manner. “I’m rather enjoying the clandestine nature of our conversation.”
“I feel like a spy passing important military secrets to another spy.”
“You look more like a pirate,” Cordelia murmured.
“A pirate?” He snorted back a laugh. “I like that.”
“No doubt you do.” At once it struck her that she’d like nothing more than to converse and flirt with Mr. Lewis with no purpose whatsoever other than the enjoyment of matching wits with an interesting, dashing gentleman. Still, she had no business thinking of Mr. Lewis as dashing or interesting, and flirtation with this American was not her purpose here. Pity. She pushed the thought from her mind and drew a deep breath. “I think we should proceed with why we are here. I have my questions prepared.”
Secrets of a Proper Lady Page 5