Girl in the Beaded Mask Read Online Free PDF

dresses waited for the bathroom. As she made her way down the wide, winding grand staircase, she saw that the party had spilled from the tents and into the house itself. Knots and rivers of people, loudly laughing and shrieking to each other in greeting, flowed in and out of open doorways and around carved pillars. The smell of perfume and champagne was heavy in the air.
    Lulu slid past them, catching up a pink cocktail from a waiter’s tray as she went back out to the gardens. There were even more people there, and a row of cars with their headlights blazing still made their way up the drive. The strains of “Lovin’ Sam (The Sheik of Alabam’),” her sister’s favorite novelty song, drifted out from the tent along with the click-clack of dozens on high-heeled shoes and the rattle of beads.
    She stood at the top of the front steps and sipped at her drink as she scanned the crowd, looking for David. She couldn’t see him at first, and her heart sank. Had he already left?
    But then she glimpsed him, taller than the crowd that milled around him. He drank a glass of champagne as he stood there at the entrance of the tent, watching the party with a bemused half smile on his face. And her heart pounded all over again with joy to see him there.
    She hurried over to him, dodging around the staggering stream of people until she stood by his side. He looked down at her and his smile widened.
    â€œAre you sure you feel brave enough to jump into that? ” he said, and gestured to the dance floor with his glass.
    It was so packed, a kaleidoscope of black evening suits and bright gowns, that she could scarcely tell one person from another.
    â€œMaybe I need to finish this drink before I give it a try,” she answered. What she really wanted was to be alone with him again. But she didn’t want him to vanish from her life once more.
    â€œYou must go to parties like this all the time,” he said.
    Lulu shook her head. “Deb parties are much more staid and quiet! We have to fox-trot with boys down from Oxford while our mothers keep a close watch.”
    David gave her a wry smile. “I’m surprised you’re not already engaged to one of those Oxford boys. They must be lined up outside your door with offerings of orchids and boxes of chocolates.”
    â€œNot me,” she said with a laugh. “I can’t listen to long stories about shooting parties and cricket games for the rest of my life. I think Mum and Dad might like to get me off their hands, though.”
    â€œI can’t believe that. I never saw such fond parents as Lord and Lady Hatton. Your house always seemed so warm and welcoming, full of fun.” David’s voice sounded sad and distant.
    Lulu gently touched his arm. “It still is. We’d love to see you there so much. Mum and Dad and Jessica talk about you so often. I think Mum worries about you.”
    He laughed. “Does she?”
    â€œYou know what a mother hen she is, always feeding people and tucking shawls around them. Won’t you come and see us sometime soon?”
    He gave an unreadable look, and for an instant she dared to hope he would come. But then the music slid into a slow, lilting song, and he turned away from her to watch the dance floor. It cleared of the thickest crowd, leaving couples clinging to each other as they drifted in slow circles.
    David took her empty glass from her and deposited it along with his on a tray. “Come with me,” he said, and offered her his arm to lead her out of the tent and into the house.
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    David held on close to Lulu as he slowly led her up the stairs. With her he forgot about his limp, his scars, he even forgot the terrible nightmares that plagued him. The guilt that never left him.
    In her shining, hopeful eyes everything looked new, and made him feel new, too. Made him look at the world in brand-new ways.
    Come back to Hatton Hall. Her soft plea echoed in his mind. Once