Page 79 of Pride, Prejudice, & Pretense

He had given Fanny a hungry smile when he picked her up, running his eyes up and down her body while Rook put her bag in the trunk. She had chosen snug jeans and a flowing, watery-blue silk blouse, and Wickham approved. When he leaned in for a kiss, Fanny turned her face at the last minute so the kiss landed on her cheek, not her lips. But she smiled at him, a small roguish smile, and tried to backlight her eyes with promises even if her head-turn had suggested reservations.

Lizzy needed to keep him off-balance, unsure. If he was off-balance, she had a chance, the mission had a chance. Being off-balance increased the chances Wickham would make a mistake, slip. He needed to slip. She needed him to slip.

She had just about played out all her options with almost no way forward but the one that she refused even to contemplate. All her spy tactics were needed now, the ones Kellynch prized and that Lizzy prized in herself—her reactions must be alert, quick, and elastic.

Lizzy was careful to do nothing to break Wickham's brooding silence. She had enough to think about herself. Was it possible to complete this mission and remain true to herself?

As Rook stopped the car at the airport, Wickham took his phone out of his coat pocket and glanced at it. Lizzy couldn’t see the message, but she saw the instant frown of displeasure on Wickham's face. He got out and turned away from her, his body angled between her and his phone. After a moment, he returned it to his pocket.

Lizzy walked to the rear of the car and waited for Rook to get the luggage. She had packed only one small suitcase; Wickham had one small duffle bag.

Rook gave her a look as he handed her the suitcase, a look of amusement and fate, as if he knew she would eventually be here traveling with Wickham, his plaything. She dropped her eyes as she took the suitcase from him. It felt too much like he was right, even if he was wrong. Wickham took his bag, and the two of them walked into the airport. Lizzy looked over her shoulder to see Rook pulling away and shaking his head.

Wickham reached for Fanny's hand and Lizzy took his, walking with him beneath a security camera above the door. He seemed unconcerned by the camera, but his face had not relaxed since the text. Lizzy gave him a minute. They walked toward the security gate, and he took his cell phone out again—no call this time. Lizzy saw their tickets appear on the small screen but could not read the details.

"Where are we going, George?" Fanny asked, Lizzy deliberately dropping her chin and using her eyelashes as a veil. She tried to be as demurely fetching as she knew how, willing to employ any cliché.

Wickham's scowl finally relaxed. He took a breath and dropped her hand, accelerating his pace. "Casper, Wyoming."

Lizzy stopped and stared at him. "Wow, when you said weweren'tgoing to Vegas, you meant it! Casper is the anti-Vegas."

Wickham stopped, too, and turned around, having been a step ahead of her. His scowl was now a smirk. "Believe me, given the weekend I have planned for you, you aren't going to care where we are as long as the bed and the shower are large enough. And they will be.Everything will be. What happens in Casper stays in Casper.” Wickham winked. “We can't have Ned finding out, can we?"He can’t wait for Ned to find out.

He started to walk again, and she hurried to catch up, blushing at his remarks despite not being Fanny, despite there being no Ned.Fitzwilliam."So, we’re going to be in Casper itself?"

"No, we'll be outside the city. On Casper Mountain. We'll get there later this afternoon or early evening. The spot's primitive. You'll have to give up on your phone for a while, so you might want to come up with an excuse for Ned."

Fanny frowned. "Okay, I'll send him a text and tell him that…my phone's been on the fritz and that I'll be getting a new one in the next couple of days."

He shrugged, smiling quickly, more interested in the fact of the lie than its actual content. "Whatever."

They made their way through security with no trouble beyond the usual—presenting tickets and ID, and removing the required items for the scans. Lizzy had only Fanny's phone with her. Much as she wanted to let Fitzwilliam know where they were flying, she couldn’t have a text to Ned on her phone revealing the very thing she was supposed to be lying to him about. There was no reason to think Wickham could access her texts, but previous missions had taught her to be especially guarded when as vulnerable as she now was.

Once he had put his belt back on and Fanny had put on her shoes, they headed to their gate. At the first restroom, Fanny slowed. "The wise woman goes when she may, not when she must," she intoned with mock solemnity. Wickham, taking her to be showing a more playful side, grinned. "The wise man too."

They parted company and went to their respective restrooms. When Lizzy got into a stall, she immediately grabbed her phone from her bag and called Fitzwilliam, who picked up before the second ring.

"Yes, Elizabeth?" His voice was quiet, intense.

She kept her voice down so as not to be heard by others in the bathroom. "Our destination is Casper, Wyoming."

Fitzwilliam was silent for a moment, thinking. "Okay, I'll scramble a team and make sure they’re careful. The last team obviously made a mistake, but we still don't know what it was. I'm wondering if there was someone there following Wickham. Although the Rapid City team never considered that possibility, this team will."

"Okay. It’s likely we're not staying in Casper itself, given what Wickham said about clothes and shoes I should bring. I'm trying to think….Casper Mountain is near the city, right?"

He laughed, trying to help her relax. "It'syourcountry—since the end of theso-called'Revolutionary War,' Lizzy."

She laughed too, his unexpected snark helping to ease her tightly screwed tension.He called me “Lizzy.” Did he pick that up from Charlie or Jane?

"Right. Well, it is, I'm almost sure. The mountain, I mean. I bet that our destination is on the mountain, somewhere up there. Maybe a cabin. And itwasa revolution!" she said with mischief.

"Yeah, sure. Tea and taxes. And the BBC needs subtitles.” They both laughed again, and then Fitzwilliam sobered. “Bingley and I will be in Casper as soon as we can get there. He's already talking to Langley, and I’ve arranged for a company jet to be on standby. It won't take us long. We'll be a couple of hours or so behind you. Oh, and Bingley says to tell you that your tracker is working. The signal's strong. I'll arrange with the team for someone to be waiting for you in the women’s bathroom closest to your gate to supply you with a weapon. If I can't arrange that, Ned will send a text complaining about work."

"Okay, Fitzwilliam. Thanks. I have to go."

They paused. Both knew there was more dialogue between them that belonged at this point, but it had to remain unspoken, the place for it on the page left blank, whatever exactly it was.

"Be careful. He has some plan, and we don't know the full extent of it…even if we do know some of it, the part connected to Fanny." Fitzwilliam’s voice quieted as he spoke, the last words delivered softly and slowly.

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