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“Let me see... I’ve got it! Beastly Beatrice and her defender, the Dueling Debutante. A match made in misfit heaven.” They dissolved into giggles again.
Dueling Debutante. They’d spread the name throughout theton, repeating the story of her challenge, embellishing it, making her out to be a hotheaded hoyden.
Shewasa hotheaded hoyden, she’d always been one, always had trouble controlling her temper. So many things made her angry—being locked out, held at arm’s length, laughed at...
Bursts of anger and humiliation sparked in her chest.
She must remain calm. She shouldn’t let them goad her into a scene.
“I’ve always said you can take the girl out of the countryside,” said Lady Millicent.
“But you can’t take the countryside out of the girl,” rejoined Chloe.
People stared at them. Mina’s face heated. She would probably break out into red blotches soon. She always did when she was angry.
She didn’t belong here.
She didn’t fit into their world and they could sense her otherness, these polished ladies with sharp tongues.
The sound of their laughter echoed in her mind until she wanted to scream. Before she did something she would truly regret, she spun around and dashed away into the welcome darkness of the gardens.
She must be able to exist in this world, as her mother had, disguise her emotions, learn to be witty and elegant. She had to learn those things because that’s what a spy did and she’d never be a good spy if she couldn’t disguise her emotions.
She’d thought she was the queen of the night.
But she was really the court jester.
Drew saw Mina run into the gardens by herself. It was nearly time for their assignation with the extortionist. What was she doing?
“Stay here with Corbyn,” he said to Beatrice.
“Gladly, brother dear,” replied Beatrice with a knowing glint behind her spectacles. “Run after MissPenny. And please don’t come back for at least a half hour, is that clear?”
“Not very subtle, sister dear. You’re trying to push us together.”
“It’s selfish, really. I’m doing it because I don’t want to lose you again. I think Mina’s your best hope. If anyone can melt that cold heart of yours, it’s Mina.”
Drew walked swiftly away and broke into a run when he was hidden from the central grove by tall trees whose branches met overhead in shadowy archways.
He caught a glimpse of silver through the trees.
“Why did you run off like that?” he asked when he reached Mina.
She wiped her cheek with an ungloved hand. “I wanted a stroll through the trees.”
Her gown was shot-silk in a silvery color that matched her eyes. There were ruby eardrops at her ears.
He had to touch her or he would die.
He caught her fingers in his hand. “Something upset you.”
Give me a chance to defend you, to loosen some of this knot of tension coiled in my chest.
“It was nothing, really. Someone made a snide remark and I lost my temper. I’m not as cool and detached as you are.”
“It’s not in your nature. You’re passionate. I like that about you.” He liked how she attacked life and how she didn’t hide her emotions—he liked it too much. “Was it Lady Millicent? I saw you speaking with her.”
She nodded. “She feels threatened by me, so she lashed out. We all lash out when we feel cornered.”
