Page 74 of The Heiress in Disguise
“But why did you take such an interest in her? Don’t misunderstand me, please—I want to help my cousin, and I’m glad that you do too. But it is rather unexpected that you would. You don’t even know her.”
“I do, as a matter of fact,” he said. “That’s the other thing I have to confess. I’m not only the Earl of Cambridge. That’s one of my titles, but it’s not the only one. I’m also the Marquess of Exeter.”
Her jaw dropped. “I know that name,” she said. “You were friends with her in childhood, weren’t you? Your family was there when we arrived all those years ago. I thought you had left the country.”
“I had. But I’m back now. I had hoped to reunite with my old friend, but when I arrived, I saw at once that she had been turned into a servant. I’ve been trying since then to figure out what happened to put her in this position.”
“I can tell you what happened,” Lady Grace said quietly. “My parents were jealous of her and wanted to claim her inheritance for themselves. That’s why they made her a servant.”
Antoine nodded. “I figured it out,” he said. “But without proof, I can’t get her away and restore her inheritance, which is what I want to do. Can you help me?”
“How?”
“There are some documents in your father’s office,” he said. “I can describe to you where they are.”
“You’re going to have to act quickly,” she said. “They mean to marry her off to Count Benavente. They’re going to make the offer to him at tomorrow’s ball.”
In the midst of everything else that was going on, Antoine had all but forgotten there was a ball going on tomorrow. “Do you think—it’s a masquerade, right? I have a gown. I had it made some weeks ago, hoping to give it to Angelique after I saved her fromher situation. Do you think you could give it to her and help her to attend the ball?”
“I could try,” Lady Grace said, sounding hopeful. “None of the servants will help you now—they’ve all been warned against it. But I can help. I have a mask she can wear so my family won’t recognize her. It was given to me as a gift by my aunt years ago, and I never wore it. It’s a pale white color, so it will look lovely with any gown.”
“And will you be willing to get the papers from your father’s office?” Antoine asked her. “I know that’s a big risk for you. But if you can bring them to me in the middle of the party…”
She nodded, her jaw set. “I’m ready to do this,” she said. “It’s the least I can do for my cousin. She’s always been good to me, and I want to be as good to her. For once in my life, I want to do right by her, to make it up to her for all the times I haven’t.”
“All right,” he said. “I’ll be at the party disguised in the same mask I wore to the first masquerade, so you’ll recognize me. Bring me the papers, I’ll write down for you just what I need and where you can find it, and perhaps then we’ll be able to free Angelique from her situation at last.”
“I just want to have a better relationship with her,” Lady Grace said. “My brother and sister look down on me and treat me poorly. They’ve never thought much of me. Angelique is the only one who’s ever really cared. If I help her now, maybe we can havethe sort of bond I was never able to have with my brother and sister—that’s all I hope for.”
“I hope so too,” Antoine said. “If I succeed, I’ll take her away from your parents’ house forever. But I’ll make sure she knows how you helped her, Lady Grace. Angelique is one of the kindest people I’ve ever known, so I can’t imagine that wouldn’t mean something to her.”
He rose to his feet. “Thank you for coming to me today. I’ll see you at the ball, and with a little luck, you and I will finally be able to change Angelique’s fortunes for the better.”
As Lady Grace left, Antoine felt a rush of hope for the first time in a long time. Finally, it seemed, something was going right.
Chapter 34
The knock at her door took Angelique by surprise. She hadn’t been visited at all since being locked in here. Meals were delivered to her at intervals, but it was nowhere near time for the next one of those, so what could this be about?
She thought about ignoring the knock, but it came again, so she went to the door and opened it.
Grace pushed past her and into the room. “Close the door,” she hissed. “Quickly. I shouldn’t be here.”
Angelique closed the door. “Grace? Whatareyou doing here? You really shouldn’t be here. We’ll both be in trouble if anyone catches you! What did you come here for?”
“I needed to see you,” Grace said. “I need to speak with you.”
“About what?”
“The ball tonight.”
“Grace, I can’t help at the ball,” Angelique said. “I’m not allowed out of my room. Your mother will be furious if she sees me serving at the ball. If you need help, you’re going to have to find someone else to give it to you this time, I’m afraid.”
“I don’t want you to serve at the ball,” Grace said. “That isn’t it.”
“Then what?”
“I want you toattendthe ball.”
