“I’m not, sir. I’m actually waiting for my friend,” the other man’s voice called from outside.
Groaning, she squeezed her eyes closed. Fervently, she prayed that this person had not seen her in a room where she didn’t belong.
“Come inside,” the lord said. “I cannot have you standing so near my wife’s precious rosebushes.” Reynolds flipped his hand. “Move away now.”
“As you wish, sir.”
She opened her eyes again just as the lord closed the windows and pulled the drapes together. He turned and walked toward his desk. She held her breath, clutching her fingers tighter around the book. Please don’t look for the journal.
He shuffled through the papers littered on the top of the desk. Finally, he pulled out a side drawer and sighed.
“Ah, there it is.” He reached inside a drawer and withdrew a canary-yellow mask. Thankfully, it matched well with his bright, obnoxious costume. Chuckling, he placed it over his eyes and tied it behind his head. He glanced in the mirror hanging on the wall, making certain everything was in order.
As he left the room, Nicole released a nervous sigh. Slowly, she crept out of the wardrobe and glanced at the book still clutched in her hand. She slid the journal into the secret pocket that had been sewn inside her gown last night for this very occasion. The wide skirts of the dress helped to hide the bulk of the object. She needed to sneak back down the stairs, out the front door, and toward the area where the buggies and coaches waited without anyone becoming suspicious of her actions.
With her hand on the door handle, she cracked the door open and peeked up and down the corridor. Empty. Satisfied she was alone, she casually walked out and slid the mask over her eyes. As she headed toward the stairs, she linked her hands behind her back and pretended to study each picture hanging on the wall, hoping to appear innocent if anyone noticed her now.
Nicole made it to the grand stairs without a cry of alarm. Slowly, she glided down the carpeted steps, scanning the crowd in the ballroom. More people had arrived while she had been in the study, but she didn’t recognize anyone...except, of course, for her aunt, uncle, and cousin who had invited her to the party.
If truth be known, Nicole had thrown hints their way, hoping to obtain an invite. This extended family took better care of her than her own father.
The three stood near the potted plants on the far side, chatting with other guests wearing masks. Often, Nicole stayed with her relatives, but she still didn’t know all their friends and associates—unless she was investigating them for one reason or another.
Near the bottom of the stairs, something caught her eye. A tall man leaned against the wall, watching her. She didn’t need to see his face to know how handsome he was. His wavy black hair, chiseled jaw, and wide shoulders would make any woman stare in interest. As she locked gazes with him, he smiled, pulled away from the wall, and moved closer to the railing.
Cautiously, she reached up and patted her hair and then slid her hand down to make sure her mask was in place. Capturing a robust man’s attention wasn’t something she was used to doing.
His mask matched his hair color perfectly, making him appear very mysterious. A dark blue frock coat with gold tassels molded to his broad shoulders, and medals lined his chest. A gold sash draped from his left shoulder across his wide chest, coming together at his right hip. His costume was made for a prince.
She had no idea if they had met before, and with his black mask hiding the top half of his face, he didn’t seem familiar. But he watched her descend the stairs so charmingly that it made her insides flip. She couldn’t tell if her stomach acted this way because of his smile or because she worried that he had somehow seen her come out of Lord Reynolds’ study. She hoped it wasn’t the latter.
Not paying attention to where she placed her feet, she reached the bottom and the heel of her shoe caught on the edge of the stair. She stumbled and gasped. On instinct, she grabbed the railing with one hand and held tighter to the journal hiding in her pocket with the other.
The handsome stranger jumped toward her. His long arms caught her around the waist before she was sprawled on the floor in a mess of silk and satin. Sharing into his eyes, she breathed in his musky scent. Good heavens, he smelled enticing. For the first time in a long while, she was tempted to press her nose against a man’s clothes and inhale.
“Oh, dear.” She breathed deeply. “Thank you for catching me. I cannot believe how clumsy I am tonight.” She glanced at his chest again, decorated like royalty. “I suppose I should be grateful that a prince chose to rescue me.”
One corner of his mouth lifted higher than the other. “It was my privilege to have caught such a lovely woman.”
As she stepped away, her shoe slipped off her foot. She turned to retrieve it, but he crouched down and took it before she could. Picking it up, he lifted his gaze to hers.
“Will you allow me the honor...Cinderella?”
Her heart leaped, and she wished the twittering in her belly would cease as well. She chuckled. “You think I’m Cinderella?”
He shrugged. “You lost a shoe, did you not?”
Smiling fully, she nodded. “Since you appear to be a prince—and a most charming one at that—then I shall allow you the honor.”
She stuck her foot out beneath her gown only far enough for him to slip on her shoe. His fingers grazed across her ankle longer than propriety allowed. Heat spread through her limb from his touch. The meaningful gleam in his eyes let her know he was aware of the effect he had on her.
Slowly, he rose to full height, keeping his gaze on her. He mocked a bow.
“Is there anything else Cinderella needs me to do for her?” He motioned his hand toward the ballroom. “Perhaps escort her for a dance?”
Nicole’s acceptance was on the tip of her tongue—only because she hadn’t been amongst the guests long enough to get her dance card filled—but the pressure of the leather-bound journal outlined in her hidden pocket reminded her that she couldn’t enjoy his company until she delivered the book to her brother. “As much as the offer tempts me, I need to find someone. However, I will return shortly, and we can have that dance.”
“Shall I sign your dance card?”
