Page 32 of Plucked By the Orc

Since they had enjoyed such success with Mother, Duncan had informed her they would refrain from lessons until after lunch so that she might sleep in. Before they retired for the evening, Duncan had also instructed Clemons to shoo away any callers. Not that he received many humans in his townhouse, a fact that hardly seemed to concern him.

So when Iris came down the next day, at half past twelve, she was surprised to find none other than Duncan Higgins waiting, his cravat loose and a smile gracing his big mug. She looked around as though she had entered someone else’s dream world.

If Duncan detected her unease, he didn’t let on. “Miss Gabbert! At last. I’ve been waiting since midday.” He checked his pocket watch. “Would you mind terribly if I dined with you? Albion has an appointment to show jewels to Viscountess Maberly. It seems he had a fine time at Mother’s yesterday, even after we left, and will now meet with that same lady to interest her in a necklace he’s recently acquired. That shall interfere with our usual luncheon.”

Duncan shook his head ruefully. If Iris knew anything about Duncan Higgins, it was that he didn’t care for any irregularities in his schedule.

“So I thought I might take a late breakfast with you instead,” he concluded.

She now noticed that Duncan held a plate in one hand, piled with slabs of bacon, fried mushrooms, and a mountain of toast. Before she could respond, he gestured toward the sideboard.

“Please. I’ll wait for you.”

“Certainly.” She gave him a puzzled look, but this change in circumstance wasn’t about to stop her from eating.

“I asked Chef Laurent to make breakfast later than is customary. I hope that’s all right. I know you have a fondness for it.”

This was all well and good as far as Iris was concerned, though she would have liked to have seen Cheffie’s face when Duncan requested something outside his ordinary schedule. Moving to the sideboard, she piled her plate high with toasted bread, rashers of bacon, and fried mushrooms and tomatoes, along with a soft-boiled egg in a cup, and sat at the foot of the table.

Grabbing a serviette for himself, Duncan took a seat at the head. The leaves of the table had not yet been restored, so once again, they sat close to one another.

“Have you not an appetite this morning, Miss Gabbert?” He slanted his giant hand toward her plate. “It seems your eyes are bigger than your stomach. Isn’t that the human expression?”

Iris always had an appetite but poked at her mushrooms and tomatoes. “Just a mite tired, sir. After the excitement yesterday.”

“Oh, that won’t do,” Duncan said, brow furrowing. He passed the serviette over his lips. “For I have wondrous news.”

“Wondrous?” Had Duncan found a lead on a shop that might suit her and Lot? Had her visit with his mother the prior day proven she could conduct herself as a lady? Perhaps he no longer thought their original plan to introduce her at Lady Bellingham’s rout was necessary. What about his wager with Albion?

Iris’s heart pulsed faster. She didn’t want to leave. She had grown accustomed to Duncan’s company. But for him, Iris Gabbert was an experiment. Now that the experiment had concluded, he was likely ready to move on to the next one.

“I am so happy with how you performed at Mother’s,” Duncan told her.

“Performed?” Iris asked. “You don’t see that as my true self?”

He tilted his head curiously. When he looked at her like that, she felt he somehow understood her. That whatever secrets she kept inside were his for the taking. “How do you see yourself now?”

“That, I don’t know,” Iris whispered. She longed to touch her pendant on its chain but stopped herself. While Iris trusted Duncan, she didn’t want to call attention to that final gift from her mother. Regardless of who she was—a flower seller performing as a lady or the actual Iris Gabbert once more—she wasn’t ready to share that part of herself. Not yet.

Duncan speared a mushroom onto his fork and popped it in his mouth. “Mother is convinced you are a lady of the world, though she remains unclear which area of the world precisely. She and her guests were charmed.”

“Not Lady Maberly, I’d vouch.”

“Well, no.” Duncan coughed abruptly but was still smiling. “But I thought it rather unnecessary to mention her opinion, for the viscountess has never been charmed in her life.”

He hesitated, but Iris sensed he had more to say.

“How do you feel about it all? Do you find this turn of events wondrous?” she asked.

“What follows shall be! The vicar, young Felton, and, most saliently, Mother thought you most delightful. That’s what’s important. Therefore, I propose, Miss Gabbert, we continue moving on with our plans to introduce you to the rest of society at Lady Bellingham’s rout.”

“As planned. Or have you second thoughts?” She bit into her toast.

“No second thoughts. Rather, given your success with Mother, I would like to introduce you as a countess.”

Iris nearly spit out her toast. Which would have been a sight more humiliating than she thought she could handle.

“Blimey!” she said. “That will never fly.”

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