Page 75 of The Art of Theft
She spoke in French, her accent subtle enough and unfamiliar enough that Livia couldn’t place it.
“Our ally has arranged for something,” said Charlotte. “But we don’t know how likely it is to happen and cannot count on it.”
“So we proceed without any guarantees.”
“We proceed without any guarantees.”
Madame hesitated. “Very well, then. Let’s proceed however we may.”
“Excellent,” said Charlotte. “Now it’s time we discuss the specifics of the plan, which will involve some loverly conduct. Miss Oliviaand Mr. Marbleton are excused from said conduct. The participation of everyone else, including Madame, will be required.”
Livia blinked. If Charlotte was to partner with Lord Ingram, then who would Mrs. Watson and Madame partner with? Surely not each other?
Madame glanced at Mrs. Watson. Some kind of unspoken communication passed between them. Then she nodded, the gesture extraordinarily regal.
Charlotte inclined her head. “Very well. Let us all change into appropriate attire and proceed to our first rehearsal.”
?In Charlotte’s bedroom, Livia helped her sister with the most important part of her costume. Charlotte’s disguise as a man required a substantial stomach to hide her generous bosom. Usually a lot of padding was used to achieve that bulk, but this time a paunch had been made specifically for the ball.
“You are going to have Mrs. Watson and her friend do ‘loverly’ things together?” asked Livia, tightening the straps that secured the paunch to Charlotte’s person.
“The camera is stationary. They will be able to angle themselves so that they will onlyappearto be intimate,” answered Charlotte with her usual detachment.
“But even if they position themselves with one person’s back to the camera, they will still need to remain in an embrace. How awkward it will be for them.”
A knock came at the door.
“Come in,” said Charlotte.
Mrs. Watson.
Livia’s face heated. She hoped Mrs. Watson hadn’t overheard anything.
“Oh, Miss Charlotte,” said Mrs. Watson, shaking her head, “what a thing to make two old ladies do.”
“Extraordinary times call for extraordinary measures,” replied Charlotte, sounding not at all chastised, not that Mrs. Watson appeared at all interested in chastising anyone.
Mrs. Watson sighed. “It will be awkward, since we have been apart and out of touch for so many years. But at least we won’t be doing anything we haven’t done before.”
A buckle fell out of Livia’s hand. She didn’t know where to look. Did Mrs. Watson mean to imply that... that...
Mrs. Watson chuckled. “If you have any questions, Miss Olivia, you can ask me directly. I’m standing right here.”
“Ummm...” Livia finished with the straps and pulled on them to make sure they were tight enough but not so tight that they would cause Charlotte discomfort. “I take it you and your friend enjoyed a romantic friendship, like the Ladies of Llangollen?”
Lady Eleanor Butler and Miss Sarah Ponsonby had run away from their homes in County Kilkenny, possibly to escape unwanted marriages, settled down in Wales, and maintained a household together for fifty years.
“Well, the Ladies of Llangollen strenuously protested any characterization of their friendship as other than pure and chaste. I, on the other hand, can make no such protests.”
Livia’s jaw fell. Mrs. Watson and her friend had been... sapphic lovers? Didn’t some German Herr Doktor just publish a book on sexual pathology and classify lesbianism as a type of neurological disease?
“Anyway,” said Mrs. Watson, “I’ve been tasked by my friend to tell you that you are a cheeky young lady, Miss Charlotte, for making us old ladies engage in possibly lewd exhibitions. But between you and me, I thinkcheeky, coming from her lips, is a compliment.”
She was gone the next minute, because she still needed to change.
Livia turned to Charlotte. “I don’t know what to think about any of this.”
Charlotte gave her a blank look. “What’s there to think about? What Mrs. Watson and her friend do and don’t do with each other doesn’t affect you to any extent.”
