Page 30 of The Marquess' Disguised Heiress
Terror clouded her expression, and he immediately decided to let it go, knowing he could not let her suffer more than she must already suffer being Lady Victoria’s sister.
“Oh, but forget it,” he said offhandedly, sounding casual, “I am sure I must be remembering wrong. My memory does get the worst of me at times.”
Lady Margaret laughed nervously, the tension beginning to leave her body at last.
“Of course.” She sighed deeply.
“I must tell you that I have always had quite a fancy for hair as dark as yours.” He smiled. “It looks beautiful on you, especially with the red ribbons.”
Lady Margaret blushed again, clearly not used to compliments. Alexander was certain she had spent all her life in the shadow of her sister and constantly being reprimanded by her mother and father. He could see the miserable life she must have led, and he simply wished to boost her confidence only if slightly. Lady Margaret deserved this much, at least, and Alexander wanted to be there to give it to her.
“Thank you, My Lord.”
“You must get compliments from young men all the time. You are truly marvellous to look at.”
“Are you jesting?” she asked, despite being crimson from the praise Alexander was administering to her.
“I am being entirely honest, My Lady,” he reassured her, “you must take my word for it.”
“I must thank you for your kindness.”
The set came to an end, and he quickly bowed to her, excusing himself. Dinner had been announced, and Alexander needed to discern and find out all the people who were close to the Russels. Anyone close to them could give him potential information regarding the family and the clearly uncouth means they had used to steal away all that belonged to Eliza through her father’s will.
He walked through the maze of people into the drawing room where Lord and Lady Leicester were already seeing to the comfort of their guests.
He settled down, his mind only on one thing. He needed to make sure the Russels saw the end of them, and he needed to do it soon.
Chapter 8
Three in the morning, good God. Eliza groaned loudly, walking into the kitchen, which was still filled with servants as they cleared up the dishes from dinner and the refreshments earlier. The ball was still not over, almost half the guests still present and dancing as if the night had just started.
She failed to understand where they found the courage to have such an exhausting routine night after night, but she promptly remembered that none of them had been awake since the wee hours of the morning.
Eliza had been, though. She had woken up at first light and made sure all the preparations for the masquerade ball were underway, with nothing left behind. She had been on her feet all day with very little sleep, and the night was still not over. Not for several hours, at least.
“Are you okay?” Lara whispered from behind, and Eliza turned to look at her kind face.
She shook her head, too tired to speak.
“My dear,” Lara sighed, “who asked you to volunteer to be the last one to fall asleep amongst the servants? You need more sleep than all the others since you have been working all day for the ball.”
“It is alright, Lara.” Eliza smiled, even though her legs were sore with discomfort from walking all day.
“You must step outside for a little while and rest in the open night air. I will see to anything that needs to be done here.”
“Are you sure?”
“Of course.” Lara lovingly touched her shoulder, and Eliza instantly felt comforted.
She opened the back door of the kitchen and stepped into the gardens, which were marked with shadows.
The early morning breeze greeted her with open arms, and she breathed it in, having felt claustrophobic for the past hour after being around the ballroom. Her head hurt from the music and the noise, and all she wanted was a little bit of silence and some peace.
“If there are any ghosts or fae in the garden right now, pardon me for disturbing your sleep. I have only done so for I seek a little bit of rest myself and mean no harm,” she whispered into the darkness, staring at the line of trees ahead.
She had always believed in the existence of ghosts, fae and other magical creatures, their presence more apparent at night.
She remembered her mother telling her that the veil between this world and the magical world was thinner at this time of the morning, which was why one must never step out in fear of disturbing and angering something more powerful than oneself.
