She quickly crossed the street and soon could see her stoop, her father smoking his pipe while he waited. It was a comforting sight, and she slowed her walk just slightly, taking time to enjoy the moment. For the first time in a long time, she felt like her life’s trajectory had an arc she understood, and she reveled in it.
For however long it would last.
Twenty-two
Common sense is not so common.
—Voltaire,Philosophical Dictionary
Joan,
My apologies for not writing sooner. I received your letter and set it to the side, then promptly forgot, but I trust you’ll forgive me when I tell you why I forgot. However, first I will tell you I haven’t made much progress on my reasons for visiting Cambridge, which is a source of frustration and disappointment. I wish I could send you some interesting details from my adventure, as you put it, but aside from a small altercation that gave me a roguish black eye, I have little to say. And yes, I did look like a dashing pirate. And please tell that to Rowles so that he may disparage me. I’m not around to hear it, so give him full leave to entertain himself.
I miss you as well. As it turns out, I have met a young lady with whom I think you’d be fast friends. In fact, I shudder to think about if andwhen you two meet. The world will likely never recover. Though I will give you some credit, just not much. Her name is Miss Elizabeth Essex. The moment you read the name to Rowles, he will likely question if it’s Professor Essex’s daughter, and the answer to that question is yes. He will then ask many more questions. For all those details, I’m afraid I must leave you in suspense.
I’m not certain when I’ll return to London, but I’m sure it is carrying on well without me. Thank you for sparing me the on-dits. It’s much appreciated.
Sincerely yours,
Collin
Collin finished the letter, sealed it with his wax and set it aside to have a servant dispatch it in the morning. He glanced at his timepiece. Normally he would be preparing to meet Michael, but he was taking the night off, and it felt awkward to be aimless. Though, if he were honest, that had been the tone of his life for nearly a year before he came to Cambridge. Which was likely why it chafed so much now.
He didn’t want that anymore.
It didn’t fit.
And he was thankful, because that season was finished and he was ready and waiting forsomething new. Something more. If only he could get this blasted name problem solved. He shook his head. Elizabeth had gone to great lengths to assist him, all without him asking. Taking a deep breath, he leaned back against the soft leather chair and thought over all the details of this afternoon. It was all good information, but it didn’t solve anything.
And he was tired of going in circles, rather than finding solutions. It felt too close to the restless, aimless feeling he’d abandoned in London. Uncomfortable in his own skin, Collin decided he needed air. He stood from the desk and quit the study. Shrugging into his greatcoat, he took to the streets of Cambridge. He didn’t have a place in mind, but he walked toward the River Cam. He took the stone bridge over the river and paused at the top, watching the water lazily swirl under the bridge. He passed along the other side of the river, navigating around several college buildings, and took another bridge back over to the other side, ending up near the shire house and tea shop where he’d seen Elizabeth for the second time. The place was closed, the windows all dark as he passed and moved on.
He wove between smaller streets until he paused by a familiar alley. He walked down it and came face-to-face with the apothecary that wasn’t an actual apothecary. Leaning against the stone wall, he kicked up a leg. Some London apothecariessold tea. In fact, it was common to buy used tea in a cheaper apothecary since they’d add willow, licorice, or sloe to the used leaves to be resold to poorer families for as much as one to two shillings a pound.
Collin’s face twitched in disgust at the thought of how that tea must taste. Still, it was a far sight better than some of the other additives he’d heard found in used tea. He gave a shudder.
He watched the shop, noting that the few people walking up and down the street didn’t glance in the windows. It wasn’t wise, what he was thinking, but fortune favors the bold, he told himself. With a shove off the wall, he walked up the road to the next crossing, took it, and then started back along the side of the apothecary shop. As he got nearer, he wondered just what his plan of action should be. When he was a few steps away, he decided to test his fickle luck and opened the door, hoping his black eye would give him an excuse to seek a remedy.
“Well, look who it is.”
Collin swore under his breath. The man who had delivered his black eye now stood behind the apothecary counter.
“I won’t pretend you’re here for a remedy, but I’m certainly happy to perhaps make your other eye match,” the man stated, leaning against the counter and eyeing Collin.
“I want in,” Collin said, his mind working rapidly to spin the story. Inspiration hit him, and he relaxed his posture. “Whaleford, the area just north.” He waited to gauge the man’s reaction. A small pause in his challenging glare was all the encouragement Collin needed to continue. He had selected a name on the list, the list that this guy likely didn’t know he had, and furthermore had guessed on the location. They were currently south, so north was an easy lie that would fit most scenarios. If Elizabeth was correct about the shire division according to name… Well, he was putting that theory to the test.
And praying it worked.
“What of Whaleford?” the man asked, narrowing his eyes.
“I didn’t like how he ran things. Parliament is passing legislation against the smugglers and has his name on a list. I don’t want mine next to it.” He shrugged, playing off the lie as smoothly as possible. “So I moved, and I want in.”
“I thought you said you were the Earl of Penderdale,” the man replied, the words not a question but an accusation.
“I am, how the bloody hell do you think I chose this place? It’s perfect. Any involvement I have will be assumed to be under a false identity. It’s diabolical, really.”
The man frowned. “You’ll need to meet with McKensie.” He pushed back from the counter.“Wait here, and you better not be wasting my time, or you’ll run out of time to waste, if you gather my meaning.”
Collin released a breath when the man stepped from the room, his head spinning with the thought of gathering any other useful information. This was as close as he’d gotten to any answers in the past several weeks.
