Page 48 of The Heiress in Disguise
Grace fled the room ahead of Angelique. Angelique stared at Gwyneth for a moment, knowing that there was nothing she could say, but powerfully wishing that she could. Someone ought to put Gwyneth in her place.
She turned and left the room. Grace was standing in the foyer with tears streaming down her face.
“Don’t listen to her,” Angelique said quietly. “She’s wrong. You’ll have an easy enough time finding someone to marry, just wait and see. Didn’t you meet anyone you liked at the masquerade the other night?”
“I danced with that masked and caped stranger,” Grace said, wiping her eyes. “He was kind to me. But I’ve no idea who he was. Nobody knows who he was.”
Angelique frowned at the memory of the stranger, who had displayed such a disconcerting knowledge of whoshewas. She didn’t wish to talk or think about him right now. “Come to the kitchen with me,” she said. “I’ll get us some biscuits while I prepare the coffee, if you promise not to tell anyone.”
Grace beamed. “You know I won’t tell.”
The two cousins went to the kitchen together. Angelique struggled to keep her focus on the task at hand, for the last thing she wanted was to be drawn into memories of that masked stranger—or the strange feeling of hope that had blossomed within her when he had spoken her name.
Chapter 21
Two days later, a new gift appeared on Angelique’s bed.
This one was the finest she had received so far—a silver bracelet. She stared at it for several long minutes, wondering whether it could possibly be real. Who would give her such a thing? It was far too beautiful for her to keep it—and yet, she couldn’t possibly return it. Against her best judgment, she found herself picking it up and slipping it onto her wrist.
Her mother had owned a bracelet like this, she recalled suddenly, tears coming to her eyes at the memory. It wasn’t exactly the same, of course. No one could mistake it for the same piece of jewelry, but it was close enough to make her ache with longing for her mother, who had once slipped that bracelet on Angelique’s tiny wrist and told her that she looked like a proper lady.
Angelique held her arm up. She didn’t need beautiful things, but having this bracelet made her feel so close to her mother, and to that moment. Seeing it on her arm made her feelloved,just as she had felt in that moment.
“What are you doing?” a voice demanded.
Angelique whirled around. Jane was standing in the doorway, her eyes wide, and Angelique automatically hid her hand behindher back. She’d gotten in the habit of hiding the gifts from her fairy godmother. It simply didn’t feel safe to let anyone in on what had been happening, and only Molly knew the truth. Most of the gifts were hidden around the room—under the floorboards, behind the end table, and even in the pockets of Angelique’s dresses.
But it didn’t matter. Jane had already seen. “Did youstealthat?” she asked.
“No!” Angelique said hotly. “Of course I didn’t steal it.”
Jane pulled the door closed behind her. “You could tell me, you know, if you had,” she said keenly. “I wouldn’t tell anybody. You can trust me.”
“Well, I didn’t,” Angelique said. “I’m not the sort to steal things, Jane. I would have thought you’d know that about me.”
“I suppose,” Jane said. “But if you didn’t steal it, where did you get it? You and I can’t afford things like that on what they pay us. I can’t even imagine what a bracelet like that one must have cost!”
“It… it was a gift,” Angelique said hesitantly.
“A gift? Who gave it to you? Was it Lady Grace? I know she likes you. But, you know, if Lady Grace is making gifts of her jewelry,she’s bound to be caught at it. You’ll only make trouble for her by keeping it. You really ought to give it back before Lady Leicester discovers what you have.”
“No, Grace didn’t give it to me,” Angelique said.
“Well, I know that nobody else in this house would present you with such a gift! So if you didn’t steal it, where did it come from? You can tell me. I promise I won’t give you away, whatever this is.”
Angelique sighed. It made more sense to be forthcoming with the truth, little though she wanted to do that. Jane was too suspicious of her. She needed to be honest if she was going to dispel her friend’s concerns.
“I’ve been receiving gifts since we came to London,” she said. “This isn’t the first.”
“What do you mean? Who have you been getting gifts from?” Jane demanded.
“That’s just it. I don’t know,” Angelique said. “Whoever it is, they refer to themselves as my fairy godmother—nothing more. I’ve never gotten a name attached to any of the gifts.”
“How many gifts have there been?” Jane asked with a frown.
“Several,” Angelique admitted. “But, Jane, you really mustn’t tell anyone. You’re right about one thing—there will be terrible trouble if anyone finds out about this.”
“Now you’re worried about getting into trouble?”
