suggest this course to you?”
“Not at all. That is, he did say that the only way she could become an English subject would be if she were to marry one, but he certainly didn’t suggest that I marry her. I thought of that myself. By Jove, Miss Jessica, I wish I could discuss the matter with her. I have been teaching her English, you know, but she still cannot carry on a proper conversation, and I don’t understand a word of her language.”
“None of us does,” Jessica said with a wry twist of her lips. “Look here, Andrew, before you discuss that subject again with his lordship or anyone else, I think you should ask your uncle what he thinks about it.”
“Well, I don’t think he will like the notion at all, but if you think I should discuss it with him, I will. However, ma’am,” he added more firmly, “despite what he says, if I come to believe that nothing else will protect her from being carried off again by those slavers, I shall have to do my duty by her.”
During the next few days Jessica racked her brain for a way by which the young man could be brought to see his princess in a truer light. At first, she placed her dependence upon Sir Brian, thinking he would succeed easily in convincing Andrew that there was no need to marry Kara. However, Sir Brian failed and, according to Andrew, merely lost his temper when the suggestion was made to him and roundly informed his nephew that the princess was a fraud. Since he still had no clear-cut evidence to provide, however, Andrew flatly disbelieved him, telling Jessica it was absurd to expect Ling Chow—a mere foreigner, after all—to have a better notion of geography than either she or Andrew himself had, or to assume that there was not more than one style of slave ship sailing the seas. His allegiance to Kara thus became stronger than ever, and Jessica realized that it would take a concerted effort now to persuade him of his error.
The assizes were still in session, and she saw nothing of Sir Brian, which was frustrating in the extreme, since she would have very much enjoyed telling him what she thought of the way he had mishandled Andrew. If Cyril was actually encouraging the lad to consider marriage, she knew it would take a subtle approach indeed to convince him that Kara was a fraud. It would be particularly helpful, she decided, if Andrew were to be the one to expose the Malaysian plot. In order to accomplish that end, she determined to throw them together as much as possible, knowing it would be extremely difficult for the young woman to maintain her imposture if she were forced to be continually in his company. She told Andrew, as well, that he ought to invite Ling Chow to call as often as possible so that he might communicate better with his princess. Andrew agreed with alacrity, and in the days that followed, Jessica began to note the signs of strain on the lovely young girl’s face. Ling Chow, too, showed a tendency to speak more curtly and, she noticed, a trifle more grammatically. If anyone ought to notice a supping accent, she told herself with a mischievous smile, it would surely be Andrew, who as a would-be highwayman had had similar problems himself not long since.
The assizes were adjourned at last, but several days passed before Sir Brian came to call, and when he did, he chose a moment when Ling Chow, Kara, and Andrew were all in the garden. Jessica and Lady Gordon were enjoying a comfortable coze in the cheerful morning room when he was announced, and they both went down to the drawing room to greet him.
“Where is Gordon?” he asked without ceremony.
“Why, I daresay he is in his bookroom, sir,” her ladyship replied. “He left word that he is not to be disturbed, but I can send Borthwick to fetch him if you wish to see him particularly.”
“I think he will wish to hear what I’ve got to say,” Sir Brian told her, smiling slightly. He turned to Jessica. “Is Andrew here? He said he meant to come.”
“Yes, they are in
“Not at all. That is, he did say that the only way she could become an English subject would be if she were to marry one, but he certainly didn’t suggest that I marry her. I thought of that myself. By Jove, Miss Jessica, I wish I could discuss the matter with her. I have been teaching her English, you know, but she still cannot carry on a proper conversation, and I don’t understand a word of her language.”
“None of us does,” Jessica said with a wry twist of her lips. “Look here, Andrew, before you discuss that subject again with his lordship or anyone else, I think you should ask your uncle what he thinks about it.”
“Well, I don’t think he will like the notion at all, but if you think I should discuss it with him, I will. However, ma’am,” he added more firmly, “despite what he says, if I come to believe that nothing else will protect her from being carried off again by those slavers, I shall have to do my duty by her.”
During the next few days Jessica racked her brain for a way by which the young man could be brought to see his princess in a truer light. At first, she placed her dependence upon Sir Brian, thinking he would succeed easily in convincing Andrew that there was no need to marry Kara. However, Sir Brian failed and, according to Andrew, merely lost his temper when the suggestion was made to him and roundly informed his nephew that the princess was a fraud. Since he still had no clear-cut evidence to provide, however, Andrew flatly disbelieved him, telling Jessica it was absurd to expect Ling Chow—a mere foreigner, after all—to have a better notion of geography than either she or Andrew himself had, or to assume that there was not more than one style of slave ship sailing the seas. His allegiance to Kara thus became stronger than ever, and Jessica realized that it would take a concerted effort now to persuade him of his error.
The assizes were still in session, and she saw nothing of Sir Brian, which was frustrating in the extreme, since she would have very much enjoyed telling him what she thought of the way he had mishandled Andrew. If Cyril was actually encouraging the lad to consider marriage, she knew it would take a subtle approach indeed to convince him that Kara was a fraud. It would be particularly helpful, she decided, if Andrew were to be the one to expose the Malaysian plot. In order to accomplish that end, she determined to throw them together as much as possible, knowing it would be extremely difficult for the young woman to maintain her imposture if she were forced to be continually in his company. She told Andrew, as well, that he ought to invite Ling Chow to call as often as possible so that he might communicate better with his princess. Andrew agreed with alacrity, and in the days that followed, Jessica began to note the signs of strain on the lovely young girl’s face. Ling Chow, too, showed a tendency to speak more curtly and, she noticed, a trifle more grammatically. If anyone ought to notice a supping accent, she told herself with a mischievous smile, it would surely be Andrew, who as a would-be highwayman had had similar problems himself not long since.
The assizes were adjourned at last, but several days passed before Sir Brian came to call, and when he did, he chose a moment when Ling Chow, Kara, and Andrew were all in the garden. Jessica and Lady Gordon were enjoying a comfortable coze in the cheerful morning room when he was announced, and they both went down to the drawing room to greet him.
“Where is Gordon?” he asked without ceremony.
“Why, I daresay he is in his bookroom, sir,” her ladyship replied. “He left word that he is not to be disturbed, but I can send Borthwick to fetch him if you wish to see him particularly.”
“I think he will wish to hear what I’ve got to say,” Sir Brian told her, smiling slightly. He turned to Jessica. “Is Andrew here? He said he meant to come.”
“Yes, they are in
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