They'd all agreed to meet at the comic book store the following Wednesday; Rosalind's research was turning into a bit of a group project. Rosalind arrived at the comic book store first; in her blazer and neat bun, she stood out. Stuart approached her right away.

"Can I help you find something, Ma'am?"

"Actually, I'm supposed to meet some people here, and I'm a bit early. I have the impression that they're regulars…" She began to describe her four new friends, and he nodded and cut her off before she got through two sentences.

"Oh, yeah, Sheldon, Leonard, Raj, and Howard. But what do you want with those guys?"

"Well, as I said, I'm supposed to meet them here. But I'm wondering if I could enlist your help in some mild deception. Oh, I'm Rosalind, by the way."

He shook her proffered hand, introducing himself, "Stuart. What kind of deception, exactly?"

"Well, something a bit Moliere-ish. I was hoping that you could engage Raj in a bit of conversation in such a way that I might overhear it without his knowing."

"Oh, because of the not talking to women thing. Yeah. Don't they do something like this in Hamlet?"

"Yes, but that ends with Polonius run through by a sword. I'm hoping for something a bit more benign."

He nodded as Rosalind explained what she was hoping for. "So, you like this guy, huh?"

"Well, I'm curious about him. He seems kind and intelligent, but without any words to go by, I can only guess from non-verbal cues, and I've been wrong about those before. At any rate, will you help me?"

"Well, I will do my best, but I'm not promising anything."

"Of course. If it fails, it will be on my head. Thank you for your help."

The doorbell rang and Raj and Howard entered the store. Rosalind moved quickly, letting her hair down and crouching low to look at some books on a bottom shelf; Stuart moved a display slightly to block her from view, and approached the newcomers. "What are you guys doing here? This isn't your usual night."

Raj said, "We're meeting someone. Is she here yet?"

Stuart gestured to the area of the shop where Rosalind wasn't. "Mostly your usual folks. What does she look like?"

Raj was eager to talk about Rosalind to someone who might not roll his eyes at him. "She's lovely. She has beautiful, warm eyes, and a sweet, warm smile, and she's so kind and…"

Howard stopped him. "Really. Are her eyes warm, or is it her smile? Your vocabulary is failing you, man."

"Everything about her is warm and wonderful, Howard. She's even nice to you. And she can stop Sheldon from arguing. Everything is nicer when she's around."

Stuart smiled. "I can see that you're quite taken with her."

Raj was frustrated. "But what can I do? I can't tell her how I feel."

"Well, why don't you try what you usually do?" Stuart suggested.

"Get drunk so I can talk to her?"

Stuart nodded.

"No way, man." Raj had already thought of this and rejected it. "I'm such a jerk when I'm drunk. Besides, I don't want to just chat her up, I want to really talk to her. She's not just some chick in a bar."

Howard tagged on, "Yeah, and if I romance her for you, she'll fall for me instead, because once I get started, the ladies just can't help themselves. Then I'll be in trouble with you and with Bernadette. This whole go-between business is getting old, my friend."

Sheldon and Leonard arrived at that moment, and Rosalind took advantage of the interruption to make a wide circuit around the bookstore before "finding" her friends. They introduced her to Stuart, and she greeted him warmly, complimenting his shop, asking him questions about the sort of comics she was looking for. As the other men drifted off, Stuart brought her a small stack of things to go through; he leaned into Raj, and quietly commented, "I see what you mean, man." Raj nodded absently, waiting for him to leave.

Rosalind looked up from the books in front of her. "So…. Hi." Raj smiled back, but that was all he could do. She fixed his gaze for a moment, then sighed. "Maybe what we need is a Shakespearian trick. In As You Like It, Rosalind is hiding out in the woods, disguised as a boy, and persuades Orlando to pretend to woo him-slash-her as a substitute for Rosalind. You see, Orlando is in love with Rosalind, but he doesn't know when he'll see her again, and he's pretty nervous about how to approach her. So he's walking around the forest sticking poems he's written about her to the trees. Rosalind is charmed by this, of course – who wouldn't be? - but she doesn't want to break her disguise for all kinds of reasons that are beside the point here. Anyway, he is completely able to pour his heart out to her when he thinks she is a boy. I wonder if you could talk to me if I were disguised, somehow." Raj had never actually thought of this; he tilted his head, thinking, and trying not to show how pleased he was that she'd compared them to some romantic literary couple. He was trying to remember if As You Like It ended with deaths or weddings when Leonard ambled over.

"So, you find anything?" Rosalind showed him a few items from her stack, and he commented, "Yeah, that one's really good. So, what are you two talking about?" He grinned at Raj, knowing that they weren't talking at all; she might be, but there would be no conversation.

"Shakespeare. I was wondering if it would help Raj if I disguised myself as a boy like Rosalind in As You Like It."

"Rosalind, huh? Any relation?"

"Yes, my namesake. My father was a Shakespeare scholar. My sister's name is Portia."

Leonard tilted his head. "So what's this Rosalind like?"

"Strong-willed. Sharp-tongued. Quick-witted. A bit manipulative, but always to good ends. She sees Orlando's faults – he's a terrible poet, for example – but she loves him anyway." Her eyes met Raj's; he smiled as she blushed slightly. Then her cell phone rang. She checked the number, then answered hurriedly, turning away.

"Hi. Is everything OK?... Yes, absolutely, call the doctor. I'll be there in a few minutes. Bye." She turned back to Leonard and Raj, all apologies.

"I'm so sorry – it's my mother. I have to go." Raj gave a small wave, which she returned before she turned and left.

Leonard turned to his friend. "You have got to figure this out, man. You will never – and I mean never - have another chance like this."

Raj sighed and looked down at his empty hands. "I know."