Page 13 of To Tempt a Scandalous Lord
“You’d be bored.” Effia raised a cup of coffee to her mouth. “Did you want to rework it?”
Alicia sighed. “I do. I can have Jane deliver the revised essay to you when it’s ready.”
Effia shook her head. “I’ll come to you. I have another meeting this afternoon, and I can stop by afterwards.”
“Very well, I appreciate it.” Alicia’s shoulders dropped as she thought about the revisions that lay ahead. “Hopefully I’ll get it right this time.”
Effia’s smile was gentle. “It’s not about getting it right or wrong. It’s about sharpening your argument for the most profound impact. And I know you can do it because you’ve done it every other time before.”
After seeing her friend out, Alicia sat with her old words and new blank pages ready to tackle revisions. Several hours, biscuits, and cups of tea later, a knock sounded on her chamber door. It opened at her word, and Jane, her maid, stepped into the room.
“Miss Assan is here. Are you ready?”
Rolling a kink out of her neck, Alicia nodded. “I think I may have done as much as I can, and now Effia will have to work her magic on it.”
Entering the front parlor a few minutes later, she found Effia perched in an armchair like a plucky sparrow, her eyes rapidly scanning a cluster of pages she held in her hand, a pencil clenched in her teeth. At Alicia’s entrance, she looked up and raised her brows, stashing the papers in the large bag at her side.
Alicia followed the movement, curious of what she was reading. Despite their friendship, Effia had never revealed the identities of the other authors she worked with, and while Alicia respected her discretion, she was still vastly curious.
Clearing her throat, she took a seat in the matching armchair. “You have excellent timing.”
“Of course I do.” Effia flashed her an impish smile. “Did you make any progress?”
“See for yourself,” she said, handing her the carefully revised pages.
The butler brought in a tray while Effia read, and Alicia kept her nerves at bay by preparing the tea. She took a bracing sip from her cup, and as the warm liquid spread through her body, she considered her friend.
Effia had once shared that as an editor, she was doing what she loved, changing the world an essay at a time. Her journey hadn’t been easy: traveling with her family on a treacherous voyage from Ghana to England, settling in Lambeth, and then securing the best education they could afford. But it had all been worth it, and now she worked for a successful publisher who gave women the opportunity to express themselves.
Alicia fully trusted her critique. If Effia said she was coddling Lord Inverray, she believed her.
That didn’t mean she wouldn’t get anxious about hearing her editor’s opinion.
Alicia set down her cup, and rubbed her eyes with the heels of her hands. “So what are your thoughts?”
Effia looked up from the papers. “Your criticisms are pointed, but fair. His lordship is a grown man and can handle fair, constructive commentary. If not, he shouldn’t be in politics.”
“Indeed not, but then a man’s ego can be so very delicate.”
“As fragile as an eggshell, I’d venture.”
Locking eyes, the women shared a collective chuckle.
“Aside from some minor grammatical changes, the essay appears ready to print. Would you like for me to submit it for our next printing?” Effia asked, lifting her now tepid tea to her mouth for a sip.
Alicia bit her lip for a moment. “I think…I’d like to hold on to it for a bit longer.”
“Ahh.”
Her ears immediately perked up at Effia’s innocent tone. “What is that supposed to mean?”
Her friend reached for a biscuit, not meeting Alicia’s eyes. “Why does it have to mean anything?”
“Come now, you know full well there is a whole message conveyed in that one sound.” Alicia paused, crinkling her forehead. “Or is that a word?”
Her friend sent her a withering look.
“What did you intend to say? Just say it.”
