Tommy’s touch with the cosmetics was the same as how she’d brushed Philippa’s hair: confident but gentle. It felt as though she was covering Philippa’s face with a thousand tiny caresses.

Tommy stepped back to admire her handiwork and gave a pleased nod. “That’ll do.”

Philippa jerked her gaze to the looking glass and almost startled herself right out of her chair. Even without the wig, she looked as though she’d aged fifty years. She lifted her fingers to touch one of her sagging new wrinkles, then pulled her hand away before making contact.

“The cosmetics won’t come off without a special oil,” Tommy said. “But all the same, it’s best not to touch them. They may smudge when freshly applied.”

Philippa looked away from the mirror. If she could no longer see her shocking transformation, perhaps she wouldn’t be tempted to touch it.

“Put this on.” Tommy handed Philippa a shapeless, boring dove-colored gown devoid of gauze and lace.

“It’s too small,” Philippa said without unfolding it.

“It’s not too small,” Tommy said. “It was made for Elizabeth. You just don’t want to wear it.”

Philippa sent a longing look over the dressing table at her abandoned overdress.

“Don’t even think about it.” Tommy shook a finger at her. “Your lace overdresses are the Philippa-est things in London. You’ll look like your own great-grandmother.”

Philippa accepted the dull gray material reluctantly. “Now I’ll look colorless and shapeless.”

“You have the best shape I’ve ever seen. There’s no hiding it. Drab will have to do.”

Philippa flushed and slid on the ugly overdress.

Tommy rummaged through a wardrobe and produced a thick gray wig with light brown undertones. It took a prodigious number of pins, but she managed to affix it securely to Philippa’s head.

“Final step: age spots for both of us.” Tommy placed Philippa’s hands on the center of the dressing table and leaned over it from the other side to apply the cosmetics. “I always thought my temporary disguises were great fun. Turns out, costuming the both of us is even more amusing.”

Her voice was casual, but she didn’t meet Philippa’s eyes.

Philippa bit her lip, then spoke in a rush. “Spending time with you may be the most fun I’ve ever had, too.”

Tommy lifted her gaze from Philippa’s hands.

She was right there. Almost close enough to kiss. If they both happened to lean over at the same moment…

Graham knocked on the door. “Ready?”

Philippa leapt to her feet. “Ready!”

She was not ready in the least. For anything. But it was time to go.

25

25

Tommy and Philippa meandered down St. James’s Street at a pace that could barely be detected with the naked eye.