Page 76 of The Heiress in Disguise
“But none of them are here,” Grace pointed out. “They’re all up getting ready for the party, helping Mother make her final arrangements. They won’t be able to report you because they won’t know you’ve left. I’ll go out in the hall and stand watch. You knock on the door once you’ve gotten dressed, and I’ll knock back if it’s safe to come out.
Then you’ll simply sneak out the servants’ door into the garden, go around the side of the house, and come in the front door with the rest of the guests.”
“I’ll have to try to sneak around without being seen,” Angelique said slowly. If someone spotted her coming around the side of the house, they were bound to be suspicious.
“You’ll do fine,” Grace assured her. “Just keep to the shadows and everything will be all right. But you’d better do it now. Most of the guests will be arriving soon, and you want to sneak in without making too much of a scene.
You don’t want to draw attention to yourself, because if you do, people will start asking who the mysterious lady is, and then you might not be able to keep your identity a secret after all. Better that people should look the other way, I think.”
“I agree,” Angelique said fervently. She was looking forward to this ball, and she didn’t want to cut the fun short by having her disguise uncovered. “I’ll do as you suggest, Grace, thank you.”
“Then I’ll see you in there,” Grace said. “Oh, this is going to be fun! I’ll know it’s you, but nobody else will. We’ll have a little secret just between the two of us.”
“That will be fun,” Angelique said with a smile, her heart beginning to beat faster with anticipation. It seemed as though this was really happening. She really was going to get to go to a ball, as a guest. The way she might have, if she had lived as Angelique instead of Ella, for the very first time in her life.
And now she had another thought.
She was attending this party as a mysterious stranger in a mask—but she wouldn’t be the only person to do so. It was more than likely that the masked gentleman she had met so many times would be here tonight as well.
I’ll know it’s him, she realized.But he won’t know it’s me.The shoe would be on the other foot for once. The thought made her feel almost giddy with anticipation.
But even more than she wanted to reverse the roles on him, she simply wanted to see him again. She had missed him terriblysince being confined to her room. She worried every day that he might forget about her. In her better moments, she knew that was unlikely—but what if he had given up on ever being able to see her again? What if he had decided it was a lost cause and that he should move on with his life?
She couldn’t blame him if he had. It seemed to her to be a lost cause too. Most of the time, she felt like letting go of the hope of ever seeing him again. Most of the time she didn’t believe it would ever happen.
Tonight, though, it was going to happen. She was going to see him again. She could hardly wait. She wondered if there was some way she might be able to give him a clue to her real identity—or if there was any possibility that he might simply look at her and know who she was without having to be told. That was a tantalizing thought. Could he possibly recognize her even when she was wearing a mask?
If anyone could know, she thought,it would be him. He knew that I was Angelique when no one else did. Even as I stood before him and denied it with everything in me, he wasn’t fooled. He knew. Perhaps he’ll be one person who isn’t fooled tonight either.
As she pulled on the gown that Grace had given her, she had to admit to herself that she didn’t know which outcome she was hoping for.
It would be nice to see without being seen for once. To have the upper hand on this gentleman who had always been so kind to her but had never let her see behind the curtain he kept up to conceal himself.
But she couldn’t help but feel it would wondrous to have him walk right up to her, smile, and whisper,Lady Angelique, I know that’s you.
Either way, she thought as she struggled to do up the fastenings of the gown with no one to help her, this was sure to be a night to remember.
Chapter 35
“I thought you would never send for us, Antoine,” Charlotte said, embracing him. “You’ve been here in London without us for such a long time. What were you waiting for? What took so long? Mother and I have been so anxious to come and join you!”
“I’m sorry you had to wait,” Antoine said. “There’s been rather a lot going on here in London. I had to make sure everything was settled and ready before I brought you over.”
“What was unsettled?” their mother asked, concern etched on her face. “I’ve been worried, Antoine. Your letters didn’t tell very much.”
“And I’m afraid I don’t have time to explain very much now,” Antoine said. “I wish I did. I wish I could sit here with you and explain it all, but I really have to be on my way.”
“I saw everyone arriving at the party next door,” Charlotte said brightly. “Is that where you’re going? Can I come along?”
“You can attend the next party,” Antoine told his sister. “I really don’t think you’re prepared for this one, unfortunately.” What he didn’t say was that he didn’t want his sister or his mother in attendance tonight. Things were going to be difficult enough without having to worry about their safety. When he revealed his identity and let everyone know what he had been doing all this time, he knew that he would run the risk of provoking their anger.
It was perfectly likely that an argument would break out, and he didn’t want that to be his family’s introduction into this social scene. Charlotte could attend the next party. She would do perfectly well there. And as for his mother, she would be best off waiting for an event that wasn’t going to be so contentious.
But neither of them seemed happy. “You mean to tell us that after waiting so long to join you here in London, now we can’t even attend a party?” his mother demanded. “Don’t you want us to meet the neighbors?”
“Mother—there’s a situation,” Antoine said, deciding that it would likely be for the best to come clean with his family about what was going on. “This isn’t going to be an ordinary party.”
“What do you mean? I’m afraid I don’t understand,” she said.
