Bloody Luella.
“If Fiona and Finley are seen at the same time tonight it will take the wind out of her sails completely. No one will believe her when she tries to spill your secret.”
William was nodding as though it all made sense, but nothing added up to Fiona. “And how, exactly, am I supposed to be in two places at once?”
“Stand up.”
Fiona stood and Charlotte walked to her side, slipping an arm around her waist. “Look,” she said, gesturing to the mirror that hung over the sideboard. “We’re the same height. We’re practically the same shape. From afar, you couldn’t tell the difference.”
“There’s just the small matter of your black hair versus Fiona’s red,” William said sarcastically.
“Not in a wig.”
The penny dropped, as did Fiona’s jaw. Edward made the realization just as she did.
“No. Absolutely not.” He pushed back out of his chair. “You are not dressing up as a man and walking through a London ballroom.” He crossed his arms and fixed a piercing stare on his sister.
Who didn’t even flinch.
“I’m not going to be walking through the ballroom; be reasonable. The ruse will work at a distance but not up close. We’ll simply have a couple of strategic moments, where Fiona is in plain view and Finley is further away. As long as a handful of people remember seeing them both, Luella has no ammunition against us.”
William began to clap, his face lit with pure admiration. “Brilliant. Absolutely brilliant. This puts every one of my schemes to shame.”
The look Edward shot his brother was murderous. “I’m not risking it. I will find another way to deal with Luella and the duchess.”
Charlotte crossed her arms, a mirror image of her brother. “I’ve spent all night planning this. Listen. If you can find a fault with any of the details, then we’ll call it off.”
Chapter 28
The challenge, Fiona realized, was not going to be wresting a signed patent out of the damned patent officer. The challenge would be escaping Charlotte’s iron-and-silk-clad grip long enough to do it.
After she and Edward had reluctantly agreed to Char’s harebrained scheme, the youngest Stirling sibling had promptly claimed Fiona for the rest of the day.
She’d barely managed to finish her breakfast before she’d been forced to put on one of the day dresses that were sitting crushed at the bottom of her trunk and sneak out of the house.
The modiste hadn’t batted an eyelash when a footman carried in an armful of dresses and Charlotte asked for one to be altered and ready for the ball that night.
“If it’s nae possible, I understand completely,” Fiona said, hoping for an excuse to get out of attending.
“Pish,” Charlotte said. “They’re minor alterations.”
Minor alterations they may have been, but it was still two hours before Charlotte and the modiste decided which dress Fiona was to wear, and another two hours being poked at and squeezed into stays that pushed her breasts into unnatural positions.
Trying on dresses then turned into browsing Bond Street for bonnets, which then turned into looking at gloves, which then became having lemon ices at Gunter’s Tea Shop.
By late afternoon Fi had spent a full day doing what she imagined most ladies of thetondid. While she was willing to admit that it had been fun, it didn’t change the fact that she had a very serious business that must be done.
But she simply couldn’t shake Charlotte.
When Charlotte announced that it was now time to look for an appropriate reticule to use that evening, Fiona snapped.
“Charlotte, I have business Imustattend to,” she said as their footman loaded the carriage with Charlotte’s latest purchases. “I have paperwork to sign at the patent office.”
Charlotte gave Fiona her usual, sunny smile. “Oh, that’s not a bother. I’ll have Swinton circle the block a few times until you’re ready.”
That was the best she was going to get, apparently. The upside was that Charlotte was too busy nattering away for Fiona to work herself into a bundle of nerves. It wasn’t until she was marching up the stairs into the patent office that the butterflies started.
Her nerves were unfounded. Mr. Jones took one look at the missive from Edward and then signed her letter of patent. He didn’t look happy about it, but neither did he seem willing to go against the duke.
