To Sketch a Sphinx - Rebecca Connolly Page 0,25

than it did before?”

“Because that particular style is much worse than what you wore the other night.”

Hal glared at her husband as he sat in the coach beside her. “That question did not require an answer.”

“Then, you shouldn’t have asked it aloud.” Pratt shrugged and looked out of the window. “Why voice a question that doesn’t require an answer? Waste of words.”

“I have no qualms about hitting a man, Pratt. I have a brother who has borne my bruises,” Hal told the infuriating man without looking at him. “Do not tempt me.”

Pratt said nothing to this, which was to be expected, as he said nothing most of the time. He had said nothing all day, not that she had wanted him to. Left in the house of her cousin and his unending brood of children, Hal enjoyed nothing more than the silence her husband afforded her. The children were sweet and rather dear, but they were also wild, undisciplined, curious, and enthusiastic about anything and everything.

Hal was relieved she hadn’t been brought up in such a way, even if her cousin thought it appropriate.

The only respite she’d had from the energy of the house was when they had gone to fetch their trousseau from Tilda’s friend. The baron and his wife had been suitably impressed by the name they had given them, which settled both her and Pratt as to the nature of Tilda’s promises. If nothing else, they would be impressively arrayed, which ought to be enough to put them in the appropriate circles, if nothing else would.

There was one thing, however, that she had not settled on, in her mind or otherwise.

How the devil were they supposed to know who they were looking for? It would hardly be as obvious as a man or woman announcing themselves as a prescriber of Sieyès’s beliefs, wishing for his dream to be fulfilled, recruiting others to join in a new order they were creating… All within earshot of the pair of them, of course.

It could not be so easy as that, but how would they know it? Where would they look? What would they have to suspect anyone of?

There were valid reasons that Hal had not been deemed a successful candidate for the covert world, and this was surely one of them.

How did anybody embarking on an assignment actually know where to start?

“I do believe I can hear you thinking, Ange.” Pratt glanced at her as they rambled on in the coach. “What is the subject of such efforts?”

“Our mission.” Hal lowered her voice, though they were alone in the carriage and no one could possibly hear her. “How in the blazes will we know what to look for? What if nothing is obvious? How do we even begin to…?”

“I was wondering the very same thing just now,” he interrupted with a dry laugh. “With little to no information, apart from whatever is in your trunks and mine…”

She turned to him then, her pulse skipping. “We have to go through those tonight. It’s likely we should have already done so.”

Pratt snorted once. “When would we have had the time? Last evening, we barely made it through supper without falling asleep, and today, we were forced to endure entertainment before we fetched our costumes, then were foisted into ridiculous garb, scarfed down a quick supper, only to then be thrust into a coach so that we may suffer through an opera.” He exhaled heavily, as though the mere recollection of the day’s events was as exhausting as the day itself had been. “There was no time, Ange.”

“You don’t have to call me that now,” she reminded him, ignoring how her toes tingled every time he said it, particularly when his voice dipped lower on the final syllable. “We’re alone.”

Again, he shrugged. “Easier to remember to call you such in company if I call you such in private. I hope you don’t mind.”

“I don’t,” she quipped quickly. “Just reminding you.” She looked down at the tips of her fingers, encased in pristine new gloves. “So tonight, we simply make acquaintances? I cannot see what else we can hope for without more information.”

“Agreed. We’ll use that inestimable mind of yours to remember faces and facts later. For now, we’ll simply make ourselves known.” He winced as the words escaped. “But not too much. A very subtle introduction to us.”

Hal laughed and shook her head, much as the pinned monstrosity that was her hair protested the motion. “Well, I was hardly planning to announce us