Chapter 4
CLARK
“ T his is never going to work.” I stared at my reflection in the tall looking glass while Colin stood behind me. “Your nose is wider than mine.”
Colin frowned. “Your forehead is larger.”
I tugged hard on the jacket I wore. I thought I heard a thread pop somewhere. “That is most definitely not true, but my arms do seem to be. How do you manage to wear your jackets so tight?”
Colin’s valet, Morris, added another fold to the cravat at my neck.
It had been starched heavily enough to stick straight out on its own.
Morris had been informed, in the deepest confidence, of our scheme, and had been enlisted to help transform me into my brother.
Besides the difference in our manner of dress, we also arranged our hair differently.
Mine was slightly shorter than Colin’s, which could easily be explained.
But Colin wore his away from his face and tucked behind his ears, while I had usually worn mine in a less formal fashion, letting it fall wherever my fancy—or the wind—took it.
With a wet comb, Morris began working on my dark hair, combing it away from my face and applying a paste of sorts to keep it in place. When he finished, I looked in the mirror again.
I grimaced. Wearing Colin’s navy blue jacket and rigid cravat, with my hair off my forehead, I could hardly tell us apart.
When we were children, I had intentionally made choices that differed from his, including the colors I wore and the way I arranged my hair.
It had made it easier for others to tell us apart, if nothing else.
When in doubt, the telltale sign had always been the freckle on my right earlobe.
Our mother had dragged me away from my mischief by the ear on more than one occasion after discovering that it was me—and not Colin—who had caused it.
“What would Mother think if she knew I was disguising myself as you?” I asked.
Colin’s mouth quirked upward. “She would doubt our success, certainly. But the people of Bath don’t know me as she does. No one will see a difference.”
Unfortunately, I believed he was right. It was frightening how similar we looked at that moment.
I had no doubt that only our mother and sisters would be able to identify me, and they were still far away in Derbyshire.
“How is Eloise faring in her preparations for London?” I asked.
I had been away from home for months. I had missed a great deal of my younger sisters’ lives over the past few years, but avoiding Derbyshire had been in my best interest after the wedding incident.
“She is counting down the days.” Colin’s gaze grew distant. “Her dowry and accomplishments should secure her a beneficial match. I would be surprised if she isn’t engaged by the end of her first season.”
I cast him a sidelong glance. “So it’s acceptable for a woman to be chosen for her money and accomplishments but not a man?”
“I never said it was acceptable.” Colin’s jaw tightened. “Eloise wants to marry for love. I hope the men she encounters have intentions just as pure.”
“Fortunately she’ll have you to fend off any fortune hunters.
You do seem to have a skill for it.” Little did my brother know, I had once been one.
My participation in this ruse was all a bit hypocritical, but I was practically being forced into it.
It wasn’t the time to be noble. I rotated in front of the mirror. “I look ridiculous.”
“You look more handsome than ever.” Colin smirked beside me.
I exhaled all the air I could from my lungs, but it didn’t make me any more comfortable. “The jacket is far too tight.”
“It is not. You have simply never dressed properly before now.”
I cringed. Perhaps I could have a few seams let out without Colin noticing.
I closed my eyes. I could already feel a headache coming on.
I would have to remind myself frequently of my purpose in participating in this ridiculous charade.
All debts repaid, allowance resumed, clients obtained.
It was a lengthy list of benefits to me.
All I had to do was court a lady who desperately wanted to court me and pretend to be boring and unapproachable.
It should be easy enough.
“To Milsom Street?” I asked. Colin had relayed the plan to me earlier that morning, but I had been distracted by the grand breakfast his cook had served.
“Yes, though I’ve never cared to learn Miss Sharp’s actual address. I would expect her to live farther down the street, beyond number twenty.”
“Are you assuming she’s poor?”
“If she had money, she wouldn’t be living on Milsom Street. And she wouldn’t be so desperate for a fortune.” Colin’s voice dripped with condescension.
I wanted to roll my eyes. “Perhaps she has money and simply wants more. That’s usually how it goes.”
“It doesn’t matter, does it?” Colin strode toward the door, gesturing for me to exit the room. “The point is that she is treating men and their hearts like stuffing for her reticule. We are putting an end to it.”
I nodded, holding my tongue. It wouldn’t do any good to argue. “So I am to wander Milsom Street and hope to stumble upon her?”
“If you discover where she resides, you might even call upon her.” His lips curled into a devious smirk. “How I wish I could witness this all for myself.”
I was quite glad he wouldn’t be witnessing it.
I lacked confidence that I wouldn’t ruin the charade on my very first day.
I made a cake of myself under immense pressure, but Colin seemed to have forgotten that fact.
“Don’t forget,” he said, “Miss Sharp is often with her aunt, Mrs. Julia Cresswell, and her friend, Mrs. Kate Ollerton. Miss Sharp is tall with dark hair, dark eyes, and she usually carries a parasol.”
“Attractive?” I asked with raised eyebrows. I did appreciate a woman with dark hair and dark eyes.
He shrugged. “Moderately.”
With a deep breath, I started for the door. “I’ll report back.”
“Be charming,” Colin said on my way out of the room.
“How could I not be?” I called as I hurried down the stairs. I checked my reflection one last time in the gold-framed mirror in the entrance hall. Heavens, I looked exactly like Colin. I gulped, tearing my gaze away from my reflection. The sight had a way of making my skin crawl.
With one last deep breath, I made my way out the door and down the narrow steps.
The Circus was crowded that morning with carriages, horses, and several people parading about on foot.
The average age of the crowd seemed to be slightly older than in London, as Bath was often considered an escape from the overwhelming nature of London society.
Here, the pressure wasn’t quite as great to move and speak perfectly.
For me, however, the pressure was still strong.
I was not permitted to act as I usually would. I had to be like Colin.
Putting one foot in front of the other, I tried to imitate his gait as I walked down the cobblestones toward Milsom Street.
I kept my back rigid, my chin high, which wasn’t hard to do above that awfully stiff cravat.
My arms were hardly able to swing with each step, locked tightly inside the jacket as they were.
A gentleman nodded in greeting as he passed me, and I returned the gesture as I moved along.
Colin was not overly friendly; I doubted he would stop to converse with anyone.
The shops lining Milsom Street supported several upper floors of apartments.
As I walked, I traced my gaze across the many curtained windows.
Miss Sharp could be living in any of them.
If I didn’t find her today, I would fall behind schedule. I had no time to waste.
I stopped just outside a perfume shop where a group of ladies was exiting through the front door. I searched without success for a tall brunette among them.
“Good day, Mr. Campbell.” The eldest lady in the group stopped in front of me with a polite bow. The young ladies at her side—there were three of them—stared up at me with looks of deep curiosity.
I had never been looked at with such eager anticipation.
I froze. My brother, the fool that he was, hadn’t considered that I wouldn’t know the names of all his acquaintances.
This woman obviously knew him, and I would look horribly impertinent if I didn’t address her by name.
I examined her dress and bonnet. Both appeared to be outrageously expensive.
The young ladies were dressed similarly, all wearing fine necklaces and earrings.
The manner in which they all held themselves, and the trail of maids carrying their purchases, gave me enough confidence to assume that this woman had a title.
It was a risk, but it would save me from knowing her name.
“Good day, my lady.” I dared the words, and she didn’t flinch. The woman simply continued smiling up at me. My shoulders slumped in relief. Was she a viscountess? A countess? I didn’t know her title, but I had guessed correctly about her status.
“What brings you to the shops this morning?” she asked.
I searched for a proper reply. ‘ I’m impersonating my brother to teach a young lady a lesson against fortune hunting ’ was unfortunately not an option.
“I thought I might pay a visit to my tailor.” It wasn’t a lie at all.
I tried to cross my arms, but the jacket prevented the movement.
Whether Colin liked it or not, I would have to let out a few seams.
“I am not surprised. You are always dressed so very well.” The woman grinned again, and I tried to keep my expression neutral.
“Thank you.” A short response seemed most fitting, but then an idea crossed my mind. “Do you know where I might find Miss Arabella Sharp’s residence? She lost her necklace at the Pump Room and I have been meaning to return it to her.”
The woman’s thin brows lifted in surprise at my change of subject, but she cleared her throat. “I cannot say I am acquainted with a Miss Sharp.”