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“Bunny, my dear, my darling, bravest Bunny the world has ever known--”“No.”“But light of my life, you haven’t even heard what--”“No, AJ. Whatever it is, if it needs so much buttering up, I want no part of it.”“Oh, come now Bunny, I promise it’s not so bad.”Bunny raised a skeptical brow, crossed his arms, and waited. “It’s really quite simple. All I need is for you to have a quick, successful stage career. No, listen, please--it’ll only need to last two months--three at the very most.”“Three months? You want me to spend three months trying to be a successful actor?!”“No, of course not, don’t be absurd. You’d be far too recognizable.”“But you just--”“I want you to spend two months as London’s newest and most mysteriously ravishing actress.”Bunny’s expression froze in a blank stare. Then--“Oh AJ,” he choked out, laughing so hard he could barely speak. “Oh, forgive me. For a moment I thought you were serious.”“I am quite serious,” Raffles replied coldly. “Never more so.”“But it’s absurd! It’s the most absurd thing I’ve ever heard!” Bunny panted, laughter dying away.“And why is that?” Raffles’ calm startled Bunny. Surely he couldn’t truly be serious? Surely he couldn’t really ask that?“Well, it’s impossible, for a start. I’m no hand at acting, as you very well know.”“As an actor, perhaps not.”“Or as an actress. It’s the same job no matter what you’re wearing.”“But an actress has the easier part of it. She has only to let people fall madly in love with her, and then they forgive her any performance. That should be an easy task for you.”~~~It took a full week of convincing, but Raffles was a master of flattery and persuasion. As it turned out, he had Bunny’s first audition lined up for him already. That morning, Bunny--or Gwendolyn Leveret, as she was now to be known--had to reapply her make up three times because she kept sweating so. At one point her nerves overwhelmed her and she had to run from the room before her stomach emptied itself. It might have been more bearable if Raffles had been there to keep her company, to distract her or help her run the lines, or even just tell her that everything would be fine and he was very proud of her courage.But it was essential to Raffles’ plan, he had said (though that was all he had said about it), that no one connect him to the rising new actress--not yet. And so poor Gwendolyn suffered alone. She did her best to avoid the amused or pitying stares from the other hopefuls. After the third time she touched up her make-up she tried to avoid the looking glass too. She knew Raffles thought she would pass as a woman easily, but she worried everyone would see straight through her; and the more she saw the tiny imperfections in her appearance, the more convinced she was everyone else must see them too. She could just picture it. Some man in the audience, oblivious of the history of theater, jumping to his feet in the middle of her speech and shouting ‘Oi! That’s a bloke in a dress!”At least it could not last much longer. In spite of Raffles, she knew she was not half so pretty as some of these women, and was certainly no actress. There was no chance she would be cast. But she would be able to say, ‘I have done as you asked’, and Raffles would have to let it be.Except that she was cast. Not as the lead it was true--true and terribly fortunate. She had a secondary role as an alternate love interest: pleasant but ultimately forgettable. She was not important enough to merit her own assistant in the crowded dressing rooms, so she was able to take care of herself. Able to keep her secret safe. And she quickly found that she enjoyed the challenge. It was true, more or less, what Raffles had told her. She only had to smile prettily and let the men and the leading woman do the work. Her character was as vapid a girl as any man had ever loved. Sometimes she even found it difficult not to get angry with the playwright for giving them only such a caricature of life. But it was all some writers could do, and Bunny had known that about writers for a very long time.Opening night was just as anxious as the morning of the audition. Every last detail had to be perfect, every fear concealed. But this time, Gwendolyn Leveret had the support of her fellow cast to buoy her through the evening. And after the last curtain, much to her astonishment, she was sent flowers. There was no note, no name. She suspected, or perhaps just hoped, they were from Raffles. She hadn’t had time to see Raffles in the last three weeks. Rehearsals had taken up almost every moment of her day, and by the time she was finished, she was always too exhausted to do anything else.Too exhausted even to read the paper; which is why she did not find out about the little review of their little show until the next night in the dressing room when someone brought it beaming over to her. If she didn’t read it with her own two eyes, she would never have believed a critic could possibly think of her as ‘stunningly pretty’--but there it was.The show only ran for two weeks before it closed. Yet somehow Bunny felt more alive and more active in those two weeks than at any other time in their life. There were flowers every night--sometimes a single rose, sometimes a handful of bouquets. There was even, on one evening, a shyly drunk young man who lingered at the stage door to congratulate the lovely Ms. Leveret on her success. There were other men, too. Playwrights and directors, lurking around to solicit the stars of this stage to come grace their own. Bunny certainly didn’t think they’d ask Ms. Gwendolyn Leveret for an audition.And yet. It wasn’t until Ms. Leveret was rehearsing her third show that she saw Raffles again. There were more flowers, more reviews, and more work. She’d barely had time to notice his absence or wonder what part she was playing in his scheme. She thought of him, of course, all the time. Every love scene she played was to him. Every righteously angry monologue was the rage she felt for him sometimes. Every heartache, his, every sigh, his. His, his, his. But hers too now, in a way they hadn’t really been before. Now she recognized them and could call them up or send them away at will. She could look an emotion in the face and be honest with the world about what it was.Then he showed up one night at the stage door, a dozen roses in hand, and spouting the same complimentary nonsense as the half-dozen other men who’d waited for her after a show. Only it wasn’t nonsense from him. When Raffles told Ms. Leveret she was the most accomplished, most beautiful woman he’d ever met, it wasn’t empty words. It was what she’d been waiting to hear, longing to hear, for who could say how long? But she held her ground.“Oh, you young men are all alike. Flattery will only get you so far, you know,” she smiled coyly.“But I assure you, I have been simply dying to congratulate you on your meteoric rise. You are the gem of the theatrical world just now.”“Just now? What a pity, you were almost gaining ground til you said that, Mr.--?”“Raffles, mademoiselle.”“Well, Mr. Raffles, I’m afraid you still have much to learn about winning a woman over.”Leveret’s friends, who had lingered to watch the tete-a-tete, (for she had already gained a reputation as being unflappably chaste), tittered at this. She did not feel herself particularly witty, but coming from a woman, any blunt remark seemed enough to subdue a man.“Ah, but Gwendolyn--”“Ms. Leveret, if you please.” She heard the play’s fool shout in agreement or defense though she couldn’t tell which.“My apologies. But Ms. Leveret, as I was saying, you are not a woman.”Bunny froze. Reminded for the first time in weeks, her eyes went wide, disbelieving Raffles would betray her like that.“You are a gem,” he went on, “a shining jewel that would tempt even the most virtuous gentleman into a life of a cracksman.”The fun of it had dissipated for the evening. Not only had Raffles shaken her, he was now trying to disturb her by toeing the line of confession. She wouldn’t have it. Bunny might put up with it, but Gwendolyn Leveret certainly would not. She dismissed him with an off-hand comment and joined her retinue as they headed out to dine together.~~~Bunny was staring into the mirror by candlelight, wearing a shirt and bow-tie for the first time that week. It was marvelously strange how much better he liked his appearance nowadays than ever before. The feminine curve of his cheek that he had once been so embarrassed about was nothing shameful. In fact, he quite liked it. The wisp of hair where a mustache might have been was perfect just as it was. And he truly did like his nose, which he’d so often thought of as too large or too weak. It was a perfectly suitable nose, he’d only been looking at it wrong. Really, he was content with everything in the world just now.Everything but the knocking that started a moment after he’d finished that thought. Oh for the love of all that was holy, who in the world was bothering him now? If it was someone looking for Ms. Leveret, he could not answer the door as he was. He could pretend to be her brother, but he’d seen enough farces to know it would end in disaster. He certainly didn’t have time to change into costume--and even if he did, what if they were looking for him after all? How would Harry Manders explain the presence of Gwendolyn Leveret in his apartment?The knocking redoubled, and then--“Bunny, I know you’re in there, I can see the light beneath the door.”Raffles. He sighed in relief and went to grant him entrance.“There you are,” Raffles snapped, impatient.“Here I am,” Bunny replied with a calm indifference he’d never had in the face of Raffles’ ire before.As Raffles poured them both a brandy and settled himself, there was a strange quiet between them. Worlds had changed for Bunny, but Raffles--well, what had Raffles been up to? Cricket, Bunny supposed. Crime and cricket.“Well?”“Hmmm?” Bunny had gotten so lost in thought over Raffles, he had neglected to listen to him.“Really, my rabbit, I think you must be overworked. I’ve never known quite so absent-minded before.” There was a touch of cruelty in the words, but they were spoken with a half-smile. An act, perhaps?“Forgive me, AJ. It’s as you said, a trying profession.”“Quite. But fortunately you needn’t endure it much longer.”“What? Why not?”“It’s coming together now. I won't need you to keep this up after this Sabbath.""What's coming together?""What's that? Ah, yes of course. I have seen so much of you on the stage I had half-forgotten we have not spoken much these last few months. My congratulations, by the way, on your wonderful success. I never doubted for a moment that London would love you."Bunny's heart fluttered, but the flattery did not blind him to the subtle evasion. He saw the calculation behind the congratulations. He knew exactly what scene they were playing, and he knew his lines by heart."I'm afraid," Leveret smiled, "that you'll need to tell me more.""Oh Bunny, now don't--""Ah, ah--you are not asking Bunny for help in this scheme of yours. You are asking Ms. Gwendolyn Leveret, and she requires more information before she will consider the role.""Bunny--""Ms. Leveret, if you please."Raffles sat back, looking astonished. Ms. Leveret gazed down at him coolly, imperially; but Bunny's heart was thundering like mad. He had never dared to speak to Raffles like that, and he was half-certain Raffles would leave him now and never see him again. And then--"Pardon me, Ms. Leveret. You are quite right. I must take you on your own terms, I fear." Raffles looked at once contrite and thoughtful.They negotiated the plan for a full hour. It was infinitely more than Bunny had ever known going into any such scheme. It was terrifying to have so many details to contemplate, but exhilarating to be treated as an equal in this. Just as they were about to settle the terms absolutely, Ms. Leveret spoke up again."There is one more thing.""What else can I offer that I haven't already?""An apology.""An apology?" Raffles repeated, incredulous."Yes.""Pardon me, but I must ask for what offence?""For implying--no, for stating quite openly--that I am no woman.""But it was a mere--""A mere thoughtless thing, of course. An empty compliment that endangered and offended me.""I had no intention to offend.""I am sure. But offend you did, and I will have an apology--or else, I shan't go through with this."Raffles was quiet for a moment. He turned away, paced the room, then threw himself back upon the chair."You are a regular lioness, my dear. As formidable a woman as ever I met.""And?""And as stubborn as my own dear Bunny."Bunny wanted to give in at that, to accept the generous acknowledgement. But they held out. At length, Raffles sighed."I am sorry. I did not think, but that is no excuse.""Thank you, AJ.""No, thank you, Ms. Leveret, for--""Bunny. If you please."