Chapter 3Vincent dressed Thursday morning with especial care. He’d laid out his suit and shirt to be pressed the day before, so his creases and cuffs were sharp and precise. His collar was also starched and stiff, pressing against his neck like a lover’s fingers. He fussed with his ascot all morning, puffing it out and arranging it just so.
Matsui, Lady Pennsbury had told Vincent, would be coming by an hour before noon, and the man was right on time. No sooner had the bells ceased their ringing of the hour than Vincent heard the knock at the door. He himself was in the library, pacing back and forth and trying to talk himself down from his ridiculous, inexplicable nerves.
He had to force himself to a halt as Matsui was shown in. The man was dressed in deep blue, intensely flattering to h
