Page 9 of Pride, Prejudice, & Pretense

Lizzy was still puzzled about the brevity of the Wickham file, but she let it go. "Okay, so what's our play?"

"Lady Catherine is hosting a party the day after tomorrow. I've been able to insert you into the guest list. Your cover is as Fanny Prince. You're a librarian, working for the Chicago Public Library. Lady Catherine always…condescends…to invite a few folks from the CPL to her gatherings. She's one of the CPL's largest private donors. She likes to sprinkle a few commoners?educated commoners, of course?among her aristocratic set."

Charlie was laughing in his seat.

"What?" Lizzy demanded.

He pointed to her head. "If you were in a library, you'd have to shush your hair."

She blushed and glared at him. She had been so focused on the honeypot portion of the mission that she hadn't thought about her cover. And Darcy hadn't helped her, warned her.

When she turned back to Darcy, he was laughing, too, but shaking his head. "No, I think it will help. With that hair, she's not going to seemtoo muchlike a librarian. There's a suggestion of something else, something…suggestive. Possible items of interest in her card catalog."

The two men kept chuckling. Lizzy crossed her legs and arms, glowering, appreciating neither the remarks nor the shift into the third-person discussion of her.

Darcy stopped chortling and held out the third file for her. "Here’s the information you need on the CPL, your job. I figured, with your background and education?Haverford, literature?you can sell it. I'll accompany you as yourplus one, your boyfriend, Ned Moreland. American. I can do the accent."

She nodded, not quite paying attention to the words that followedyou can sell it.It was the first time he’d indicated any confidence in her ability to do the job. She uncrossed her arms and accepted the file from his hands. He had said his last words in a completely convincing mid-Atlantic American accent.

And then the rest of his words registered. "Myboyfriend? Won't you get in my way?" She made sure the question sounded professional rather than a complaint.

He shook his head. "No, if I know Wickham?and I believe I do?my presence will help, not hurt. It may be necessary. He prefers theft to purchase. Taking you from me will…add spice, interest. He likes his women to be…well, dropping their dutieswith their panties, if you'll forgive my phrasing. He'll want to prove to you—and to me—that you'renotmine."

His eyes held Lizzy's for a few seconds, and then he turned his gaze out the window.

BOOK TWO: Seduction and the Mark

if it’s mine it’s not mine

if it’s not mine it’s mine

if it’s mine is not me

if not me is not mine if not mineis me

if me is not mine

— R. D. Laing, Knots

Chapter Four: Sincerity

The three of them had rooms under aliases at a motel not far from the airport. It wasn't seedy, but the chances of crossing paths with anyone in Lady Catherine's set at this location approached zero. Rooms had been reserved ahead of time, and the desk clerk told Darcy, who checked them in using his flawless midwestern American accent, that their packages had arrived and been placed in 305.

Darcy took the key cards from the clerk, turned, and stepped away from the desk. He handed one card to Lizzy and one to Charlie. When the clerk began to help the next customer, he spoke softly, his native accent returning.

"I set things up here in Chicago before we left D.C. Your alias for the hotel is on the key card envelope. We'll use those names only here. Our rooms are separate, non-adjoining, but we are in 301, 303, and 305."

He looked at Lizzy. "You'll find packages in your room. They’re clothes for Fanny, including a couple of formal options for the Rosings party. Let me know if the items chosen will do. I had them sent here so we'd have time to replace them if necessary. Take some time to look them over, try them on, and then we can meet to discuss Fanny and Ned, work out details of his and her…ourbackstory."

Turning, he addressed Charlie. "We've got some prep work to do, some tech equipment to discuss." Charlie nodded. "And then you'll have to head downtown." Another nod.

Darcy’s gaze shifted to include Lizzy again. "Tomorrow morning, we'll move to Fanny's apartment in town. It’s still being staged, or we'd be there now. You'll be staying there, of course, and Bingley and I will be in an apartment directly across the street."

They got on the elevator and went up to the third floor. Darcy stopped at 301, Charlie at 303, and Lizzy at 305. As she opened her door, she looked back down the hallway. Charlie was in his room already, but Darcy was standing at his, keycard poised but unused, watching her, studying her. When she saw him, he looked away, opened his door, and stepped inside.

Lizzy was shocked when she entered her room. She shouldered off her backpack and placed her purse on the floor by the door, then moved to the bed, which was piled with shopping bags from a variety of high-end shops. The closet was open, revealing two black hanging garment bags marked “Versace” in red.

Taking a deep breath, she began to take things out of the packages, examining them one after another. The first thing she noticed was that everything seemed to be the right size, even the bag containing various items of underwear. The second thing she noticed was the faultless taste of the collection, the stylishness. Each item was well-made, from the sweaters to the shirts to the pants to the skirts. The colors and shades of colors?lots of reds, some bright, some muted, blacks, a few pastels—it all seemed to match in some general, difficult-to-articulate way.

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