Masquerade in London (The Samantha and Wyatt Mysteries Book 1) by Emily L Finch

Author:Emily L Finch [Finch, Emily L]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Randall Court Press
Published: 2022-04-07T16:00:00+00:00

TEN

Wyatt heard Miss Avery descending the stairs and tore himself away from the newspaper article he’d been reading. It was from the Times the day after the murder, and he was scouring it for anything he might have missed. He felt a twinge of annoyance at being forced to abandon it but reminded himself that attending the soiree had been his idea.

When he stepped into the hall and saw Miss Avery, he was momentarily speechless. It was the transformation, more than anything, that had stunned him. He knew she was pretty. He had noticed that before. But in the ballgown with flowers in her hair, she was…elegant. Poised. Sophisticated. No trace of the ragamuffin he had brought into his house was visible.

She, too, seemed at a loss for words, and he realized that he had forgotten to tell her he would be going to the ball as someone else. No doubt she was confused by the sudden growth of facial hair that partially obscured his face. He’d never been a fan of side whiskers himself, but they did a lot to aid in his disguise. He had learned, over the years, that expectation played the biggest part in deception—people saw what they expected to see—but a raspier voice, shoes that added height, hair lightened with pomade and clothes tailored and padded to suggest a different build, all helped.

“Mr. Kennedy?” she said incredulously.

He blinked. He had not expected she would know him. Archie Kennedy was generally fairly discerning in his choice of entertainment. He ought not to have been familiar to a tradesman’s niece.

“At your service.” He gave a mock bow. “I trust you will keep my secret as I keep yours.”

He walked forward and held out a hand to escort her to the door. She continued to gape at him, and he noticed that her eyes were a beautiful shade of hazel. Perhaps bringing her along wasn’t such a good idea after all. He had thought she would blend in.

“How?” she asked. Then, answering her own question, she gestured to his false whiskers. “Well I see how, but why?”

He hesitated. The real answer was complicated. He and Bingo had invented Archie in their school days as a convenient scapegoat for some of their more ill-advised pranks. When it became necessary for him to make an appearance, they took it in turns to dress as him until Wyatt was discovered to be the superior actor and Bingo the better impresario. When Wyatt moved to London, they thought it would be amusing to resurrect him. But, if Wyatt were being honest, Archie’s continued existence was almost entirely due to himself. He had become addicted to the freedom of being someone else and being able to do things that V.T. Wyatt, younger brother of the Viscount Boxley, couldn’t do without consequences.

Archie had become useful, however, when Wyatt was handling delicate problems for his friends. And, as that was a more agreeable reason, that was what he told Miss Avery.

“And how does escorting widows to balls and chasing ladies through gardens help with that?” she asked, her eyebrows raised.

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