Iris stood back against the wall and she tried to walk without grace. She moved her feet in a way that was clunky and heavy, she let her back sag and her shoulder fall forwards. Actually, she felt like she was actually gettingit!
“No, no, no, you cannot walk like that. You look like a gorilla. You need to be more like this, morenatural...”
Daisy walked with the swagger of a common girl. She exaggerated it slightly to help Iris get the point. She threw her hands on her hips, she smiled and wiggled, she even blew a kiss to Iris. She was being a caricature of herself and every other common girl sheknew.
“Oh my goodness, Daisy, that’s toomuch.”
“No, I know, but a bit likethat.”
Iris tried, but again it was comical. She went too far with trying to throw off all the lessons she’d spent her entire life learning. It was so ingrained within her to act in a certain way that a few hours with Daisy wasn’t about to change all ofthat.
Daisy took the limelight again and did it in a more subtle way. If she could get Iris to shake off her learnings even slightly, then she felt certain that they could do it. Time was against them, that much was clear, but she was determined and it seemed Iris was too. She hadn't ever seen her concentrating so hardbefore.
"Now, try it like that. A little less... everything. A little less hip, less stamp, a lot fewer feet dragging. You need to seem natural as if you never had the lessons in the firstplace."
“Less,” Iris sighed and nodded. “Yes, I can dothat,”
* * *
“This is not goingto work, is it?” Daisy asked with exasperation on her tone. “We cannot shake off everything that you’ve beentaught.”
"I am so sorry." Iris was furious with herself. She couldn't remember ever putting so much effort into anything before, but still, it wasn't going anywhere. Every time she felt like she was getting somewhere, she fell again. There was no way she could keep it up long term. "I know that I amhopeless."
"No, it is not that." Daisy didn't want Iris to feel bad, it wasn't her fault. This was just the way that things were. "We should just come up with anotherplan."
She didn't think it would be a good idea to send Iris into a meeting at the moment, just in case she didn't instantly fall for the Duke. It would be a disaster and it would only ruin the Warwick reputation. Robert had spent his entire life trying to maintain it, Daisy didn't know a lot of things about him but she knew how important that was tohim.
She didn’t want the reason it fell apart to be because of her. He had paid her well for the last few years, that she could not complainabout.
“What do you think?” Iris asked wearily. “Should I say some of those things that you suggestedearlier?”
“I thought you wouldn’t be ableto.”
“No. I do not think Iwill.”
They sat in silence for a while, both lost in their own thoughts. Iris was slowly slipping into that awful pit of depression, while Daisy searched for a wayout.
“Maybe...” she pursed her lips and squeezed her eyes shut, hating herself for even suggesting this. She was just so desperate to help out her friend, it was getting to the stage where she would do anything to look out for her. “Maybe we should reconsider swappingplaces.”
“But... that was a joke, right?” Iris whispered in shock. “You did not really mean it when you saidit.”
Her heart pounded in her chest, she could almost feel her pulse in her ears it was so violent. The more she tried to make herself uncouth, the more desperate she became to put an end to all of this. She just wanted the marriage proposal to go away. Her years locked away from the world had done nothing to help her prepare forit.
“I did not mean it,” Daisy admitted. “But I am starting to think that it might be the only wayout.”
“Do you... think that we will get away with it?” Iris did not dare to breathe as she waited for a response. This was almost too much for her to dare dream of. She felt guilty for putting her friend into such an awkward position, but if it was the only way out then she had nochoice?
“Well, your uncle does not know you, your betrothed does not know you. We do not look too dissimilar.” Daisy cursed herself with every single word that fell out of her mouth. Why did she have to adore Iris so much? If only she could feel the same professional detachment that she had with the rest of the family, everything would be so much easier. “If I was dressed up like a lady then maybe I could pass for it... and if you wore my maid’s uniform you could pass for me. We would,” she gulped loudly, “we would have to inform the other servants, I suppose.Maybe...”
“It seems very complicated, doesn’t it? Maybe it is toomuch.”
Iris stood up and paced the room, really thinking it through. She wanted this, she yearned for it so badly that it killed her, but she did not intend to cause her friend trouble along theway.
“It could be fun?” Daisy suggested. “We could maybe try it out once your uncle gets here, see if he believes us. If he does not, we can tell him it was a little childish trick. He might be offended but it is unlikely that he will be too angry at us. He will just assume that we are bored young ladies, trying to have somefun.”
"Yes, I could serve your table." Iris felt the thrill building up inside of her again. That much was possible, she could actually imagine them doing that without too much trouble. "Then we could tell him it was just tomfoolery if it came toit."
Neither of them really wanted to think about what would happen if itdidwork. This plan seemed to work much better if they took it one step at atime.
