“Ansel is my cousin,” I said gently, taking care to soften the notes of my voice. “I’m Lady Rosalin.”
I turned, facing him fully, watching his expressive eyes round at the feminine version of the face he knew. His gaze parsed over my sleek locks, which were pinned in whimsical loops over my crown and cascaded in soft inky waves over my shoulders, to my eyes and then my cheeks and lips that were stained a soft pink.
“L-lady Rosalin.”
I nodded. “We do share a strong family resemblance, I’m afraid. Don’t be troubled. The confusion happens more often than you know. I realize we have not been formally introduced, but I won’t tell if you won’t. Who might you be, sir?”
He straightened and gave a smart bow. “Viscount William Humbolt at your service. Lord Ansel has spoken about you.” His stare canvassed the crowded ballroom. “Is he here by chance?”
“Alas, no. My father required his presence, unfortunately.” I offered him a demure smile, ducking my chin slightly. “I suppose you’ll just have to put up with me in his stead. Tell me, my lord, how do you and my cousin know each other?”
“We met at university,” he said. “Capital chap, Roz is.”
Though my heart warmed at the praise for my alter ego, it also quailed when Blake glowered meaningfully in my direction once more. The minute that dance was done, he was going to stalk over here like a bull chasing a red rag. “Lord Anselis well liked.”
My emphasis on my cousin’s title did not go unnoticed, and while it was a not-so-subtle reminder to Will about honorifics and the weight people in thetonput upon them, it was also aplacid prompt for him not to employ the nickname I had foolishly insisted he use. Especially because Blake was very familiar with that particular address forme.
Will’s throat worked as he gulped. “Indeed, Lord Ansel is the epitome of civility and kindness.”
With a nod of regard, I concealed my satisfaction. “Are you enjoying the ball, my lord?”
“Very much, Lady Rosalin.”
His cheeks reddened as though the exchange was almost too much for him to handle. He didn’t have the relaxed, snobbish mien of many of the younger set of theton…that unmistakable air of privilege that most of the young aristocrats wore like a second set of clothing. In truth, he looked like a fish out of water.
That pale blue gaze of his settled on my face, and he cleared his throat with an uncomfortable cough. “You really do look like him. It’s in the eyes.”
“I’ll take that as a compliment,” I said, though the intense scrutiny was making me uneasy.
He shot me a shy smile. “It was meant as one. I do mean it sincerely, my lady. Your cousin was kind to me when he had no reason to be. I was not doing well at Trinity. Not everyone is like him.” His voice lowered. “Even here. I can see the way that people look at me as though I’m something scraped from the bottom of their shoes.” As if he’d admitted something atrocious, Will’s mouth snapped shut and his skin went mottled with mortification. “Bloody hell, I shouldn’t have said that to a lady. Or sworn. I beg your pardon.Again.God, I’m ruining it.”
He sounded so furious with himself that I wanted to hughim, but that would give me away. “Breathe, Viscount Humbolt. The biggest trick is to pretend that nothing is above you. Nothing and no one. Say something silly? Laugh it off as though you meant it all along.”
“It’s that easy?” he muttered.
“No. But it’s much better than berating yourself for being authentic. People are going to think what they’re going to think. Their opinions are none of your business.”
He bit out a chuckle. “That sounds like something your cousin would say.” I froze, realizing that it was true—I didn’t disguise myinnerself. “Are you sure that you and Lord Ansel are not twins? I have two mates who are twins, and they practically finish each other’s sentences. It’s a little eerie.”
I had to agree. The way that Klaus and Kristof sometimes had silent conversations was a bit unnerving. I shook my head. “No, we’re not.”
“Compassion and intelligence must run in the family, then.”
My lips curled, but I lifted my fan to hide them. I liked Will, with his natural lack of artifice, but to fit in here, he would have to play the part, or he’d be ridiculed or ostracized and discarded like a country bumpkin. I didn’t want that for him, but I would have to be careful to watch my step and not give away something that only the male version of Roz would know. Lady Rosalin wasn’t properly acquainted with Viscount William Humbolt.
And based on his conclusions thus far that my cousin and I were rather alike in face and manner, I would also have to make sure that our personalities were vastly different. I needed to sellthe performance of a flippant, featherbrained Lady Rosalin—theoppositeof Will’s version of her cousin.
“How long have you been at university? I do find it quite a useless endeavor.” I forced a high-pitched giggle that made me want to roll my own eyes. “All that time and knowledge for what? A gentleman’s job is to oversee his estate, to make the right social connections, and to marry well. University is a complete waste of time, if you ask me.”
Will’s jaw slackened in a strange sort of astonishment. “I suppose formal education isn’t a requirement to be a peer, but knowledge is important.”
I sniffed disinterestedly with a bland smile. “A title and a fortune are important, Viscount Humbolt. They are the only things that matter, at least according to most of the aristocracy. My cousin is much too foolish in thinking an interest in astronomy will amount to anything.” From his stupefied expression, I knew I was laying it on thickly, but that was the point—to detract from any obvious similarities between Lady Rosalin and Alter Ego Ansel.
The music changed, and I was inordinately grateful to see Blake barreling toward us, given the bleak alternative of further repelling poor Will, who was the kindest soul I’d known. The look of disenchantment blooming in his eyes was almost too much for me to bear.
“Who’s this, then?” Blake demanded, slinging an arm around Will’s shoulders. It was rather uncouth, but Blake did not care in the least what anyone thought of him, which was quite contrary to the advice I’d given Will. Everyone in our setknewBlake,however. Throwing an arm around a boy he didn’t know would hardly register on anyone’s etiquette meter.
“Lord Blake, may I present Viscount William Humbolt, an acquaintance of my cousin at Trinity. He was new to the university and—” I cut myself off from saying that he was also new to theton,because Viscount Humbolt hadn’t actually confided that to me…but to Roz acting as Ansel. “And he was just saying how well he had esteemed him.”
