Page 18 of The Marquess' Disguised Heiress
Eliza laughed. “You must rush. I will see to things here.”
Amelia waved at Eliza before leaving, who was satisfied after seeing that everything in the kitchen was organized. If more refreshments were needed out there, the kitchen counters would already be filled with trays, and the servants would just have to carry them out.
The dinner was also fully prepared and ready to be moved to the dining room when the dinner would be announced. She breathed in deeply, feeling all the strength leave her body.
She needed fresh air.
Without wasting another second, she opened the small back gate of the kitchen and stepped outside, her gaze falling on the broken flower pots just by the door.
“The cats,” she whispered to herself, blaming the several cats that visited the estate for the mishap. She had half a mind to clean up the mess, but she was too tired to care much about it at the moment and decided to leave it for later or for someone else.
Surely, she was not the only servant in the house and not the only one who needed to attend to anything and everything.
“I must find a place to sit down for a few moments.”
She strolled out into the darkness of the gardens, already feeling a little bit at peace after escaping the hustle of the house where all the servants were running about for anything and everything the nobility might require to have a good time at the masquerade.
Both Uncle Edgar and Aunty Beatrice had been on edge since the morning now, having reputations to maintain in front of the ton.
As she walked further, she suddenly heard the crunching of a leaf coming from the shadows behind the large tree and wondered if someone was there. Unhesitatingly, Eliza stepped forward when a hand reached out to her from the dark, grabbing her towards him.
She shouted, unsure of what was happening as someone pushed her against the tree, his heady scent of cinnamon and spice invading Eliza’s nostrils.
As she looked up, she realized it was a tall man dressed elaborately in a dark jacket, his smooth dark hair all slicked back away from his face as if caught in a handsome ponytail. His facewas hidden behind the mask he wore, and Eliza immediately knew it was a guest from the masquerade.
But what was he doing here? And why had he pulled Eliza towards him?
His gloved hand shot up to her mouth, stopping her from shouting or even uttering a word as the two of them stared at one another. Once she had stopped shouting, he finally removed his hand from her mouth slowly, and Eliza could finally breathe again.
“Who are you?” she asked, not struggling to pull away. She might simply be acting naïve, but he did not really scare her, his presence almost comforting.
“A guest at the masquerade.”
“I already gathered that.” Eliza rolled her eyes, hoping he had not seen it in the dark, but the chuckle that escaped his lips was enough to tell her he had. His voice was velvety and rich, too heavy and masculine. It sent tingles down her spine, making her feel things she had not imagined one could feel.
“So let me ask you, who are you?”
“A maid at the house,” she replied quickly, trying to push him away and duck from underneath his arm, but he was standing much too close, and Eliza felt as if escape was impossible. “We must not be here together. It is not right.”
“Who said so?”
“Rules of propriety. Let me go at once.”
To Eliza’s surprise, he moved away without saying another word, giving her room to move, but Eliza stayed standing by the tree. Now that he was further away, the scent of cinnamon and spice that had invaded her nostrils became faint, and a part of her missed it.
What had the man done to her? And why was she not moving even though he was no longer pinning her to the tree trunk?
“You haven’t moved.” He smiled, noticing what she had noticed, and Eliza blushed scarlet.
Her only consolation was that he would not be able to see her face in the darkness of the night, hiding her reaction from him. The mystery man backed away even further, and Eliza finally moved, beginning to leave.
“You must head back to the ballroom.”
“And where will you go?”
“Certainly not in the ballroom.” She smiled at him, even though her heart was filled with sadness.
“Why not? Someone as beautiful as you deserves to be in a beautiful gown dancing with a Prince Charming at the ball. Don’t you think?”
