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Lizzie looked the woman over cautiously from her sensible tan gloves to her mousey hair. “Where is your employer?” she said after a moment’s pause.

The companion pointed to a proud-looking woman with a prominent nose, wearing an elaborate outfit of purple silk trimmed with black. Miss Halperton was long past the first flush of youth and looked to be in her mid-forties with a commanding presence. “You are her companion?” Lizzie asked.

The woman gave a small gasp. “Yes,” she answered in a frightened voice, and Lizzie realized she thought Lizzie was using supernatural powers of deduction, rather than simple logic.

“She has quite a retinue,” Lizzie remarked dryly noting the two people hovering solicitously at Miss Halperton’s side. One was a rather florid looking younger man in a loud check suit. The other was a meek-faced woman dressed very severely, as though to detract from her looks rather than enhance them.

“Yes, Miss Smith is her nurse,” answered the other with a muffled constraint that made Lizzie’s ears prick up. Clearly there was tension between the companion and her nurse. “And Mr. Abney is, well, a trusted friend of Miss Halperton’s,” the companion fluttered in embarrassed accents. “Would you – that is, my employer was wondering if you would be so kind as to give her a consultation,” she finished in a breathless rush.

Well, thought Lizzie. This could be her own test. Sink or swim, she could see if she was up to the challenge. Inclining her head, she indicated her willingness and followed the twittering companion to where the woman stood a good way back from the crowd.

“Good day,” Lizzie wished her coolly, not particularly caring for the slightly contemptuous smile playing about Miss Halperton’s mouth. “You wish to consult me, I understand?”

The mustachioed young man chortled. “That’s one way of putting it, eh Becky?” he said with a familiarity that made Lizzie’s eyebrows rise. He must be a good twenty years younger than Miss Halperton, and if he was merely a friend, then there was no familial bond to account for his manner.

Noticing Lizzie’s raised brow, Miss Halperton’s flushed faintly. “Draw aside, Harry,” she commanded. “I do not require you at present.”

Harry Abney’s color rose with chagrin, and Lizzie saw him flash a warning glance at the nurse. Interesting, she thought as a little color entered Miss Smith’s cheeks making her look a good deal prettier. “Of course,” he answered, and caught Miss Halperton’s gloved hand, raising it fawningly to his lips. “Fair Clorinda, you will not keep me waiting overlong,” he said throatily. “You are too kind for such tricks.”

What a dreadful mountebank, Lizzie thought contemptuously. If Miss Halperton were half as proper as she clearly thought herself, she would not allow him to act thus in public. Miss Halperton tossed her hair. “I will keep you waiting as long as it takes,” she answered coolly. “You too, Smith, away with you.”

Miss Smith bridled, but instead of following Mr. Abney to a nearby copse of trees, she walked in the opposite direction to stand staring at the view. Methinks the lady doth protest too much, sprang into Lizzie’s mind suddenly. Something was clearly going on between the nurse and the gentleman caller for all the pretended indifference between them.

“You can stay, Timms,” Miss Halperton said sharply when her companion started to shuffle off. “Your presence will hardly signify.”

Miss Timms looked gratified, and Lizzie could only suppose she took it as a compliment, though in truth, her employer spoke of her rather as though she were an old spaniel than a trusted companion.

“So,” Miss Halperton said boldly eyeing Lizzie up and down. “How does this work? I must say, you do not look Romany.”

“I am not,” Lizzie agreed. “I never said I was.”

Miss Halperton frowned. “I quite understood they usually were,” she said airily. “At fairgrounds.”

Lizzie gazed back. “If you would take off your left glove,” she said at last. For it seemed to her that it was the left hand that Ma Toomes had favored. The other woman held out her arm toward Miss Timms who made haste to unbutton the row of jet-black buttons and remove the expensive looking glove.

“You shall not pay me now,” Lizzie said slowly, as the thought occurred to her. “But only at the conclusion. And then you will simply render what you think my services are worth, nothing more, nothing less.” That way, she thought, she need not feel bad about her subpar fortune-telling.

“I see,” responded Miss Halperton blankly. “How very droll.”

She had rather large hands, Lizzie thought staring down at the square palm and strong looking fingers. “You are a capable woman, Miss Halperton,” Lizzie said musingly. “But you have grown complacent about your abilities and need to show more care who you permit into your inner circle.” Lizzie saw the woman stiffen and realized she needed to throw in a bit more mysticism to soften her words. “Danger lurks,” she added vaguely. After all, she told herself, there was always danger when a woman was rich. Sharks circled close under such circumstances. “It grows ever closer by the day.”

“Danger?” Miss Halperton echoed shrilly. “From whom?”

Lizzie thought again of the look that had flashed between the bluff suitor and the colorless nurse. “From those who would deceive you. Two are very close to you,” she said in a low voice. “Deceivers both.”

Miss Timms gave a small cry of alarm but was ignored by her employer who was gazing at Lizzie intently now. “You see who they are?”

Lizzie shook her head. “All I see are two masks dangling from their strings,” she said feeling inspired. “One is that of modesty and the other…”

“Yes?” Miss Halperton demanded.

“The lover. Both are false.”

Miss Halperton gasped. “I don’t know who you can mean!” she lied, hot color rushing to her cheeks. “There is no one like that in my acquaintance! No one at all!”

“You must protect yourself,” Lizzie told her levelly. “This is a warning only.” She shrugged. “You are under no obligation to heed it.”

Miss Halperton glared at her angrily, snatching back her hand and rubbing at her palm as though to wipe away something written there. “This is all nonsense!” she scoffed. “I won’t pay you a penny!”