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stared at Cam. “That’s it. That’s your idea.”
    â€œA never-ending holiday?”
    â€œDon’t be absurd. I said that would be boring.”
    â€œThen—”
    â€œSometimes, I don’t know what I see in you.” Phineas rolled his gaze toward the ceiling. “I’m talking about the heiress. It’s perfect for you. And the Messenger will love it. It will practically write itself.”
    â€œI don’t think—”
    â€œCome now, Effington. I can see the title now.” Phineas waved in a grand gesture. “ The Absolutely True Adventures of a Runaway American Heiress in London .”
    â€œThat’s rather long.” Cam drew his brows together. “You didn’t say she had run away.”
    â€œThat makes it more interesting, doesn’t it?”
    â€œYes, I suppose it does.”
    â€œHowever, as far as I know, she hasn’t. Run away, that is.” Phineas shrugged. “But she certainly could have. It would explain why she’s here in London alone.”
    â€œIt would at that.” Cam thought for a moment. Phineas had a good point. What was an American heiress doing on her own in London? It was unusual to say the least and well worth looking into. Perhaps this idea did have potential. “ Adventures might not be the right word though. We don’t know that she is having adventures.”
    â€œA wealthy unmarried American on her own in London? Surely just her presence here could be called an adventure.” Phineas scoffed. “I know my imagination is already churning up any number of possible scenarios. First of all, one has to wonder why she is unmarried. It’s my observation that wealth in a woman overcomes a great many other flaws, like age or appearance.”
    â€œOld and ugly is not what one usually looks for in the heroine of a story.”
    â€œMight I point out, you’re trying to write a work of fiction as well as something for your paper. The Messenger has never been overly concerned with accuracy.”
    â€œThere is that.” While Cam did prefer not to outright lie, much could be done with implication and innuendo. He had long ago learned the difference between saying a crowd was comprised of nearly a hundred people and saying a crowd was not even a hundred strong. Both were correct but gave an entirely different picture of the proceedings. He ignored the tiny pang of conscience that jabbed him at moments like this, but then he did work for the Messenger and not the Times or the Gazette . Regardless, he was not going to fail at journalistic pursuits any more than he was going to fail at writing a book.
    â€œI don’t wish to use the word Adventures though,” Cam said thoughtfully. “What about The True Deeds of a— ”
    â€œNo, no. True is a mistake and I shouldn’t have suggested it. Eliminating True leaves you a great deal of room for oh . . . creativity. The Deeds of a Runaway American Heiress in London .”
    â€œDaring Deeds,” Cam said. “Better yet— Daring Exploits. I like it but—”
    â€œThe Daring Exploits of a Runaway Heiress.” Phineas grinned. “You have to admit, that’s perfect.”
    â€œIt does have a nice ring to it. Still, we don’t know that she’s run away or that she’s having exploits, daring or otherwise.”
    â€œYou wanted an idea and I gave you one. Now it’s up to you.” Phineas’s eyes narrowed slightly as they did when he had some sort of idea. “I know writing stories that are less than truthful for the Messenger bothers you.”
    â€œI have accustomed myself to the realities of my profession,” Cam said wryly.
    â€œBut your paper also runs serials, doesn’t it?”
    Cam nodded. “They’re extremely popular.”
    â€œThen write The Daring Exploits of a Runaway Heiress as a serial. As pure fiction.” Phineas leaned over his desk and met