“No.” He glared. “I suppose I wouldn’t.”
“Chaperones will eliminate any hint of impropriety. Furthermore…” She ticked the points off on her fingers. “The other ladies and myself are all the widows of men who each spent a good deal of time in Egypt. They were, as well, honored members of the Explorers Club. Which means that we have a certain amount of creditability. In addition, Sidney will need assistance, support if you will, to carry off this ruse successfully. I daresay we don’t want anyone else discovering the truth.”
“No, we do not.” He drummed his fingers on the desk. “I assume you expect me to finance your trip as well.”
“It does seem to me we are doing you a very great favor by accompanying Miss Honeywell.” Effie smiled, a triumphant gleam in her eye.
“It seems to me the word blackmail is more appropriate than favor.”
“Semantics, Mr. Cadwallender.” Effie waved off the comment. “One word is often just as good as another as long as the end result is the same.”
“As long as it’s the result you want?”
Effie smiled pleasantly.
Mr. Cadwallender heaved a sigh of resignation. “Very well, then.” He turned to Sidney. “How soon can you be ready to leave?”
Sidney thought for a moment. She had nothing to attend to. Nothing keeping her in London. Indeed, she could have her bags packed and be ready to go within a day or so. “As soon as the arrangements can be made, I would think.”
“Excellent.” He rose to his feet behind his desk, Aunt Effie and Sidney following suit. “I have no doubt this will be an extremely successful venture for you—for all of us, Miss Honeywell.”
“Thank you, Mr. Cadwallender.”
He opened the door and Aunt Effie swept out of his office, Sidney a step behind. They made their way through the sea of desks, frenzied gentlemen with ink-stained fingers and organized confusion, to the front lobby. Sidney barely noticed any of it.
“That went nicely, I think,” Aunt Effie said with a satisfied nod after they’d requested a cab.
“I daresay Mr. Cadwallender has never faced the widow of a colonel before.” Sidney grinned.
“Fighting for what you want has as much to do with knowing who you are and, of course, knowing what you want.” Effie’s lips curved in a satisfied smile. “Being the wife of a colonel is simply the icing on the cake.”
Sidney hesitated. “Are you certain you and the others are up to this?”
“Because we are no longer in the prime of youth?”
“Well, yes.”
“I assure you, Sidney, we are quite spry.” She paused. “There are two kinds of women in this world, my dear. Those who wave goodbye to others starting on grand adventures and those waving back from the window of a train or the deck of a ship.” Effie raised her chin. “It’s past time that Gwen, Poppy and I became the later. We too need to seize the day. Besides, this may well be our last chance.”
“And perhaps my only chance.”
“Then we shall have to make the most of it.” Effie grinned. “As Mr. Cadwallender is paying for it, we should make certain he gets his money’s worth.”
Sidney laughed. Good Lord! Thanks to a stuffy, arrogant rude beast of a lord she was finally going to Egypt. Certainly, given the amount of deception involved, it was not going to be easy. It was past time to stop dreaming about what she wanted. Her very future was at stake. In many ways, it seemed her life—her story—was just beginning.
And she could hardly wait to turn the page.
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Copyright © 2018 by Cheryl Griffin
ISBN-13: 9781488038662
The Dance Before Christmas
Copyright © 2018 by Cheryl Griffin
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