A Matter Of Delicacy

The Shadow

     Beresford looked down at me with a strange sort of calculated distance. Up this close, he was only an inch or so taller than me, so I was nearly staring directly into his face. He was wearing a black tailcoat with a deep green waistcoat and cream cravat. It seemed strange not to see him wearing his top hat, but even so, how had I missed him? And now he was right here, his hand on my back and holding my other in a firm grip. I was in the middle of a crowded ballroom with the man I'd been tailing for weeks. Finally, he was actually here, literally within my grasp, and I was completely unprepared.
     'Miss Wentworth, I presume?'
     I gaped at him, 'what?'
     He frowned at me, 'Miss Wentworth? The Princess's new lady in waiting.'
     Of course, Lord Lynton had told him about me. It had just been last night, I'd been right there, dammit, hiding behind a plant pot in the dirt. Damn Willoughby and his dashing smile and wonderful dancing and outrageous statements of captivation.
     'Oh, yes, my apologies. I'm a little distracted tonight.' I tried my best to plaster on the façade of Katherine Wentworth of Munich, the silly little girl who had giggled at Lord Ashgrove's jokes and asked all about Carlton House. 'But I don't believe we've been introduced, sir.'
     'Davenport, ma'am, Henry Davenport.' He gave me a pursed-lipped smile and swirled me under his arm, allowing me a moment to compose myself. He was using a fake name. It wasn't particularly insightful, he could be using it for any number of reasons, but it was a useful piece of information to keep hold of.
     We came back together and I noticed his face had taken on an interested look, a slight quirk in the corner of his mouth and a calculating twinkle in his eye. 'You've been with the Princess since March, is that correct?'
     Another spin, and some time to speculate for me. I hadn't been at Montagu House since March, I'd joined mid-April, and it was now only a month since I'd arrived. A man with his level of planning would surely know that, especially since he'd sent Lennox to test out my reaction only a week after my arrival. I didn't know him well, hell this was the first time I'd officially met the man, but I could tell that it wasn't like him to make this kind of mistake. So why offer me a piece of false information? Unless... my heartbeat hitched in my chest.... He was baiting me. He was waiting to see if I'd correct him, or agree to keep the illusion of my being at Montagu House firm. Correct him and risk being outed, or lie and prove it.
     'Since April, Mr Davenport. I arrived a month ago.'
     He smiled slowly, the same way a hawk would smile when it caught sight of a pigeon. The couples on either side parted and were passed onto their next partners. Beresford held me firmly for just a moment longer, 'it's been a pleasure, Miss Wentworth. No doubt we'll meet again.'
     Then, in a second, he was gone, and I was passed directly back into the arms of Willoughby. He beamed at me but my eyes were fixed over his shoulder at Beresford, who had melted away into the crowd behind him, brushing past Sarah who was watching the dancing. He knew. I had never believed anything more in my life; I knew it in my very bones. He had seen right through me. I was exposed.
     'Well, that was an unfortunate interlude,' laughed as he passed me under his arm and back into hold. 'No sooner had I bared my soul than you were gone.'
     I caught a glimpse of a green waistcoat from behind him, Beresford was slipping out of the tall windows that led onto the terrace.
     'Miss Wentworth? Is everything alright?'
     My head snapped back to him and I stared into his beautiful open face, full of joy and excitement and those eyes like whirlpools. He was a good man. He'd told me I was captivating. He'd made me forget about the dagger strapped to my thigh and the scars riddling my body and the threat lurking outside the door.
     And I was going to have to break his lovely heart.
     'I'm sorry,' I muttered, pulling away from him. He instinctively reached out, his hands resting in the air like a pianist about to serenade a crowd. Confusion washed over his face.
     'I'm so sorry,' I said again, and hurried away, pushing through the crowd towards the windows. Voices washed over me from every angle, laughs and cheers and clinking glasses suddenly becoming jarring and cruel in my ears. I couldn't lose him again. Enough was enough.
     'Kate?' Sarah stared at me as I surged past, ignoring her as I dropped my shawl behind a chair and started working at the ties at my knee, loosening the slit that Mr Arthurs had installed so I could reach the dagger in its sheath. I missed my smallsword, but I might need the subtlety of a smaller weapon.
     'What's happened? Where are you going?' my friend appeared at my elbow.
      'He's here,' I muttered. 'Beresford. Find the Princess, stick by her and don't let her out of your sight until I get back.'
     'Kate you can't go after him, not like this, you're not prepared,' she clutched my arm, squeezing tightly. 'Leave it for tonight, or fetch a guard to do it. Don't put yourself in danger like this. Let's just find the Princess and take her home. Then you'll both be safe.' She started looking around for our patroness.
     The darkness of the terrace and the garden beyond called to me. I would get answers out there, that I knew for sure.
     Squaring my shoulders, I clenched my fists and strode outside, leaving Sarah alone in the doorway.