Page 38 of The Duke's Stolen Heart
Malcolm’s pulse picked up. He clapped his hands. “This interlude has taken long enough. Shall we begin with the reel today?”
He hoped she would not ask to practice the waltz. The dance was too intimate to come hard on the heels of his personal revelations. Malcolm’s father would have been horrified at his revelations to a woman. Intelligent women were difficult. They saw through a man’s lies. They were not as biddable as women like Margaret, as daft and flighty as hummingbirds flitting from one subject to another.
But there was nothing as gratifying as winning the trust of a beautiful, intelligent woman like Antonia Lowry. Perhaps if he had not challenged her from the first moment they had met, they could be allies now. Lovers, even. Malcolm hadn’t learned from his father’s mistakes after all. He had only made new ones. Perhaps there was something essential about money and power that precluded happiness. Insulation from introspection until it was too late to recover.
Antonia took her place. “I have a favor to ask.”
“Yes?”
“I need to borrow a maid’s outfit on Sunday.”
“Why Sunday? Many servants are off on Sunday afternoons.” Perplexed, they let the dance steps slow to a halt.
“I know.” Antonia sighed heavily. “The problem is, Malcolm, I have resolved not to disappoint you in your mission to acquire the necklace. But I am beginning to think stealing it isn’t the simplest way to go about this. What if instead, we win it in a wager?”
“Maybe.”
“Your grandmother hosts a card game on Sundays, and someone must be on duty to attend her and her friends. I intend to be that person.”
“It won’t work. You’ll be recognized.”
Antonia laughed. “If I were to dress your best footman in an embroidered waistcoat and buff trousers, and tie a cravat around his neck, you would not recognize him if he passed you in the street. You lot never pay attention to the people who make your lives easier.”
“We lot?” he repeated skeptically.
“Aristocrats. Wealthy people. The only reason you pay us any mind is to reprimand us.”
“Something I expect you can say as a person who has been on the receiving end of a few rebukes.”
Antonia bounced jauntily out of the way. “I admit nothing.”
“You, I would remember, Antonia. I think anyone would.”
“I can speak from experience when I say no. I did spend several years in New York infiltrating houses and making off with the silver. Once, I took an entire silver coffee set.” She grinned with unrepentant self-satisfaction. “It necessitated a great deal of practice before I learned to distinguish real jewels from paste. Learning to be quick and sure in choosing my moment similarly required a great deal of time and energy.”
“Imagine if you had devoted yourself to reading and instruction.”
“That presumes I was permitted to learn to read. I can, you know, but it was a Promethean endeavor.”
“How so?”
“I stole the knowledge, the same way I have stolen everything I have, even my name.” She said this unrepentantly and despite his better judgment Malcolm smiled.
