The Diamond and the Irish
Chapter 1: Finding Lady Whistledown

"Margaret?" Amanda Carter calls immediately as she hears a loud sound above her head.

She looked around the sitting room and then realized that her daughter had stepped out of the room again instead of joining her in doing some embroidery.

"Margaret Elizabeth," she calls for a second time, more alarmed now that she suspects that the noise she had heard, was probably made by her daughter. Sighing in exasperation, she turns her attention to her son, reading a book by the window.

"Michael, would you be a dear and check up on your sister, upstairs? I believe that is her, making that ridiculous ruckus." Amanda shook her head in discontent.

Michael snorts, knowing how accurate that could be. Slowly, he puts down his book and sits up straight, "All right. Do I just check up on her and let her be or do I tell her something?" He grins when his mother looks at him with irritation in her eyes.

"Michael Anthony Carter," She simply says, and the young man just chuckles before he stands and leaves the room to search for his sister.


As Michael walks up to his sister's door, another loud sound falls on the floor. Amusingly, he faintly hears his mother bellow his sister's name, making him laugh as he fastens his pace.

Knocking on the door in their usual pattern, Michael waits for his sister to open the door with a smirk on his face. As soon as it does, Margaret sticks her head out and curiously looks at him.

"Michael, what can I do for you?" she asks, a little out of breath.

He chuckles, "What are you doing, little sister?"

She rolls her eyes and grumbles at the pet name, "I'm no longer little, brother. The name Peggy would be just fine if you have forgotten." She then pulls back and opens her door wider as an invitation.

As Michael stepped inside her room, cautiously, he looked around and wondered what possible object could be thrown around to make such loud noises. He then noticed a sack of somewhat like letters.

"Margaret, what are those?" he asks before he walks up to the sack and crouches down to leaf through it.

"It's Peggy," She corrects with annoyance before she pulls another sack and dumps it next to the one Michael was running through, "And these are Lady Whistledown's Pamphlets throughout the years since she started."

Michael looks up at her with furrowed brows, "Lady Whistledown?"

"Yes," Peggy smirks, knowingly, "I believe she's quite a revolutionary…just in the wrong direction," she then shrugs her shoulders before she carelessly sat down on the ottoman, "So, I'm going to find her,"

Michael slowly stands, still with his eyebrows scrunched together, "You're going to look for her?" Peggy hums in agreement as she nods her head. He then looks down at the pamphlet in his hand, "You will search for her, for what reason?"

"To convince her to write on what needs to be addressed," Peggy then smiles satisfactorily before she stands and walks up to her brother, "Gossip about who'd be the next diamond of the queen is not what needs to be talked about. Lady Whistledown should talk about how women should be more included in the academia, and that women are not only meant to search for a husband but make a difference in the world."

Michael looks up at his sister and a proud smile appears on his lips, "Well then, I shouldn't disturb you in trying to figure out who Lady Whistledown is. You've got a task to fulfill,"

"That I do," Peggy nods her head firmly as a smile surface on her face.


Dawn is barely there when Peggy gets up from bed and quietly dresses herself for the day. Having no handmaid before dawn, she opts to keep her hair down rather than keep it up in her usual beautiful curls. Seeing that she needs to do this covertly, she grabs her black cloak and soundlessly leaves her room.

As she descended the stairs from her room, she looked around to find no one roaming. She quickly smiles to herself in triumph, thinking that she might be able to pull this off. When suddenly, as she was at the last steps of the stairs, her handmaid popped out of the hallway near the entrance door.

"Lady Margaret?" Peggy's handmaid, Rose, called as soon as she recognized the young lady, "Why are you up so early?"

Peggy, stunned, stared at her servant as she froze in place. When her servant walked up to her with curious and concerned eyes, she snapped out of her thoughts and tried to reassure the woman with a soft smile.

"I…I couldn't fall back to sleep. So, I thought a walk might help," Peggy then tries to walk past her handmaid, but Rose quickly steps in front of her to block her way.

"At this hour?" Rose questions with a tilt of her head obviously, not convinced with her excuse, "You're going to walk around with no companion, at this odd hour before dawn?"

Peggy was silent for a moment, trying to think of another excuse when Rose shook her head, figuring her out.

"Miss Peggy, your mother will be furious if she discovers that you are stepping out of the house with no companion this late," Rose then tries to smile at the brunette, compelling her not to leave. But Peggy just sighs at her.

"Mother will not discover it if no one tells her about it," Peggy then gave a tight-lipped smile, "So, can I trust you that you wouldn't tell?"

Rose sighs as she closes her eyes, feeling that impending headache, "Would it be fine if I accompany you instead?"

Peggy hesitated. In her mind, her first response would be to disagree. She didn't want anyone to tag along with her if they would just be a hindrance to her quest. But given that it is Rose, her most trusted and loyal handmaid and likely a friend, she hesitated to disagree. So, she thought hard for a moment before she huffed in defeat. "Fine, you can accompany me to Bloomsbury,"

"Bloomsbury?!" Rose whispered loudly, making Peggy widen her eyes in surprise. She immediately shushed her and pushed her closer to the door.

"Did you really have to say it out loud?" Peggy astonishingly questioned before she shook her head, "Rose if I'm going to take you with me, you have to be subtle and quiet. Can you do that for me?"

Rose was baffled for a second before she nodded her head, "Yes, I can do that…But why Bloomsbury?"

Peggy smirks knowingly, "I'm going to catch Lady Whistledown's footman. I know where she gets her printing done in Bloomsbury. I just have to catch them and pass this message," she then shows her neatly folded letter to Rose.

As Rose stares at it for a moment before looking up at Peggy, she lets out a deep breath before firmly nodding her head, "All right. Let me get my cloak and I'll assist you,"

Peggy grins to that, "Perfect."


Peggy and Rose travel to Bloomsbury with Aloysius as their footman. The man has never been assigned to be a footman for the Carter household. But with Peggy's covert adventure, he was a willing servant for the young miss. It may be the most special job he has done in his work so far.

"Stop by the arc," Peggy mutters loudly inside the carriage, which Aloysius takes note of immediately.

"By the arc," he announces to the coachman, who grunts in agreement.

Soon enough the carriage stops by the arc and Aloysius quickly steps down from his post to open the door for the miss. Rose steps down first to survey the quiet town before Peggy follows after her.

"Are you sure this is the place?" Rose asks before facing the beaming brunette.

"Yes, of course," Peggy replies as she fixes her cloak and ensures that her face is hidden, "I've done my research and this is where I shall start looking for the footman of Lady Whistledown,"

"All right then, where do we go from here?" Rose nervously asks as she fixes her cloak as well.

Peggy kept mum for a second as she tried to think of how to stop Rose from coming along. She smiled purposefully and took her hands, "Rose, I was thinking. Maybe you should stay here. I, on the other hand, will go there," she pointed and looked in the direction she'd be going before looking back at her handmaid, "You and Aloysius will wait for me here. Give me half an hour to search and give this letter to the footman and then I'll be back,"

"But Miss Peggy—" Rose complains but Peggy shakes her head.

"I'll be careful. I've done this, thousands of times," Peggy grinned when Rose's eyes grew wide, "I'll be back!" and with that, she walked away from the carriage and quietly slipped within the thin crowd in town.


"Now, where are you?" Peggy whispers to no one as she peeks over the wall, just an alley away from the printing shop.

She waits patiently for the footman or probably a messenger, she's not sure at this point whom to wait for, to step out of the shop. Based on her previous outings, Lady Whistledown's runner tends to drop by the shop at an odd hour before dawn. This has become the pattern for the past year and Peggy quickly realizes that the infamous writer isn't working alone. Hence, she decided that it was time to confront, or more likely, initiate contact with the writer. But catching the mouse isn't always easy.

As a tall broad person steps out of the printing shop, Peggy's eyes grow wide in excitement as she confirms her assumption. The infamous writer indeed had a footman to deliver her upcoming pamphlet for the week. It wouldn't be easy to miss such a broad-shouldered person, and yet easily blends within the crowd.

At that thought, Peggy scrambled to pick up the ends of her dress and cloak, and then quicken her pace to follow the man. Maneuvering against the people in the alley, Peggy tries her best to keep the footman in her vision. Having to lose sight of her target would be a wasted opportunity, so Peggy ensures she is quick on her feet.

When she stumbled out into the middle of the town market, she suddenly felt a tinge of panic when she couldn't find the messenger. But as soon as she found the noticeable broad shoulders, Peggy excused herself and tried to tail behind him again.

The broad-shouldered person then stops by a stall and talks to the vendor. Peggy didn't want to be caught yet, so she hid behind a large cart and waited for the footman to move. She was intensely watching the man when suddenly someone tapped on her shoulder.

Jumping at that sudden approach, Peggy shrieks as she turns and swings her fist in fear.

"Woah!" the person then catches Peggy's fist, making the brunette even more flabbergasted.

She quickly eyes the person and sees it's a blonde man, leaning away from her thrown fist. But what caught her more surprised was the piercing blue eyes, staring back at her. He had a wide smile on his face, looking amused.

"You've got a mean punch there, miss," the man said, chuckling at the end as he let go of her fist.

Standing straight, Peggy quickly clutches her fist to her chest as if she were burnt with his touch. She has that feeling of excitableness, and yet her expression showed wariness as she raised a brow at him.

"What the hell is your problem?" She asked, irately, forgetting about manners or the refinement of being a lady. When she said this, she later realized how it sounded, and made her want to take it back. But then the man just chortles in hilarity.

"I'm sorry, milady. I didn't mean to startle you," the man then bowed his head as a gesture of apology. When he lifted his head, he gave a soft smile that made Peggy blush for a moment, before she shook her head in concentration.

"Well, apologies as well, sir. My instant response for times like these is…to punch," Peggy then looks away from him and turns to search for her target again. To her relief, the footman was still there, chattering with the vendor.

"May I ask," the man spoke again. Peggy tried to show she was listening by turning her head a little to the side but kept her eyes on the footman. "Is everything all right? Is there someone you're trying to hide from?"

Peggy's brows furrow together at the question, making her turn to look at the man, "What? I'm not hiding,"

The man this time gave a dubious look at her. When Peggy held his gaze as if challenging him to question her intentions, the man couldn't help but cross his arms and lean to the side to peek at what she was looking at. When he stood straight, showing his real height and broad shoulders, he gave a questioning look at the brunette.

"If you're not being stalked, then…" he then trails off, waiting for the brunette to continue. But then Peggy just smirks at the man as she crosses her arms too.

"Then I'm what?" Peggy tested.

"The stalker," he said, shrugging his shoulders.

Peggy laughs at the bluntness, "Well…at a certain point, that is true. However, I have good reasons to follow a certain footman."

"And what reason is that?" he asks.

"None of your business," Peggy quickly retorts before she turns around to focus again on her target. But when she finds the footman nowhere, she has that sudden panic again as she steps out of her hiding place.

"Oh no, I lost him," Peggy then rushes towards the stall, where the footman was last seen standing. She then asked the vendor the direction where the man had gone. When the vendor pointed the direction, Peggy quickly followed.

"So, what exactly did the footman do to you?" a voice suddenly asks, startling the brunette. When she looked to the side, she saw the same blonde man, walking next to her.

His hands were shoved in his trousers and his loose linen shirt wasn't pristine white anymore, giving her the impression that the man wasn't part of the nobility. Being around this man should have alarmed her. After all, she was in Bloomsbury, where everyone was either a laborer, a thief, or a random drunken person roaming around the streets before dawn. Being in this part of the town wasn't always safe. And yet, walking next to this stranger didn't make Peggy feel unsafe.

"Like I said, none of your business," Peggy replies bluntly, unfazed by the fact that the man had taken it upon himself to accompany her.

The man laughed heartily next to her, making Peggy glance at him. Hearing him laugh, made her heart patter in a tingling way. But she quickly dismissed it when the man spoke.

"Should I worry for the man instead?" he asked.

Peggy rolls her eyes, "Do I look like I can harm someone?"

"I believe so," He amusingly replies. His smile was on his face, making Peggy blush a little, "You do have a strong punch."

"Right…" Peggy then looks away as she feels her cheeks warm up even more. Soon enough, her smile was hard for her to contain. "Well, I do have a brother and I learned to punch from him,"

"You've got a fantastic brother then," he states proudly, and surprisingly for Peggy, she was glad to hear it from the man.

Suddenly, Peggy sees the footman again, perking her up, "There he is!" she then glances at the blonde, "Are you coming?"

The man gawks at the brunette's invitation for a second before he huffs a laugh and nods his head. "Lead the way,"


"So, why exactly do we have to hide if you want to approach him?" he asks as he crouches down behind a cart full of hay. The blonde man peeks over his shoulder, where the brunette hunches behind him and keeps her attention on the footman.

He can faintly smell the scent of roses, wafting from her hair, making him fall into a trance as he keeps his eyes on her face.

"Because I don't want him to run away," Peggy then glances at the man in front of her, "He'll lead me to Lady Whistledown,"

"Lady Whistledown?" he repeats as if he has never heard the name before.

"Yes, Lady Whistledown. Haven't you heard of her? Or per se, read her pamphlets?" Peggy raised a questioning brow when the man scrunched his face in confusion. She then gawped when the man shook his head.

"Where have you been, if you have not heard of her?" Peggy asks astonishedly.

"Ireland," the man simply replies as he lets his real accent slip, which takes the brunette aback.

"Oh…" Peggy reddens in embarrassment for assuming he was from the town. Only then did she realize that the man didn't have a clear English accent, instead had a tinge of Irish tone. "So, Lady Whistledown hasn't reached Ireland,"

The man just chuckles at her way of trying to save herself from embarrassment. He was fond of her big brown expressive eyes, which twinkled when she spoke confidently. More than that, she was entirely just unique from all the women he'd met.

"Apparently not," he says, using less of his Irish accent before he grins at her widely.

"Are you a traveling merchant?" Peggy questions, looking down at how he was dressed and then back to his face. She was then enamored with his blue eyes again.

"I'm not a merchant but…I am traveling from Augher to visit a family friend,"

Peggy and the man suddenly fall quiet as they stare at each other. For some reason, they were at ease just looking at each other, completely forgetting why they were sitting on their heel, hiding behind a hay cart.

Suddenly, they heard a loud neighing of a horse, snapping the two out of their daze. At that, Peggy stood up and checked where the footman was last standing only to see the spot replaced by someone else.

"Oh no…" Peggy sighs in defeat, shoulders dropping in dismay.

The man then stands up and watches her sulk quietly. He didn't comment or reassure her immediately that they'd find the man again. Hearing that horse was somewhat their indication that the footman had left already.

"I'm sorry you didn't get to talk to the footman," he offers, but Peggy just huffed and shrugged her shoulders.

"It's all right," She then looked at the man, "It's not the first time he has slipped away from my sight," she then started walking, to which the man followed.

"What were you planning to tell him?" He inquired curiously as he kept pace with the brunette.

"I was going to ask him to pass the message to Lady Whistledown if she'd let me meet her and have a conversation,"

"About what?"

"About changing her narrative," Peggy steals a glance over her shoulders, waiting for the man's reaction. But given that the traveler seemed to be clueless about the infamous writer, she continues, "She is known to talk about town gossips, whether who's the next diamond or who's the eligible man for marriage and who's not. She'd even spill secrets if she happened to grasp it before anybody else,"

"She doesn't seem to be progressive in a healthy manner," the man comments, making Peggy astoundingly look at him. "I mean, there are more to talk about in the society,"

"Exactly!" Peggy exclaims promptly, feeling elated that another individual, aside from her brother, sees her point.

The man seems to smile back at her proudly, "What did you want to convince her with?"

Peggy hesitated. Not every man was like her brother who agrees that women should be given the same opportunity to learn in academia. Telling this to the stranger made her anxious that he'd be like every other man she met, talking about how women should be well-versed in the arts and music for the sake of entertainment and showing off who was more suited to be a wife.

"Well…" Peggy purses her lips as she fumbles with her hands, "I wanted to tell Lady Whistledown that she should be discussing how women should be given the same opportunity to learn logic and mathematics, and not just embroidery or playing music," she then pauses before she glances at the man.

He had a somber look, but he nodded his head as if convinced by the notion, "You're right. Women can do more than be an angel of the house,"

Peggy smiles as she looks away from the blonde, "My same sentiment,"

The two then fall to a comfortable silence when suddenly Peggy sees Rose and Aloysius roaming around, looking frantic. At that sight, she quickens her pace and calls her handmaid.

When Rose expressed her anxiety about not seeing her after a half-hour, as promised, the woman nearly cried making Peggy guilty for forgetting about keeping the time. She then assures the woman that they'd head back now before the sun rose fully.

As Rose and Aloysius step back to the carriage, Peggy turns to look at the friendly stranger. "I believe my adventure before morning ends here," she said.

"You have less than an hour before the sun is up," he replies. Somehow, his smile didn't reach his eyes.

Peggy faintly nods her head before looking down at her gloved hands. It was odd for her that in a short period, she would feel this sadness when departing someone. She didn't know him entirely. What made it even more unusual, she didn't know his name and yet felt like they were old friends.

This made Peggy chortle before looking back at the man, "I realized I don't know your name,"

The blonde man stares at her for a second before he chuckles along, "Right, I'm sorry. I should have introduced myself earlier rather than scare you back then," both sniggered. "I'm Steven, Steven Rogers,"

Peggy nods her head in acknowledgment, "And I'm Peggy. Should I address you as sir or Lord?"

Steve shook his head, "Just Steve, Miss Peggy,"

Peggy's smile broadens before she huffs a laugh and nods her head, "All right, just Steve. Goodbye," she slowly turns away from him with her eyes lingering on him. When she had fully turned away, she couldn't help but keep smiling as she headed back to her waiting carriage.


As Peggy stared out the window in the carriage, Rose couldn't help but notice the permanent smile on the lady's face. Despite knowing that the mission was not successful, it was odd for her to see the young miss's face beam in satisfaction.

So, Rose begins to question, "Did you roam around Bloomsbury with that tall broad man?"

"Hmm?" Peggy slowly turns her attention to her handmaid, a smile still plastered on her lips, "Tall…broad man?"

"Yes, the blonde one," Rose scootches closer to the brunette as if ready to listen to a new gossip, "Did he accompany you throughout your search for the footman? Alone?"

Peggy thought for a moment, trying to consider what answer she would give. Telling Rose the truth would probably make the handmaid burst into full fret again for leaving her alone with a man in an unfamiliar street.

But before she could decide what to say, Rose added, "Please tell me that you both weren't left alone. You do know that you can't be seen walking on your own with a man without a chaperon,"

Peggy could feel her heart beat faster as she mentally said yes but said something else, "No, of course not. I only met the man when I asked for directions,"

Rose heaves in relief, "All right, good." She then slumps back to the couch before she chortles to herself, "Because if you did, people would have easily noticed the two of you. You both looked pleasing in the eyes together,"

Peggy felt her cheeks warm up. She was left a little speechless as she felt her heart beat a little faster again, "I doubt that." she softly muttered before looking away to stare at the scenery outside her window instead.

To be continued…