Ladies were supposed to act like this when a gentleman made accusations like that, he reminded himself, trying to keep a cheeky grin off his face. "Semantics," he said, with a quick glance down at her. They were approaching where he carriages had stopped, and he began to make a pointed effort to look at the ground as if searching for her brooch.

As they approached a horseless carriage (no doubt one of those newer ones that his Mama had been looking at earlier in the year) he spotted something shiny on the ground—not a brooch, but something worth noticing nonetheless.

"It's not it," he said, nodding towards the object on the ground, which now that they were closer looked like a pendant that once belonged on a necklace, "but I'd reckon it's more interesting."

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