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Back at the Archives Approaching 5 pm- Xmas 1677


Charles Whitehurst

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With the dagger safely tucked in his coat pocket, Charles returned to the library in hopes that Susan Herbert would still be there. If so, she would have been there most of the afternoon. She had been quite eager to see the dagger once cleaned up, so the Earl thought she might still be about. If not, he might find her in the Queen's company and find a way to separate her for a peek at the blade.

 

His eyes searched the library as he moved to the archives room. If Mister Potts was present, he would certainly plan to greet the librarian and gain permission to enter. If not, he would plan to enter in the absence of permission.

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The librarian was at his desk as usual and he glanced up as Lord Langdon entered. He had not expected him to come back today. There seemed to be only one explanation for his return. He had left something behind. “May I help you with something, my lord?” he asked politely.

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"Aye Master Potts," the Earl replied with an edge of fatigue he had felt from a full day already. "I have arrived to see if Lady Susan might still be present in the archives doing her research." He paused for a reply as he looked towards the entrance to the archive. If she was not there, then he suspected she would be with the Queen.

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So he was looking for the lady. He hoped that they weren't going to have a tryst in his archives. He would make sure to listen in at the door for any moans and whispers. Nobility or not, nobody was going to get away with that in his library.

 

“She left for a bit, but she's back in there now. The door isn't locked. You can join her if you wish.”

 

If Charles stepped into the room, he would find the candles burning low. Susan was sitting in the same chair, but her arms were folded on the table, and her head was resting on them. She was fast asleep.

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For all that Langdon might do to demand respect among his peers, he was still a boy at heart when it came to girls and young ladies. He loved dearly to tease them.

 

He paused as he took in the scene. She was asleep and he had a chance to pull a prank ... but what? He creeped towards her as silently as he might, still unsure as to what prank to pull. Taking his hat with a feather, he lowered it softly onto her golden locks, hoping not to awaken her. Then he pulled forth the dagger and tried to place it softly in front of her.

 

Taking the seat beside her, he whispered in a dreamy voice that he hoped she would hear in her sleep "oh my swan, come to my arms and smother me with kisses." If she did not respond, he would continue "tell me that you love me," he encouraged, hoping she was dreaming of the Lion and might utter something embarrassing in her sleep. Of course, it was far more likely that she was dreaming about serving the Queen, or needlepoint, or being chased by monsters perhaps.

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Susan was dreaming about riding a unicorn through a forest made of trees that were blooming with flowers. For such a pragmatic young woman, her dreams were quite fanciful. When she felt something touch her head, her consciousness began to return. She could hear someone breathing close to her and the sound of something being placed on the table, but she kept her eyes closed, pretending to still be asleep. Although she wasn't certain, she suspected that Lord Langdon had returned.

 

The sound of his voice confirmed it, and it was all she could do to keep from smiling. He was trying to tease her and she decided to tease him back. "You sound different,” she whispered faintly, her voice soft and sleepy. “How do I know that you are really my lion? Kiss me so that I will know it's truly you.”

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At first there was a thrill that he had stimulated her to speak in her sleep. He had hoped to have her say that she loved the Lion or something silly. It would be good for laughs for months, if not years. Yet, as she spoke, she invited him to kiss her, causing him to pause.

 

There were few gentlemen at court that enjoyed kissing more than him, but it seemed not the right place to kiss, even if they were alone ... and he was not really sure if she was conscious or not. Lowering his head, he peeked to see if her eyes were closed. They were. Was she really asleep and talking with him, and why did she make it seem like she had kissed the Lion before? The answer was either that she was awake and teasing him, or that she had been kissing the Lion previously in her dreams. It made Charles wonder what the Lion might look like in her dreams. If she kissed him, he must be fairly handsome, he speculated.

 

The best bet was to play along and tease back. Adopting the same soft and dreamy voice, Charles replied "I seem different because it is not me you wish to kiss. I think you prefer to kiss Lord Langdon. Admit it." The smile was wide on his face as he watched for signs of a smile in return, meaning she was really awake.

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He moved closer to her and Susan could feel his warm breath glide across her face. Was he going to kiss her? She had been wanting him to kiss her again since that day in the secret passages. Maybe all he needed was to believe she was asleep and dreaming that she was the swan. He could kiss her and she wouldn't remember it when she 'woke up.' Except that, of course, she would.

 

She wondered if she could keep still if he did press his lips to hers. She tried to breathe evenly, even though her heart was beginning to beat rapidly in anticipation. Yet he didn't kiss her. Instead he told her that she wanted to kiss him and not the lion. Was he trying to influence her thoughts or was he calling her bluff?

 

If Susan had been a commoner and tried to make a living on the stage, she would starve. She was not a very good actress and a smile blossomed across her face involuntarily. Knowing that she had been caught, she opened her eyes, raised her head, and looked at him. He was grinning. “Was that wishful thinking?” she asked playfully.

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As Susan smiled, his own smile widened. "Hah, I knew you were awake," he declared, though, in truth, he had not been certain. "Wishful perhaps, but you did ask me to kiss you and I always obey a lady in that regard," he continued to laugh. He leaned in to surprise her with a quick kiss to her lips and then withdrew. "I had to be sure that you asked me when you were conscious," he explained in jest. "I would not take advantage of a sleeping lady."

 

Sitting back in his chair he regarded her. "That hat looks good on you," he teased. "An ostrich feather for a swan."

 

Turning his attention to the dagger in front of her, he pointed at it. "Looks a bit better than last time. I was nearly robbed of it today." He paused to let her examine it.

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“I was dreaming that I was the Swan waiting for the Lion to join me on a stroll. I don't think I woke up completely until you mentioned your own name.” This was not exactly true, but Susan didn't want him to know she had been dreaming of unicorns and flowers. He would probably never let her live it down.

 

But he did kiss her, and as brief as it was, she found it very pleasurable. “Always?” she asked. “So if I asked you to kiss me again right now, you'd do it?” It was tempting, but even if he said yes, she wouldn't take him up on it. Susan wanted to be different from all the other girls he knew. From what she knew of his reputation, he didn't have any trouble charming ladies. Playing hard to get might keep his interest.

 

There were no mirrors in the archives, so she couldn't see how his hat looked on her. “Maybe I should keep it then,” she grinned, reaching up to adjust it so it was tilted at a jaunty angle. If her hair had not been arranged in a fashionable coiffure, the hat would have been a bit too large. “So I'm the Swan now? Does that make you the Lion?” Susan noticed the dagger in front of her. “You have his dagger.”

 

It did look much cleaner than when she had seen it last. She picked it up carefully and turned it from side to side. The blade glinted in the dim light of the candles. “It looks exactly like the one in the book.” Setting it down, she opened the tome they had been looking through earlier. She had used pieces of paper as bookmarks, and she turned to the first page they had discovered. “I found a third forging too.”

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"Oh really?" he replied to her summary of her dream. "Then why were you calling my name in your sleep?" If she denied it, then she had been making up a story and was awake before. If she was telling the truth, then he might make her blush, which would be an affirmation that she thought it a possibility. It was a nice prank.

 

"Of course you are my swan," he replied merrily "and I must be the Lion for I have his dagger." He did not stop to think that his playfulness might be giving her the wrong impression of how he felt about her. Women loved to be loved did they not? He did not love Susan but he liked her very much and enjoyed pranking her; but then, he enjoyed playing pranks on all ladies.

 

"A third casting?" That caught his attention. "What have you learned?"

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“I did not call out your name!” Susan protested vehemently but playfully. “I was dreaming of the Lion.” She had not awakened until she had felt him place his hat on her head, so she had been asleep when he entered the archives. However, she was pretty certain that she didn't talk in her sleep. If she did, one of her maidservants would have mentioned it or her brothers would have teased her about it.

 

Susan was too practical to believe that he fancied her more than he did other ladies. He was only teasing her. She did want to impress him and she enjoyed his kisses, but she saw him more as a very good friend than a potential suitor. Romance might ruin the relationship they now shared, and then he would expect more of her than she would be willing to give.

 

“It would be funny if the Lion's name was Charles and the Swan's was Susan,” she remarked. “The third forging was ten years after the second.” She turned to that page in the book. “Again, there are only seven names, so only twenty-one of the daggers were made. I found pictures of similar daggers, but they didn't have the roses. Those were more common. I also noticed some of the recipients had the same last names as a few of the ladies-in-waiting. We should also consider the possibility that your dagger belonged to the Swan's husband.”

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"If you say so," Charles demurred, as if he might know otherwise. His bluff did not generate the desired effect so he was willing to move onward.

 

"It would be a rare coincidence," he admitted to her interest in names. Charles was a common enough name, so the Lion might have shared that name, but Susan was a rarer name.

 

"Same names ... yes, let us record those names, if you have not already," he urged. "Are there any high ranking lords among the seven?" She speculated that his dagger might have been the murder weapon, rather than that belonging to the victim. Charles supposed that might be true, but it would seem odd that a murderer would leave behind a blade which might identify him. He would have come back for it surely.

 

"What if the Lion was married to one of the Queen's ladies, and the Swan was another Queen's lady?" he wondered aloud. What sort of man might marry one lady and fool with another? The irony was lost on Charles that his situation with Susan and Davina might come to that.

 

The earl was hopeful that she would provide a name or two. Surely they might do some research into those particular families and determine whether any of the lords in question simply disappeared. If so, they would have identified the Lion, or so Charles imagined.

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Susan didn't think it likely that the Lion and Swan shared their names. There were a few lords named 'Charles' who had received daggers, but so far she had not come across any ladies-in-waiting called 'Susan.' It was not an uncommon name but nowhere near as popular as 'Charles.'

 

“Hmmmm, that's definitely possible. So far, I have only recorded the names of the gentlemen who received the daggers and the ladies-in-waiting at the time of the first and second forgings. I have not even started on the third, and I haven't looked closely at the ranks of the last forging. So far I have found that four of the Earls were married to the Queen's ladies. I haven't checked the lower ranking lords yet.”

 

She shuffled through the papers in front of her until she came to the one she was looking for. “John and Elizabeth Meares, Henry and Agnes Preston, Thomas and Margaret Hunnisett, and Charles and Anne Thornton. I also found a lady-in waiting with the first name of Alasia. I've never heard that name before. She was married too but her husband didn't receive a dagger.”

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Charles rubbed his chin as Susan revealed the extent of her research. "I was hoping one of the ladies was a Sarah or Susan such that the first letter of her name might be the reason the Lion called her swan" Likewise, there was no gentleman that had a name starting with L.

 

"None of the names have any meaning to me," he admitted. "We ned to find a pair that might have had some scandal in their marriage ... but how?" He looked at Susan for an idea. "Maybe we can find a really old person who might know something," he began before thinking how old someone would need to be to know anything. "Something like that would not be in the newspapers would it?" He was already shaking his head against the idea.

 

For the moment, the Earl was stymied. He was not a man of letters, nor was he old and experienced enough to think of other paths. At last he mumbled "we could re-read their love letters. Maybe there is a reference to a place or a title or name that would help us winnow the list."

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“I haven't researched all of them yet. There may be more married couples among them. Those are just the ones I've already found. A couple of the ladies-in-waiting were called Sarah and one was Sybil, but no gentlemen who received the daggers had names starting with 'L' unless there's one from the third forging.”

 

Susan shook her head when he suggested that a really old person might know something. “I think almost everyone who lived during the 16th century is dead now. I have no idea about the newspapers. Did they even have them then? If so, a missing person might have been reported. If that skeleton we found was the Lion, then he probably disappeared suddenly and was never heard from again.”

 

She looked down at the lists she had already made. “I'm going to do some more research when I have more time off. Maybe I'll unearth something useful then.”

 

Although she didn't realize it, her eyes lit up at the idea of reading those letters again. “We should.” There was more eagerness in her voice than she had intended. “Just like we read them before, with you reading the Lion's letters and me reading the Swan's.”

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A hopeful look upon hearing that there were Sarahs and a Sybil turned to a frown as there were not suitable male candidates with an an L. "I suppose we are the best match then ... Susan and Langdon," he offered lightly in a hope to break the feeling that they were no closer to their goal.

 

Charles did not miss how invigorated she became when he suggested they read the letters again. They could have just read them silently to accomplish their purpose but she was keen on a roleplay. It merely confirmed that the sensible Susan Herbert was, in fact, a true romantic at heart. Charles fought a smile. He could not help but wonder if she was more sweet on the idea or him. One likes to imagine that they are desirable after all.

 

"Very well," he agreed amiably. "We were waiting to read them on New Year's Eve in the secret room, but should we read them together sooner?" The end of the year was but a couple of days away but it seemed like a good way to tease her into revealing whether she was extra anxious.

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A bright little thrill rippled through Susan's young body when Charles claimed that their own names were the best match. She had not made that connection, and was surprised that he had thought of it. Gentlemen were not usually so perceptive. Was it possible that he truly fancied her? She had always thought that he was just teasing when he made flirtatious remarks, but now she wondered if he felt more for her than mere friendship.

 

It was a pleasant … or more appropriately, exciting … thought. “Unfortunately, we're about a hundred years too young.”

 

He agreed to rereading the letters in character. Susan was practical rather than fanciful, but she thought that getting inside the heads of the writers might help them discover something useful. But more than that, she just liked how reading the Swan's words of love to such a handsome gentleman made her feel.

 

“Waiting until the end of the year will give me time to do more research. I may have more information then. I would like to look into the genealogies of some of these families. I'm sure there are records of them in this room somewhere. I just have to find them.”

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"Maybe," he replied to her notion about a century past, "this could be the 100th anniversary of the Lion's death. Maybe," he continued fancifully "that his ghost beckoned to us to find him since it is the century anniversary of his death and he is allowed to walk among us again." He did enjoy ghost stories with ladies. "Maybe this is no coincidence."

 

"Yes," he agreed to her plan, "more research. I cannot say that I am very adept with research," he admitted. He had not gone to university. His father could not afford it. Instead, it had been a series of tutors combined with a practical education in the military. "Shall we meet here at perhaps 10 o'clock at night on the 31st, and then proceed to the secret room together with the letters? If you find something before that, send me a note signed SW for swan." It was fun devising codes. "And I will sign Leo to a note, as a symbol for lion." It was unlikely that notes would be required but it sounded prudent nonetheless.

 

It then occurred to him "do you know if you signed SN for swan and I signed LN for lion that it matches the first and last letters of Susan and Langdon as well?" Another coincidence?

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Susan looked skeptical. Charles already knew that she didn't believe in ghosts. But the story he told was appealing nonetheless. “Maybe it's not,” she agreed with a casual shrug of her silk-clad shoulders.

 

“I don't mind doing the research. I like it, actually. It would be better if the archives were organized, but I don't mind digging through the records. I'm not sure how much time I'll have, but I'll find out what I can.”

 

She nodded. “I will be here if Mr. Potts will let me in. If not, I'll be close to the front of the library.” He was more imaginative than she had first thought, and she liked the idea of signing their messages in code.

 

And then he surprised her again with his revelation about their initials. Had he just thought of it, or had he been contemplating the similarities between themselves and the star-crossed lovers for quite some time?

 

Susan decided to go along with his story. “That is odd. Maybe that is why the Lion's ghost chose us to find out the truth about his death. Because of our names.” Her eyes widened. “What if one of us is related to him in some way?”

 

Laughing, she shook her blonde curls. “Look at me. I'm getting caught up in your tale.” She looked back down at the book of ladies-in-waiting and then, as a thought occurred to her, raised her eyes to Charles. “Oh, I found out something about the inn that the Lion and Swan used to meet in. My maid sent her brother to investigate. It is located a few miles outside of London. It is now a private residence, and supposedly a very grand one. It has been vacant for many years but somebody recently moved in.”

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The plan was coming into shape. "I am glad you like research." He was less excited about going through musty books unless they were filled with daring stories.

 

"Do you think it will be a problem to slip away on New Year's Eve?" he reminded her. "There will be parties and merriment. It is easier for me to get away. What of your brothers? Do you celebrate the New Year together?" Charles did not want to have her absence noted. It would not reflect well on either of them. The Queen might be easier to fool.

 

Waxing and waning over ghost tales, Charles cautioned Susan "there are silly ghost stories told by old wives to frighten children and then there are stories of restless spirits that do not rest in peace. They have a story to tell and they will not rest until the living solve their riddle. The first is easy to dismiss. The second is not." He was mostly conjuring this explanation out of wholecloth but it sounded good.

 

"We know there was a murder and a love that transcended the grave. We owe it to them to discover their story. I do not doubt that one or both have reached out to us. This is the stuff of whispered perception, not tall tales. The spirit will attempt to communicate with one or both of us. What better time than when we hold artifacts and letters once so important to them. Think of it Susan ... people live their whole lives without a chance to help ease a spirit's rest. The spirit must see themselves in us. Why else would you stumble upon the release on the door? Why else were we inclined to explore the passages together just then? The dagger ... why was I certain to look on the bookcase to find it? It was like I knew it was there." He was trying to sound a bit eerie and excited. The funny thing was that he was spinning such a good tale that he was beginning to convince himself of its veracity.

 

"Oh?" He was not sure what to make of the old inn. "It is good you sent the brother but I do not know how it will help us," he admitted. "What clue could it hold? We cannot very well just barge in and ask the owner to let us walk aroud the place to see if the spirit guides us."

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“I'm not sure what my brothers' plans are yet. With any luck, there will celebrations in the palace and there will be so many people attending that it will be difficult to tell that I've left. I have friends who will cover for me if my absence is noted. If the Queen wishes me to attend her, then we'll have to choose another day. But I don't think she will. She didn't need me at the ball.”

 

Charles seemed convinced that the spirits of the Lion and the Swan had chosen them to reveal the truth of what had happened to them. He told a compelling tale and she could believe that there were restless souls who could not move on until they solved their unfinished business in the mortal world. The Lion and the Swan wanted closure, and had chosen them to help them. It did seem like more than coincidence that she had happened to hit the tiny trigger that opened the door.

 

And she was unusually fond of the pearl ring. Susan had not known that Charles had been led to discover the dagger on the shelf. And the letters … maybe she enjoyed reading them so much because it seemed as if the Swan was speaking through her and reliving the love she had so cruelly lost.

 

“Then we must read those letters. Perhaps they will communicate with us through them. You should hold the Lion's dagger and I will wear the Swan's ring.” There was still a bit of doubt in her expression, but she truly wanted to believe him.

 

She shrugged when he spoke about the inn. “I asked my maid's brother to look into who it belongs to. Maybe the owners will have information about its past, although I don't know how we can broach the subject without them thinking that we've lost our minds.”

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Superstition was rampant in 17th Century England and while educated people like Susan and Charles might deny belief in the supernatural, this story was hard to resist. Even the prankster was coming around to note the uncanny coincidences.

 

"Then let us meet as planned and you can inform me of what else you learn." He held aloft the dagger and gave it further scrutiny. "We are so close to solving this mystery that I should bring some wine to celebrate." In fact, that sounded like a capital idea.

 

Looking up from the dagger he announced "I had best take my leave." Then, smiling, he regarded his hat upon her head. "Even though you look adorable with my hat, I fear I shall need it back. If you insist, then perhaps I purchase you a tricorn hat with a plume from New Years and I send it to you from Leo." He found himself chuckling at the thought, now certain that he would do it.

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Susan was too practical to be superstitious, but the story Charles had told her had merit. She had an open mind and wouldn't disregard the possibility that restless spirits existed. In truth, she rather hoped that they did and that she and Lord Langdon could help the Lion and Swan find peace. There were so many coincidences in everything that had happened since they had stumbled upon that hidden room that she doubted they were coincidences at all. It seemed more like fate, which was another concept she didn't believe in.

 

“I should have a completed list of names for you by then.” Her eyes followed his to the dagger. The blade gleamed in the dim light. It looked rather mysterious. “Perhaps you should,” she remarked about the wine. “It will be New Years Eve, after all. We should celebrate that if nothing else.” Susan thought she might feel a bit strange drinking in the presence of that skeleton, but perhaps she could ignore it.

 

“I do like your hat.” With a little pout, she stood up, took it off and placed it upon his head. Her fingers brushed accidentally against his hair as she moved her hand away. “I think I should like a tricorn of my own.” She could buy herself one, but she would rather receive a gift from him.

 

“It's time for me to go too. My eyes are starting to ache. You leave first and I will follow a bit later after I've put these books in a place where we can easily find them again.”

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It seemed right to have some wine to celebrate. It was to be New Year's Eve after all.

 

Happy to have the hat placed upon his head, Charles ignored the touch of her fingers and stroked the plume once. "How would you explain the gift?" he wondered aloud, though already set to send her a tricorn as a gift. Surely it would not inflame Pembroke, or so he hoped.

 

"Let us take our leave then. We would not want you to have red eyes from reading and have people think you were crying. He hid the dagger in his pocket and stood there wondering how best to take his leave. It seemed a formal response was in order. It would be inappropriate to kiss her on the lips, but not so her hand.

 

Taking her hand, he lifted it to his lips for a kiss. "Au revoir my lady. If I were to give you a swan-plumed hat, I might take to calling you Swanee," he jested softly. Would he be able to find a swan feather in time?

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“If I receive an anonymous gift, I think my brothers would be amused if they thought I had a secret admirer. They would most likely allow me to keep it because it could mean that someone of importance wishes to pay court to me.” Was he truly thinking of buying her a tricorn? Why did the thought make her heart leap?

 

Susan's gaze met his. “My eyes aren't red, are they?” If the Queen sent for her, she didn't want her to think that someone had upset her. The last time she remembered crying was when her father had died. She had only been a little girl at the time.

 

Her hand tingled when Charles kissed it. “Swanee? Cygnet would fit me better. If I send you a note, perhaps that is how I will sign it. We shall be Cygnet and Leo to each other.”

 

She curtsied playfully. “And so, my dear Leo, I bid you adieu.” Closing the book listing Queen Elizabeth's ladies-in-waiting, she placed it on top of the one about daggers and prepared to hide them where nobody else was likely to find them.

 

OOC: ~finis?~

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If she thought her brothers would not be upset then perhaps it was safe to purchase Susan a hat. Surely that is no sign of a lover, is it? Charles was not very facile with symbols behind gifts.

 

Using the excuse of red eyes to put his face very close to hers, as if examining them, he pretended to be concerned and then withdrew with a laugh. "No, they are fine." He enjoyed teasing her, as he did all ladies.

 

"Signet? Like the ring?" Was she looking for a signet ring instead? Charles was unfamiliar with the word for young swans so he thought she meant signet.

 

"Cygnet then," he agreed. Swanee had seemed a more playful name, but she seemed set against it. Maybe, if they got to know each other better, he would call her Swanee to her face as his own nickname for her.

 

With that, he was ready to take his leave and depart the library as well.

 

~fin. Merci

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Susan held her breath when Lord Langdon brought his face close to hers. Was he truly examining her eyes or did he intend to kiss her again? Apparently the former, which was not unexpected but a bit disappointing. “Good,” she said as she finally exhaled. “If they had been red, I would have had to stay in here for a bit longer.”

 

She shook her head. “No, not the ring. A cygnet is a young swan.” She had first encountered the word in a novel and had thought it interesting. It was a better than Swanee, which for some strange reason sounded like it should be the name of a pond of some other large body of water.

 

After the door had closed behind Charles, Susan picked up the two books and looked around for a good place to conceal them.

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