Before their moment could continue, Albina came back. Her mask was already in place, and much more lavish than the other two. She shot them both a look.
“Was I interrupting something?” she said, cheekily.
“No, we were only waiting for you,” Temperance narrowed her eyes at her mother. “Can we go now? I suspect that we are getting late.”
“Oh, there is no such thing as being late, darling,” Albina replied. “You know this, and it’s always better to make an entrance.”
Temperance shook her head, laughing. .
When they arrived at the ball, most of the guests had already arrived. They moved across the enormous ballroom in silks and satins and elaborate masks ranging from the simple to the frankly architectural, and the whole effect was of a world slightly removed from the ordinary one, operating by its own rules for the evening.
“I suppose I don’t dislike masquerades as much,” she admitted to him. “They are more bearable than normal balls, though the act of putting on a mask is still too silly to me.”
“I told you before,” Harper went on. “We are all already wearing masks, and these ones are just visible.”
“If that’s the case, what sort of mask do you think I am wearing?” she asked him, suddenly curious.
“Do you really wish for me to answer that honestly?”
“Why not?” she shrugged. “I am not scared of the truth, or your assessment of me.”
“Huh,” he said. “Perhaps I will leave that assessment for later. But for now, I can tell you what sort of masks those around have put on.”
“You are evading the question,” she laughed. “But fine, I shall humor you. Go on.”
He pointed to one of the guests, who was a lanky gentleman. He was speaking to one of the women, and was being entirely too loud.
“That is the mask of insecurity,” Harper noted. “He is overcompensating for something, or trying too hard to impress that poor woman. I am not sure if it is working, however.”
“That’s a rather swift assessment of someone you don’t even know,” Temperance remarked.
“I suppose my mind works faster than most.”
Temperance stifled a chuckle at that. Of all things, she did not know him to be humble.
“What about her, then?” she pointed to a woman, who was not speaking to anyone.
“Mask of self-importance,” he said. “She is waiting to be approached, and thinks too highly of herself. She does not want to be seen with the wrong sort of match.”
“Alright, enough,” Temperance said. “But I shall wait for you to give you my assessment, which you have promised me.”
“In due time.”
They noticed that Albina had already located an acquaintance near the entrance and was being absorbed into a conversation. Temperance watched her go with the fond, familiar ease of someone who had stopped worrying about her mother.
“She is in her element,” Harper said, beside her.
“She always is,” Temperance said. “People think the scandal sheets mean she is bad at society but she is extraordinary at society as she simply does it on her own terms.”
“I have noticed that,” he said, “She has a gift for making people feel that her attention is a considerable thing to have.”
Temperance looked at him. “It is a considerable thing to have.”
“Yes,” he said, simply. “I’m beginning to understand that.”
“I’m surprised you feel that way, considering how harsh you were in your assessment of the others just now,” she admitted.
“Don’t doubt my discernment,” he shrugged. “Tonight, you should stay close to me. I want to introduce you to some suitors.”
