“Are they? Then I’ll adjust it.” What a good excuse to carefully rub the lines out on the paper. “The Americans make up such a large proportion of the people here I don’t want us to seem unbalanced in their eyes.”

He taps his lip with the end of the pencil, considering her, considering the rest of his design. He’s taking this drawing seriously, as much of a ruse as it is; she deserves that much.

“I could go for a compromise: an open cravat that mimics a scarf.” He sketches that out onto his figure, considers, then rubs off the shoulder epaulettes from his initial drawing to balance out the formality.

“Do I really look that formal to you?”