She looked back at him. “I must say the time you’ve dedicated to your role has been time well spent. Your manner of speaking and poise are exactly right for the setting. Do you agree?”
“I am sure the gentlemen I’ve studied as inspiration for my role would have found at least three things wrong with my performance.”
“They’ll never know,” she promised. Fanny had invited several male friends to a dinner one night and had asked Jeremy to pose as a servant to observe them in action. He’d said the conversation at port had been rather coarse, but the rest had been worthwhile viewing.
They stepped outside into the bright sunshine and immediately heard screaming. Fanny sighed. “My nephews are at it again.”
“I am surprised they’re not shut up in the nursery,” Jeremy murmured quietly.
“T’would be impossible to keep them locked in given their adventurous natures.” Fanny’s nephews might be described as mischievous by those outside the family. The family knew better. The pair were the devil’s spawn. Angelic of face but possessed with inexhaustible imaginations. “You’ll likely see them everywhere. Come quickly before they see me and try to follow us.”
The journey to the Hawthorne estate was a pleasant stroll when one did not hurry, and Fanny slowed their steps once they reached the safety of the trees, well beyond the sight of Stapleton Manor’s many windows.
“Who are you going to see?”
“Mr. and Mrs. Hawthorne. Neighbors on the other side of these woods.”
“Wonderful.” He looked at her, frowning. “We need to talk about how we greet each other, too.”
“I don’t understand.”
“To play the part of a smitten lady, you’ll need to behave a certain way. Do you remember your favorite performances at the theater where characters first meet each other?”
“A few,” she said.
“When you appear in a room, I will most likely try to catch your eye. The degree of welcome in your response will need to grow as time passes. But too much enthusiasm at first will seem false. The danger will be in allowing our enthusiasm to spoil the performance. Usually it’s worked out during rehearsals, but we have little time for that I suspect. Let me show you.”
He took up her hand, raised it and lifted his shoulders as he declared gushingly, “My lady, it has been too long.”
Fanny giggled.
“See? Utterly false.” He repositioned himself a few yards away. “Now this…”
He met her gaze and a soft smile turned up his lips. His steps were unhurried as he crossed to her a second time, and he never looked away. “My dear lady, it has been too long.” He caught her outstretched hand and the degree of warmth in his smile increased a little. “Now you respond,” he whispered out the side of his mouth.
“Oh, yes,” Fanny replied, doing her best to come up with something suitable. “Mr. Dawes, how I have missed you, sir,” she promised, doing her best to mimic the inflections of a lovestruck woman.
“A little too strong, perhaps,” he suggested. “Remember we’re not trying to beat them over the head with the suspicion. A hint of partiality is all we need to make it seem a romance is in the air.”
He brought her hand to his lips. Although it might seem so to anyone observing them, his lips never once touched her gloves. He raised his eyes to her and winked.
Fanny fought a blush.
He dropped her hand without kissing it. “Now that was a well-played scene, I should think. A pity there were no witnesses.”
Fanny nodded, suddenly aware of the warmth of her cheeks and the rapid beat of her heart. She dropped her gaze from his. “There should be at least one next time.”
“And one is all we need to begin a suspicion.” He held out his arm to
her. “Shall we continue?”
“Indeed.”
He looked down on her with a cheeky smile. “London was quiet without you.”
She looked up at him concerned. “Was there still no word when the new play will begin rehearsals?”
“None,” he promised. “And I am grateful, too, because I will have more time and energy to devote to you. I promise to put all my effort into making this performance as realistic as possible and not being an embarrassment.”