Page 50 of The Heiress in Disguise
“I’ll tell you,” Angelique said, though a part of her wished she could have said no. She hated the idea that she would have to share everything she received with Jane now, but the precedent had been set, and she couldn’t see a realistic way of going back on it.
Jane beamed and left the room, her arms full of the things she’d taken. Angelique hoped belatedly that she would have the sense not to go into the part of the house where she might be sighted by Aunt Wilhelmina and questioned about where she’d gotten these things. She probably wouldn’t implicate Angelique, but she would almost certainly be in trouble no matter what story she told.
Angelique cleared the rest of her things away quickly in case anyone did come to investigate. Then she sat down on her bed. She picked up the pile of notes from her fairy godmother, which Jane had left behind, and realized that she hadn’t yet looked at the newest one.
A beautiful bracelet for the most beautiful lady in the house. Your wrist was made to show off such things.
She folded the note up tight. It would be more dangerous to let this fall into the wrong hands than it would be to let her family discover the gifts themselves. Nobody wanted to think that Angelique had beauty that might have been noticed by someone.
As for Angelique, she was left to turn over the same question that had plagued her since all this had started. Clearly, someonehadnoticed her—but who?
Chapter 22
Two days later, her chores done for the day, Angelique wandered down to the river once again.
She found herself coming this way more and more often lately. It was unwise, perhaps, given that Gwyneth and her other cousins had already seen her out here and had begun asking questions, but she couldn’t help it. She found herself longing to see Philip again, and being out here made her feel close to him in a way she didn’t quite know how to explain.
She didn’t understand why it was that she kept thinking about him. It seemed to be happening all the more since the masquerade party, and that truly didn’t make sense, because that was the event that had started her thinking about someone else altogether—the mysterious gentleman in the mask. Grace wasn’t the only one who had walked away from that night with him on her mind.
It was quite the opposite of the way she felt about Philip, though. Shewantedto see Philip again. She had repeatedly found his company enjoyable, and she was excited by the prospect of running into him. She didn’t feel at all the same way about the man in the mask. He made her feel nothing but uncomfortable, thanks to the fact that he knew far too much about her and hadn’t been at all shy about getting close.
Philip would never have tried to make me uncomfortable like that, she thought, even though she wasn’t entirely convinced that the stranger had wished to make her uncomfortable at all.
And then, suddenly, unexpectedly, and yet somehow almost as if they had planned it, there he was approaching along the opposite bank.
She stopped to watch him. She couldn’t seem to get over how attractive he was. His dark hair flowed freely around his shoulders. He’d spotted her and had made eye contact, and the amber color of his eyes drew her in hypnotically.
“I’m glad to see you,” he said, drawing a little closer. “I know it’s only been a few days, but it feels like longer.”
“I always enjoy your company,” she agreed, feeling a little embarrassed at how forward it was to say such a thing. But also, it was the truth.
“How have you been?” he asked her. “We spoke the morning after the masquerade, but not for very long.”
She nodded. “I’ve been well,” she said.
And then she surprised herself by continuing. “Actually, I’ve had quite a lot going on in my life lately.”
He perched on a rock. He was still on the opposite bank, but the stream was narrow here. If they had both reached out, they could have touched one another. Angelique found herself strangely longing to do that. “What do you mean?” he asked. “What’s been going on?”
“Do you believe in fairy godmothers?”
A startled look crossed his face. “I suppose it would depend on what you mean by that.”
“I can’t honestly say that I know what I mean,” she admitted. “But someone has styled themselves my fairy godmother and has been leaving me gifts.” She hesitated, then pulled her arm out of her pocket. Even though it was risky, she had taken to wearing the bracelet when she thought she could get away with it. It was simply too meaningful to her to leave it in her room. “I received this the day after the masquerade.”
“That’s beautiful.”
“It is—though I worry the other servants may be getting jealous. Those who know about my mysterious benefactor, that is.”
“I hope not,” he said sincerely. “But do remember that a true friend will be happy for you in times of good fortune. To feel a little envious is only natural at times, but one must hope that their regard for you will take precedence.”
“I think it will,” she said, though as she thought of Jane’s reaction to her gifts, she wasn’t completely sure it was true. “And this isn’t the only mystery. I suppose you heard about the gentleman at the ball who never revealed his identity or removed his mask?”
“I did hear about that, actually.” He spoke cautiously, as though unsure whether he might be revealing something he shouldn’t.
“He and I interacted more than once. It was… intriguing.”
“Did you like him, then?”
