“Ah. Well, you see, Miss Elizabeth, you may be the first lady I have voluntarily invited to tea.”
She got a quizzical look. “I do not understand.”
I settled on carrying the hamper under one arm so I could still offer Elizabeth my other, and I caught her hand. “That is because you do not know Lady Matlock, my aunt. She has made it her mission to find me a wife, but thus far, I have evaded her wiles.”
Elizabeth was quiet for several strides as we walked up to the great courtyard. “I still do not understand.”
It was my turn to laugh, and I clasped her hand a little tighter. “Then I hope to explain myself better when we have a chance.” The door to Somerset House was opened to us, and I escorted her inside. I told our errand to the man at the door, and he asked us to wait while he went for the person we were to see.
“Well now, Elizabeth, are you ready to become a sculptor?” I whispered into her ear.
She shook her head “no” as her mouth puckered. “Y-yes?”
“That’s the spirit. Come now, look eager and excited.”
“Excited, I can manage. I am not so sure about eager.”
I turned to her, and those luminous brown eyes searched mine. She was craving reassurance, and for some spectacularly mysterious reason, she trusted me to give it. So, I did. I set the hamper down and curled my fingers at her cheek, just grazing the nape of her neck.
“It will be well, Elizabeth,” I whispered.
She closed her eyes and leaned into my hand. “I wish I could be as sure of that as you are. What if we are discovered? What if—”
“Have I ever told you how beautiful you are, Elizabeth?”
Her eyes widened. She sucked in a breath, and her entire body froze. Slowly, she shook her head.
“Then I will have to tell you later. That will give us both something to look forward to.”
Elizabeth chuckled and let her forehead lean against mine. “I am counting on it.”
“So am I.” I toyed with a curl at her cheek, then let my hand fall and stepped back. “Better now?”
She nodded and let out a long sigh. “Better. By the by, what is in the hamper?”
“This? Oh! You do not mean to work clay dressed like that, do you? I had a frock brought for you.”
She tilted her head and studied the hamper. “Is that all? It looks heavier than that.”
I smiled and put my finger to my lips. One eyebrow curved, and she nodded in understanding. “I see I will have to wait.”
Elizabeth
Mr.Cunningham,whomwe’dmet yesterday, sent a student named Watson to greet me and show me where I might change. I expected to be shunned as a woman, but Watson was very polite. “I am afraid we have no maid to assist you, Miss Trenton. Can you manage?”
“I have four sisters, and we share a maid—or, rather, I wait until I cannot wait any longer. I am used to making do, thank you very much.”
The gentleman bowed courteously, then left me alone. I bolted the door and set my hand on my hips. Time to explore that hamper. I lifted the lid and saw only coarse linen. Curious, I pulled it out and found that it was, indeed, a work gown. But something heavy was wrapped inside it.
I laid it on the floor and peeled back the layers. Inside, I found the answer. And the genius of William’s plan.
It was a sculpture of what looked like Athena, about eighteen inches high and set in marble. She held a quiver over her shoulder, and one arm looked as if it had once held a bow, but the hand was broken off.
Where had William got this? It appeared, to my uneducated eyes, at least, to be older than our English hills. No one could doubt its authenticity. The contrast to my father’s sculpture could not have been more marked. Surely, this was precisely the sort of thing the prince thought he was buying in the first place.
Was this something William had already owned? Did he take a magical journey to Scotland overnight to buy this from Lord Elgin himself? I would ask him all about it later, but for the first time, I understood what he meant to do. He would replace my father’s forgery with the real thing.
And if it worked, we would all be saved.
