Page 94 of Unforeseen Affairs
“Er, just—who did you say you were?” the doorman asked again as he looked back to Colin.
Colin opened his mouth, but Charlotte cut him off again.
“Mr. and Mrs. Kitson,” she replied. “We hosted Mr. Bass at our home in Bayswater only last month! A right cracking time. We held a spirit circle, and wouldn’t you know, the spirits were game that evening. We spoke with one—”
“Alright,” the exhausted man said, holding a hand up to put a stop to her story. “Alright. This one’ll show you to the room, but stay in there until the show’s over, mind?”
A boy in shirtsleeves scampered up behind the large man, seemingly from nowhere. He nodded at them with a wide, toothy grin.
“Thank you, sir,” Colin acknowledged.
The doorman sighed and stepped back to allow them to pass.
“I mean it! Can’t have all you roof-scrapers milling about back here, off your leads. You needn’t wait long at any rate, his eleven o’clock number is coming up.”
The lad gestured for them to follow, and they did, quickly picking up their pace to match his.
They had gained admittance backstage. The second step of their plan had succeeded.
Truth be told, this part of the process had worried Charlotte the least. She knew her way around a theater; if the plan had called for her to strip out of her new velvet gown, don a gas-man’s filthy cotton jacket, and pretend to clean the lamps, she could have done so with hardly a second thought.
Still, she was thankful it had not come to that.
The young boy stopped in front of a door and flung it open to reveal a small boudoir set aside for performers, his arm extended in invitation.
Colin set down the champagne and coupes upon a low table, then fished around in his pocket and drew out a silver crown.
“Can you tell me, young man,” Charlotte asked bluntly, “whether or not the newspapermen attended the opening performance earlier this week?”
“That they did, ma’am,” the boy said, his eyes never leaving the coin in Colin’s hand.
“Do you know which taverns they ought to be found at just about now?”
He nodded solemnly.
“And would you recognize them if you saw them?” Charlotte pressed.
“Of course,” he scoffed, momentarily glancing away from the money to pull a face at her.
“Good,” Colin said as he stepped forward and pressed the coin into the boy’s eager hand. “Go fetch them now. Tell them this evening’s finale will be well worth the ink they spend upon it.”
The boy closed his fingers around it, then laughed.
“I can tell them, but that’s not likely to bring them running.”
Ah, a savvy negotiator.Charlotte tried to catch Colin’s eye, but he was looking sternly at the boy, his jaw set.
“Tell them Sir Colin Gearing assures them of a…” He paused to draw in a breath. “A spectacular showing, unlike anything they’ve ever seen.”
It was clear from the boy’s skeptical shrug that Colin’s name meant nothing to him.
“And tell them that… I will be available for interview.” Colin grimaced as he said the last part. As he did so, he withdrew a second crown from his pocket and handed it over.
The boy paused for a moment to see if any more instructions were forthcoming. When none came, he doffed his hat and took off like a shot, not even bothering to shut the door behind him.
Colin released a sigh, ruffling his hair with one hand. He sat down next to Charlotte. “Do you think we ought to crack that open?” He nodded toward the champagne. “Seeing as no one’s going to partake.”
Charlotte shook her head. “We don’t have time. Mr. Bass is set to begin his elongation trick shortly.”
