Regency Masquerade Read Online Free PDF Page A

mused.  “No I do not think I have met
her.  I could ask Sophie if you like, she knows everyone !  Do come and
meet her, I am sure you would get on famously!”
    Frances
hesitated, the knowledgeable Lady Fairfax sounded like someone she should
definitely avoid, as she would certainly be much more interested in her
background and credentials than the artless Sammy.  She had a sudden
inspiration, why not tell the truth? Or at least part of it.  Her look of
embarrassment was not wholly feigned.
    “Another
time perhaps ... you see the trouble is that this gown,” she gestured at it,
“was actually made for Lady Fairfax!  She found it did not suit her but I just
fell in love with it.  However, you do see why I could not meet her while
wearing it!”
    Sammy
looked concerned. “No, I do see that.  Well, I shall ask her about your cousin
myself and pass it on to you later.” She smiled conspiratorily and they both
replaced their masks and stepped out into the ballroom.
 Sammy was immediately surrounded by a flock of young men, eagerly begging her
for the next dance.  She smiled happily at all of them, “No thankyou Sir
Thomas, I’ve danced with you already and you too Jack, I mean Mr Lambert.  What
is the next dance by the way? Oh a waltz?  Then I shall be pleased to accept
you Nick, you dance it beautifully.”  She was whisked away by a slender young
man with bright red hair and freckles and Frances found that the man she had
addressed as Jack Lambert was asking her to dance instead. 
    “I
don’t think we have been introduced yet, Miss ...?” he paused invitingly.
    “Diana”
answered Frances smiling saucily.  She spoke with a slight French accent.  “And
I would love to dance, thank you m’sieur.”
    He
looked at her with rather more interest and led her out onto the dance floor. 
Like many of the guests he had not come in costume but merely wore a black mask
over his eyes.  Jack Lambert was a tall well built man with broad shoulders and
the well muscled thighs of an athlete. He was a little older than the other two
men, perhaps nearer to thirty than twenty.  Although he danced superbly, Frances
thought that he would be more at home on horseback or even in a boxing ring. 
He held her firmly but impersonally and Frances enjoyed the sheer speed and
movement of the dance, despite a wayward moment of speculation as to how
Carleton would be to dance with.  They exchanged a few idle commonplaces but
Frances noticed the curiosity in his eyes as he studied her.
    “Do
I know you?” he asked.
    “No,
you haven’t met me before,” she said boldly.  “In fact I doubt you will meet me
again.  I am just up to London for a short visit.”
    “Where
do you come from, Diana?”
    “Abroad,”
she replied.
    He
raised his eyebrows. “But you know Sammy Fairfax?”
    Frances
was silent as they spun neatly around a slower couple in their path, then said
frankly, “No, I met her for the first time tonight.”
    “A
woman of mystery indeed!”
    She
laughed, enjoying being able to hold his attention.  She had noticed the blonde
Rosamond staring at them from  the sidelines and was pleased he hadn’t glanced
at her.  Lambert watched the mischievous smile on her lips and said suddenly,
“I have an odd feeling that you are not a respectable person Diana.”
    “No”
she agreed, “I am an adventuress.  Lord and Lady Dalrymple have never met me
before and I just walked in off the street!”
    For
a second he almost believed her, then laughed at her joke.  He recalled then
that Lady Fairfax was a tall woman and also Sammy’s sister-in-law by Jove. 
Perhaps it was her, that mask certainly concealed a lot of her face.  “Forgive
me,” he answered.  “I shall be anxious to see you again after midnight, per
chance I will find I know you after all.”
    Frances
just smiled demurely and he considered the possibility of setting up a
flirtation with her, discreetly of course.  The music finished at that point
and