The woman startled; her eyes flew open. He came closer, into a circle of light that spilled onto the lawn. Giving his most charming smile, he held up the mask. She frowned, assessing him. Her gaze fell onto the mask, and the frown deepened.
“You may keep the dratted thing.”
“It’s not really my style.” Cage laid the mask on the balustrade. She sighed, and a delicate fingertip traced the edge of the mask. “Miss, are you all right?”
“Have you ever wanted to run away? Go somewhere no one knows who you are and start over.”
“Yes.” He had been running his whole damned life.
“Did you? Run, I mean.”
“Yes.”
“Did it work? Can you outrun who you are?” She gazed down at him with wide sad eyes.
He thought of the name on the invitation in his pocket. “No. No, you can’t.”
She straightened at his response. Wiping her cheeks with the back of one hand, she appeared to gather her emotions. “What you must think of me standing here feeling sorry for myself when I have so much. A wonderful family, all the pretty things I could ever want.” She took in a deep breath. “I’m sorry you were witness to my display of self-pity. Perhaps you could forget this entire conversation?”
“As you wish, my lady.” He gave a bow. He knew all too well that money was not always a buffer to suffering. He wondered what she wanted to run from.
“I best get back inside before someone notices I am missing.” She gave a small curtsy and rushed off down the veranda, leaving the glittering mask behind.
Chapter 3
Caroline walked down the veranda, keeping away from the torchlight. She just needed to make it to the nearest door to the ballroom without being spotted. Male laughter caught her attention, and she flattened herself against the brick of the house. Drat. A knot of four gentlemen stood twenty feet down the patio, a white cloud of smoke surrounding them. Light from the ballroom spilled out onto Gaylord, Dresden, Yates, and Hughes. Her shoulders relaxed; well, those boys were nothing she couldn’t handle. Half of them were former suitors. Just as she prepared to step out and breeze by them with a witty remark, she heard her name.
“I heard Devonshire went to Gilchrest and offered for Caroline Langdon,” Dresden said.
“What? Is he a glutton for rejection? That ice queen will never marry.” Gaylord snorted.
“Bitter?” Yates punched Gaylord in the arm.
“She’s turned away twelve offers of marriage. All good chaps. Hughes, you’ve been turned down as well, right?”
“For the best. If she’d said yes, I probably would have frozen my bullocks off on my wedding night,” Hughes chimed in. “Her dowry is worth thirty thousand pounds, so perhaps it would have been worth it.” All four men erupted into laughter.
“I think we’ve dodged a bullet, Hughes. No man wants to be married to that frigid bitch.”
Caroline placed a hand over her mouth to stifle her gasp. Her face flamed in indignation. The men threw down the cheroots and stomped out the glowing ends. Their conversation rumbled out of earshot as they walked away. Tears burned at the back of her eyes. She took in a gulp of the night air.Those bastards.She was not frigid. Just because she didn’t care to be shackled to nitwits like them didn’t mean she wasn’t capable of warmfeelings for a man. She bit down on her bottom lip, fighting back her tears. They didn’t know a thing about her. All they saw was a conquest.
Caroline brushed away tears for the second time that night. Damn them for making her doubt herself. She was not frigid. She just knew better. She had let herself be whisked away on the tide of passion once before, and where had it gotten her, kidnapped, ransomed, assaulted. No, she would never be that naïve again. She squared her shoulders and made her way to the doors to the ballroom.
She slipped in, walking behind an older couple as they entered. Caroline wove her way through the guests pausing next to a large bust of Socrates, which sat atop a white marble pedestal. She spotted her mother standing nearby with a family friend.
“Oh, hello, Mother, Lord Warick.” Caroline curtsied. “I was just looking for you.”
Her mother’s sharp eye roamed over her, and Caroline hoped her face wasn’t flushed from being outside. She tugged at one earring, running her fingers over the smooth stones.
“Were you? Perhaps that’s why you missed your dance with Lord Cullum? He came searching for you not ten minutes ago.”
Drat! Had she been outside that long? “That’s strange. I wondered where my dance partner had gone off too. It’s so crowded tonight, isn’t it?” She glanced around the room, trying to avoid her mother’s gaze.
“And where is your mask, young lady?” Her mother raised one eyebrow as if to say she knew exactly where her daughter had been. Luckily, Caroline was saved by a tap on the shoulder. She turned to find Mr. Fenwick’s eager face smiling at her. His domino was plain black, covering just his eyes.
“Lady Caroline, I believe I have your next dance.”
Saved from interrogation, she nodded enthusiastically. “Please excuse me, Mother.”
