Author's note: So as usual, I have to explain titles because this is regency...

Lord Mallin - Houshou Takigawa, Earl of Mallin and Uncle to Lady Mai Taniyama, whose father was the former Earl.

Lord Sanditon - Osamu Yasuhara, Earl of Sanditon and eldest son of the Marquess of Guinton.

Everyone else should be pretty obvious I hope...

"You are nervous."

"I am not," I rebuked my assistant, but did not turn my gaze from the carriage window.

"I understand that you haven't personally handled a client for quite some time," Lin continued. "But you are a good—"

"I planned on having you take this client."

"You did? Then why are you here?"

I looked around and met Lin's eye. I could not lie to him, he was skilled in the art of reading people.

"There is no reason why I cannot accompany you. It is my business after all."

Fortunately, Lin did not argue, but he did roll his eyes. Any usual employer would have scolded his inferior for mocking him, but I considered Lin to be the closest thing I had to a friend.

"Do you know our client?" he asked.

The carriage jostled as a wheel caught a pothole.

"Lord Mallin? Yes, I suppose I know him."

"You make it sound as if the relationship is not mutual?"

"I doubt he will remember me, I was considerably younger when we last met," I muttered.

Lin, perhaps sensing my mood, fell silent. The carriage trundled on.

We arrived at Drifton Manor a little after noon. We were greeted by the butler and shown into the entrance hall. The butler was not the one that I had left at Drifton Manor almost a decade prior.

"Mr Cover has retired?" I asked.

"Mr Cover?" the short man replied. "You knew my predecessor, sir? I'm afraid he died three years ago."

"A shame, he was a good man."

"I hope to live up to him everyday, sir."

"And you are?"

"John Brown, sir, I took the role of butler at Lord Mallin's request. If you might excuse me, sir, I'll inform him of your arrival, please wait here."

I bowed my head and Mr Brown hurried off.

"Seemed a nice chap," Lin muttered.

"Yes, Lord Mallin always had a good eye for employees."

"You sound bitter."

"I am not aware bitterness had entered my tone," I muttered.

"Did he steal one of your servants from you?"

"Hardly."

Before Lin could question me further, Mr Brown returned.

"Right this way, sirs."

We followed him through the halls that were so familiar to me. Lord Mallin had redecorated some rooms in the newer fashions, but the pictures remained the same. I had not thought Lord Mallin a fashionable man but perhaps time had improved his taste.

"Sir Oliver Davis and Mr Koujo Lin to see you, sir," Mr Brown announced, gesturing to us in turn.

"Excellent, come in, come in," Lord Mallin said, standing to greet his guests. "I heard you were recognised and knighted for your excellent work, I am happy for you."

"Thank you."

I forced a smile.

"And that is, of course, why I have asked you here today," Lord Mallin went on. "Please take a seat."

We sat.

"Now, I have the guardianship of my niece, Lady Mai Taniyama. Her father held the earldom before it passed to me. But after his death, both she and it came to me. I can tell you this, I was barely twenty years old at the time and the last thing I expected was to be the guardian of an eleven year old girl! But alas, she is now of marrying age," Lord Mallin smiled and I thought it one of genuine affection, "and as I have reason to think that she will soon be married, I want to have a wedding gift ready."

"And you have a carriage in mind?" I asked.

My business was, of course, in the designing and building the finest carriages of all types. After extensive redesigning and testing, I managed to improve the existing designs ensuring a more comfortable and safer ride for the passenger. Not only that, but with the assistance of Lin, we improved the harnesses so that the horses were happier too. For this, I had been recognised by royalty and given a knighthood.

Apparently royalty liked a comfortable ride.

"Well I was thinking of a phaeton," Lord Mallin said. "She loves her ponies dearly and four wheels seems a little safer than a two wheeled curricle…"

"Young ladies do often like the romanticism of phaetons," Lin said.

"Of course they do," Lord Mallin said. "Do you think yourselves up to the job?"

"Quite so," I said. "Lin will lead the project. Do you wish to keep it a secret from your niece? Or may we question her on her preferences?"

Lord Mallin said back and smiled.

"At first I was just going to have you talk to her outright, but the governess in my employ thinks it better to be a surprise and she knows the child best. And so what I have decided is that you ought to stay with me a few days under the guise of questioning me for a carriage that I shall have pretended to order and then you might pick up some of her likes and dislikes. No doubt she will want to join the conversation with new people in the house, as social as she is."

"Lord Mallin, we have taken rooms at an inn the village, we cannot possibly—"

"Nonsense, I'll have John go and settle your bill there, you simply must stay. I haven't been to London in such a long time, I want to hear all the news. And you, freshly knighted as you are, must be ingraciated with all the best gossip."

We could not argue. Our things were brought to the house and we were given rooms in the guest wing. Lord Mallin invited us for dinner and so we dressed as best we could for the occasion.

I was invited to take the seat at the opposite end of the table to Lord Mallin with Lin sat on my right side. We had just been offered drinks when we were joined by two women.

The first was a tall, fiery haired woman dressed in dark clothing. I knew her name to be Ayako Matsuzaki and she was the governess of which Lord Mallin had mentioned previously. She had taken the role of governess at the age of eighteen and, as her father had no money for her, she had had little other choice. Now twenty-eight, she was beginning to show her age.

She took a seat opposite Lin.

Lady Mai Taniyama followed her in, clutching a large grey cat to her chest.

"Lady Mai, put that dreadful animal down at once," Miss Matsuzaki muttered. "This is the dinner table and we have guests."

"Yes, Miss."

Lady Mai allowed the cat to fall to the floor and then curtsied to Lin.

"A pleasure to meet you," she said before turning to me.

Her eyes met mine, I smiled, but there was no flash of recognition. She smiled mechanically back and curtised again.

"And to you," she added.

"The pleasure is all mine," I said.

Lady Mai took a seat next to her uncle.

"Sir Davis and Mr Lin are here to design me a new carriage," Lord Mallin said, gesturing to us each in turn. "Have you any thoughts on the matter."

I studied Lady Mai's reaction closely. She frowned a little.

"What on earth do you need a new carriage for?" she asked. "You barely use the one you have!"

"We have guests present," Miss Matsuzaki hissed at her student before turning to Lord Mallin. "But she has a point, you barely use the one you have."

I frowned at this, was the governess not in on the plan? Or was she just stupid?

"Ayako, if you had seen the state of my carriage you would not want to ride in it either."

My frown deepened. He used her first name. How forward.

"It is only dusty from lack of use," Lady Mai stated.

Dinner was served.

"Well if you have nothing of note to add then I shall pick all the colours and patterns myself," Lord Mallin said.

"Oh that will never do! You will start with that ghastly orange of which you are so fond and it will only go downhill from there," Lady Mai insisted. I smiled. "I shall take charge of this project for your sake, otherwise you will be the laughing stock of the town."

"No one would dare laugh at me!" Lord Mallin said, though he sounded more upset than angry.

"Not to your face," Miss Matsuzaki muttered.

I shared a look with Lin. He too appeared shocked by the informality of the discussion. This is not quite what I expected. Though my memories are fallible, I had remembered the house to be more stiff.

But, I supposed, time changes many things. Time, here, had softened their relationships. Time, for me, had only stolen them.

"So, Sir Davis, what kind of carriage has my uncle asked you for?" Lady Mai asked. I blinked. "I imagine a barouche? He is not sporting enough for a brake."

"There is nothing wrong with barouche boxes," Lord Mallin said, annoyed with the teasing of his niece. "Sir Davis will make me the most fashionable barouche in all of England."

"As long as you have nothing to do with it, that is," Lady Mai said. "But we have not the fashionable horses for such a thing."

"I have some acquaintances who breed such horses," I said. "I can make an introduction if necessary."

"You do?"

"Yes, it is part of the reason I joined the trade."

"Do you like horses?" Lady Mai enquired.

"How can he not," Lord Mallin interrupted. "Horses are wonderful beasts. They are handsome and do exactly what they are told. If only I could find a woman like that…"

"Ah sir, you are mistaken," I said.

"I am? How so?"

"Oh yes, the best horses still have a touch of the wild about them. You must gain their trust as they will not blindly follow."

"And you think that best?"

"I would much rather my horse not jump off a cliff just because I told it to… Sometimes, the horse does know best."

"I daresay the same goes for women too," Lin said quietly.

Miss Matsuzaki smiled. Lord Mallin looked mildly disgruntled.

"I like these gentlemen," she declared. "I am glad you are staying with us."

The evening entertainment was severely lacking at Drifton Manor. Lord Mallin challenged Lin to a game of chess, which he accepted. I watched them over the top of my book and noticed that Lin was allowing our host to win. Not so much that the win would be an easy one — Lin was a proficient player after all — but beating the man who was about to pay us a large sum of money would be in rather poor taste.

"Lady Mai, do put that book down and play for us," Miss Matsuzaki muttered.

Lady Mai was flicking through one of the catalogues that Lin and I had brought with us. They contains various drawings of our previous work. I lowered my book and studied the young woman.

"I cannot possibly play right now," Lady Mai said. "For one, I will distract my uncle from his game. And this might be my only chance to save him from requesting something hideous."

I put my book down — I had not been particularly enamoured with its contents — and joined the young Lady at the table where she sat.

"And which of my designs do you think hideous?"

She flushed a delightful shade of red, but met my challenge.

"None of them so far, but you do not know my Uncle! Last winter he wanted to redecorate one of the drawing room with orange wallpaper and green furnishings!"

"There is such a thing as being blind to colour," I told her. "Perhaps your uncle is afflicted by such a condition?"

"Blind to colour?"

"Yes, whereby to some people, certain colours appear the same. I believe confusion between red and green is quite common for sufferers. I learnt a little about it when reading a paper by a prominent scientist at university."

"That is fascinating," Lady Mai replied. "Perhaps he does suffer from such a condition. In which case, it is even more vital that I interfere in this business."

"Which of these carriages do you think best then?"

She flicked through a few more pages — none of which contained barouche designs— then surreptitiously checked that her governess was no longer paying attention.

"Honestly, Sir Davis, I would want a curricle for myself."

"You would? And why is that?"

She checked again for eavesdroppers.

"When I first came to Drifton Manor, I was the only child on the property at the time, bar for the two stable boys. They were a few years older than me but that is neither here nor there."

I swallowed.

"Yes?" I prompted.

"Well there were a couple of ponies we had back then and this tiny little cart. The stable boys would tack up the ponies and race around the park. They claimed to be exercising the animals but I knew they enjoyed it. I used to sneak out of my lessons to join them. I long to race like that again."

"What happened to the stable boys?"

"They were orphans, or at least, so everyone thought. But my Uncle told me their real parents turned up and wanted them back. It was kind of like a fairy tale," Lady Mai said in a low voice. "I bet they're still racing horses around to this day." She smiled, lost in memories full of lies. "Have you ever raced a curricle?"

"Once or twice," I admitted.

"I would very much like to learn," she whispered. "But my governess has a lot of ideas about proprietary."

"Most governesses do," I agreed. "They can be such a bore."

She laughed and I smiled.

"I doubt you ever had to suffer a governess," she said. "I imagine you were educated about real things rather than how to sew…"

"Would you be surprised to know that I have leant to sew?" I asked.

"What on earth would you need to sew for? Surely you have maids for minor repairs?"

"I was not always so fortunate as to have a maid in my employ…"

"Lady Mai," Miss Matsuzaki piped up, interrupting the question Lady Mai had been about to ask. "I think we ought to call upon Miss Hara tomorrow. We could accept your invitation for her ball at the same time."

"Aya— Miss Matsuzaki, that will not do," Lord Mallin said. "Lady Mai's betrothed will be visiting us tomorrow."

"He arrives in the afternoon. We will have returned by then."

"Yes," Lady Mai agreed, "We will definitely be done by the time Lord Sanditon arrives."

She turned her attention back to the catalogue.

"You are betrothed?" I asked. "I must offer you my congratulations."

"No, I am not," she replied. "But my Uncle likes to tease it anyway. He thinks it is only a matter of time before Lord Sanditon proposes." When I stayed silent, Lady Mai went on. "He is a fine man. I would consider him a good friend… Miss Matsuzaki says I should feel lucky to have the attentions of such a man. But I think she is a little jealous."

"Well, she does not have much chance of marrying a titled man given her status," I agreed.

"If some people were a little less blind she might," Lady Mai muttered under her breath. I frowned and she noticed. She shook her head and forced a smile. "Here I am wittering on to you, a complete stranger. Let us look at the barouche designs."

She opened up the book to a page of relevant designs and began points out the merits of each drawing, thereby bringing the previous discussion to an end.

Author's note: So I hope you all like this? Please review :)