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Authors: Victoria Alexander
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shrugged. “But she certainly could have. It would explain why she’s here in London alone.”
“It 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.”
“A 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.”
“Old and ugly is not what one usually looks for in the heroine of a story.”
“Might 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.”
“There 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.
“I don’t wish to use the word Adventures though,” Cam said thoughtfully. “What about The True Deeds of a— ”
“No, 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 .”
“Daring Deeds,” Cam said. “Better yet— Daring Exploits. I like it but—”
“The Daring Exploits of a Runaway Heiress.” Phineas grinned. “You have to admit, that’s perfect.”
“It 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.”
“You 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.”
“I have accustomed myself to the realities of my profession,” Cam said wryly.
“But your paper also runs serials, doesn’t it?”
Cam nodded. “They’re extremely popular.”
“Then write The Daring Exploits of a Runaway Heiress as a serial. As pure fiction.” Phineas leaned over his desk and met Cam’s gaze directly. “Don’t even pretend that it’s real. And use this American for your inspiration.”
“My muse,” Cam murmured. It was a good idea. He simply needed to convince Mr. Cadwallender of the merits of Cam’s writing fiction. It would not be the first time he’d attempted to do so, but the publisher already employed several accomplished writers of fiction. “It might work.”
“Might?” Phineas snorted. “It’s brilliant and you bloody well know it.” He grinned. “You may thank me later.”
“Indeed I will. So . . .” Cam said slowly, “the only thing I need now is the name of this daring heiress.”
Phineas laughed. “I can’t tell you that.”
“Of course you can. She’s not your client.”
“No, she’s not. Still, it seems to me I’ve done enough. You should make some effort on your own.”
“I intend to. Her name is just the beginning.” Once he had her name, he could locate her and observe her exploits or adventures or whatever she did that would provide inspiration.
“Besides”—Phineas shrugged—“I don’t know her name. This is all Miss West’s
“It 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.”
“A 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.”
“Old and ugly is not what one usually looks for in the heroine of a story.”
“Might 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.”
“There 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.
“I don’t wish to use the word Adventures though,” Cam said thoughtfully. “What about The True Deeds of a— ”
“No, 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 .”
“Daring Deeds,” Cam said. “Better yet— Daring Exploits. I like it but—”
“The Daring Exploits of a Runaway Heiress.” Phineas grinned. “You have to admit, that’s perfect.”
“It 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.”
“You 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.”
“I have accustomed myself to the realities of my profession,” Cam said wryly.
“But your paper also runs serials, doesn’t it?”
Cam nodded. “They’re extremely popular.”
“Then write The Daring Exploits of a Runaway Heiress as a serial. As pure fiction.” Phineas leaned over his desk and met Cam’s gaze directly. “Don’t even pretend that it’s real. And use this American for your inspiration.”
“My muse,” Cam murmured. It was a good idea. He simply needed to convince Mr. Cadwallender of the merits of Cam’s writing fiction. It would not be the first time he’d attempted to do so, but the publisher already employed several accomplished writers of fiction. “It might work.”
“Might?” Phineas snorted. “It’s brilliant and you bloody well know it.” He grinned. “You may thank me later.”
“Indeed I will. So . . .” Cam said slowly, “the only thing I need now is the name of this daring heiress.”
Phineas laughed. “I can’t tell you that.”
“Of course you can. She’s not your client.”
“No, she’s not. Still, it seems to me I’ve done enough. You should make some effort on your own.”
“I intend to. Her name is just the beginning.” Once he had her name, he could locate her and observe her exploits or adventures or whatever she did that would provide inspiration.
“Besides”—Phineas shrugged—“I don’t know her name. This is all Miss West’s
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