“No, not a costume.” Beau addressed his remarks to Worth. “I was thinking something more like the right…situation.”
Worth leaned forward. “Such as?” he replied, drawing out both words.
“You two are frightening me, you know?” Kendall said. “You seem as if you’re actually trying to plot out a way this ludicrous idea might work.”
Ludicrous indeed. Beau forced himself not to smile. “Like a …house party,” Beau replied to Worth, stroking his chin and completely ignoring Kendall’s comment.
Worth inclined his head, his eyes still narrowed. “A house party, yes. I see what you mean.”
“But it couldn’t be justanyhouse party, of course,” Beau continued. “It would have to be one given by someone who was in on the experiment.”
“Experiment?” Clayton sat up straight. “There are few things I enjoy more than an experiment, and I just so happen to be about to send the invitations to my annual country house party.”
Excellent. For his idea to work, Beau desperately needed Clayton’s help.
“Experiment?” Kendall repeated, blinking.
Beau snapped his fingers. “Your house party would be perfect, Clayton.”
“Wait. Wait. Wait. Wait. Wait.” Kendall sat between Beau and Worth and he pushed against their shoulders with both hands. “A house party isn’t going to change my identity. Ladies of thetonwill still know who I am at a house party.”
“He makes a good point,” Clayton replied, taking another draught of ale.
“Not if you invite only the debutantes from this Season,” Beau replied with a confident smile. “And not if you create the right circumstances.”
Kendall sucked in a deep breath and pushed his mug out of reach. “The ladies may not know me, but some of their mothers do. More than one of them has already been to court with an older daughter making her debut.”
“That’s where the rightcircumstancescome in,” Beau replied, crossing his arms over his chest.
Worth scratched at his chin and smiled an even wider smile. “By God, I think you’re onto something.”
Excellent. If Worth saw the merit of his plan, Beau stood a greater chance of convincing the other two.
“I refuse to wear a mask if that’s what you’re thinking. That’s positively medieval,” Kendall said, shaking his head.
“Not a mask,” Beau replied, settling back in his chair and plucking at his lower lip. Ah, plotting something was such fun.
“Or a costume, either,” Kendall continued, pushing his mug farther away.
“Not a costume…precisely.” Beau exchanged a wolfish grin with Worth.
“By God, I’m going to have thebesttime watching this.” Worth nodded.
“Watching what?” Clayton’s nose was scrunched. The viscount obviously hadn’t caught on yet. “I don’t know what in the devil either of you is talking about any longer.”
“I’m talking about Kendall here pretending to be a servant,” Beau replied, the grin still on his face.
Kendall blinked. “A servant?”
“Yes. It’s perfect,” Worth added, nodding.
Kendall turned and stared at the duke as if he’d lost his mind. “Perfect? Me? Being a servant? How is that perfect?”
“That still doesn’t fix the problem of the ladies’ mothers recognizing him. Even if he’s dressed as a servant,” Clayton pointed out.
“Ah, but it does,” Beau replied. He’d been waiting for this particular argument and was already prepared with his defense. “That’s the beauty of it. Most people don’t look at servants. They don’t pay attention to the majority of things beyond what they need and want. My training as a spy has taught me much about the human failure to notice details. I’d be willing to bet that not one of those ladies of thetonwill look twice at Kendall if he’s dressed as a servant and performing servants’ duties. He’ll be wearing livery, knee breeches, and a powdered wig, after all.”
“And it has the added advantage that a servant will be in a particularly excellent position to discover how a lady truly behaves.” Worth brushed his long dark hair off his forehead with his fingers. “I’d wager she’s at her best when addressing a potential bridegroom and at her worst when addressing a servant. God knows, I’ve seen it time and again from my mother.”
