“What did you find, Lissa?”
At Anthony’s voice, she turned to show him, her pique forgotten as she held the pin in the palm of her gloved hand.
“Ah, your taste is unparalleled. Those rubies and sapphires in this rooster truly represent your place of birth.”
Rubies and sapphires? She thought them glass. Disappointment filled her and she started to close her fingers over the pin, intending to return it.
“Wait.” Anthony’s warm hand covered hers. “Do you not wish to have it?”
She looked up at him, surprised he stopped her. “It is far too expensive.”
His lips split into a wide grin. “Not at all. Please. Allow me to offer you this small pleasure.”
Not a little confused, she didn’t move. “But I cannot repay you for something such as this.”
Once again his gaze softened, an expression she wasn’t sure she liked coming from him. “Lissa, it is like pin money to me.”
Lord and Lady Blackmore, her sponsors, provided her with pin money. It was not much, and she squirreled it away in case she needed it, but with everything provided to her, she had yet to use it. “How can that be? Does working for the earl provide such a substantial income, then?”
He gave a soft chuckle, not the full one she was used to. “I have my own estate with tenants. The investigations I conduct are simply to help others.” He leaned closer and lowered his voice. “And to have a bit of fun. The payment is to make them feel comfortable with the arrangement.”
She blinked. Anthony was wealthy? Her mind spun at the possibilities.
“Now, allow me to gift you with this small token of your homeland.” He released her hand and held his out, palm up.
Still not sure what to make of the man she thought she knew, she nodded and opened her hand so he could retrieve the cravat pin and find the proprietor.
She let her gaze follow him, trying to equate the wealthy gentleman with her old friend, the lieutenant from France. His actions, mannerisms, and even his conversations werecompletely different, but she hadn’t truly understood until that very moment. Which was the real Anthony—or was there one?
“He is a fine gentleman, is he not?”
At Ellie’s words, Lissa turned to find her classmate just behind her shoulder. “Yes, he is, but different from when he was my friend back in France.”
Ellie waved her hand to dismiss the point, and the cravat on the table floated to the floor. “Oh dear.” Bending over, she retrieved the white silk and tried to dust it off, but only succeeded in smudging the dirt from the floor across it. Quickly, she dropped it back on the table. “As I was about to say, different environments call for different manners, wouldn’t you agree?”
Though Lissa wished to delve into Ellie’s suggestion further, she did not wish to do so in public, as Ellie’s voice was a bit loud and Mrs. Kingman as well as others in the store were glancing toward them. “I do agree. So did you find something here that you would like to purchase?”
Her friend grinned and lifted her arm, showing her drawn-tight reticule. “I found the perfect color of ribbon.”
Though she couldn’t see through the cloth of the reticule, Lissa had doubts the ribbon was the perfect color, as Ellie didn’t have a good eye for matching her accessories to her dresses, but it all depended on what it was used for. “Then we must see what else this village has to offer.”
“Yes. It is such a refreshing break from our studies.”
Lissa agreed completely. She had only just started her “first year,” as the ladies dubbed it, which meant general studies. She’d never read so much and was very thankful for the tutors Lord Blackmore had provided for her in France. Still, she much preferred learning by doing. Luckily, the duchess understood and allowed her to spend one day a week practicing with various weapons in addition to studying them, as long as she applied herself to the other subjects. She wasn’t sure why she neededto learn philosophy, Latin, or Ellie’s favorite, astronomy, to get along in life. She never had before, and so far, she saw no practical use for them, except to follow the stars home at night, which she would never need to do again.
Anthony approached, his stride that of a man confident in his place in the world. At least that hadn’t changed. He held out a small brown paper package. “Would you like me to carry this for you?”
She cocked her head and lifted her chin as she’d seen a dowager duchess do upon counseling a young relative. “No. I believe I am capable of carrying it.”
His brows lowered before one side of his mouth quirked up. “Of course.”
Pleased he saw how silly his question had been, she lifted the brown paper from his hand and slipped it into a deep pocket she had added to her dress, then buttoned it. It might make her hips appear somewhat crooked, but she could keep her arm down against it if she found a gentleman she wished to be introduced to.
Mrs. Kingman joined them, a large package in her hand. “I believe I will need the footman to carry this to the carriage. Shall we go outside and explore further?”
They all agreed, and their instructor led the way. After the woman dropped her package into the hands of the footman, they continued down the street.
They hadn’t gone far before Ellie stopped. “Oh, I must step in here. Would you mind?”
