Lady Eugenia's Holiday Read Online Free PDF Page A

do so and
discover the identity of her stranger.
    “Did you see him?” Eugenia anxiously asked
Penelope. Penelope? Where had Cynthia gone?
    “See him? How could one not see him?” Penelope
replied in equal excitement. “Dearest Genie … he was so … so …” But words
failed her.
    Although he seemed very real to them, when they
made inquiries about him to the other ladies, they did not seem to recall
seeing this mysterious dark-haired man.
    That was impossible.
    Eugenia was certain that if the other guests had
seen him, they would certainly have remembered him.
    She was grateful Penelope had seen him at the end
of their dance. Cynthia, who was the first to see him, watched as he and
Eugenia had stepped onto the floor. It reassured Eugenia that she was not going
mad, had not brought him to life from her fertile imagination.
    As she and Penelope walked back to the ballroom,
Eugenia fanned herself. Just talking about the stranger caused her face and
neck to warm.
    “You must find him,” Penelope told Eugenia. “If it
is the sole accomplishment of the evening you must know who that man is. And I
shall do all I can to help you.”
    With set determination, they strolled into the
grand room together. On arrival, they noticed straightaway that no one was
dancing. The guests stood silent, staring toward the musicians, the pianist in
particular.
    Cynthia sat next to her mother in the front row. At
the pianoforte, Herr Mueller played a piece Eugenia had never heard with great
flourish and in exquisite form. A small part of Eugenia regretted being tardy
and missing the beginning of his performance.
    “We are most fortunate, Genie,” Penelope whispered
to Eugenia. “We have an excellent opportunity to study all the gentlemen in
attendance.”
    Indeed, all the guests stood or sat quietly,
listening to the musical performance, making the task an easy one. Eugenia’s
gaze passed over the females standing among the gentlemen. She moved her
attention from one gentleman’s face to the next, looking for the familiar
features she thought she remembered so well. He was nowhere to be seen.
    Just as Franz put the finishing touches on the
musical piece, Eugenia saw him standing in the far doorway that led into the
card rooms.
    “There he is!” Eugenia whispered and indicated the
man across the room.
    Penelope saw him immediately. He was leaning
against the open door frame with a contemplative, gold-ring-adorned hand to his
face.
    “It is him.” Penelope stared wide-eyed at him.
Perhaps she thought he would disappear if she should blink.
    “I wonder who he is? ”
Eugenia couldn’t help but be curious. He looked to be someone of great
consequence. If that were true, why would someone such as he single her out for
a dance?
    “I think you should find out,” Penelope said with a
tight smile. “That gentleman made quite a dramatic display to gain your
attention. It is only fair that you should let him know he has done so.”
    Penelope’s tone implied that what she really wanted
to know was why Eugenia and not her? To tell the truth, Eugenia could not help
but wonder that too.
    He must have felt Eugenia stare at him. He returned
her gaze along with an amused smile. Leaning toward his male companion, the
stranger whispered to him.
    Penelope dropped her fan open, hid the lower half
of her face, leaned in, and whispered to Eugenia. “You need to lure him to you.”
    “What?” Eugenia fingered her fan, preparing to
follow Penelope’s instructions.
    “Open your fan,” Penelope repeated. “Draw it toward
your face and gaze at him over the top.”
    Dropping her fan open, Eugenia glanced at her
friend, checking to see if she was applying the fan correctly. She made the
movements slow.
    “Now tilt your head … and turn away from him ever
so slightly.”
    Eugenia turned her shoulder and coyly dropped her
gaze before abruptly returning her attention to his face. Even she knew that
such obvious flirtations to one whom you have not