The Marriage Trap Read Online Free PDF Page A

had to alter it here and there. The waists were shorter this year and the hems were higher. Frills and furbelows were the order of the day, but those were too fussy for her taste. This was more than a gown to Ellie. It was an investment, her costume for the part she was about to play. Her employers knew nothing of the gown's existence and if they had known, they would have been staggered. No ordinary lady's companion could have afforded a gown of this quality.
    Only the direst of circumstances could have compelled her to put it on. Those dire circumstances always revolved around a desperate need for money. She had to transform herself from plain Ellie Hill, lady's companion, into the ravishing gamester, Madame Aurora. Only Madame Aurora could gain admittance to the kind of establishment Ellie had in mind, the kind of establishment where the stakes were high.
    The right clothes and a judicious use of powder and paint were all that was needed to make the transformation. There was one other thing that was essential. Money.
    She kept enough money in her satin pochette to stake her bets, money that she always replenished from her winnings. If she wanted to, she could have turned her nest egg into a small fortune. She'd always resisted the temptation, first of all because she was Papa's daughter, and secondly because money couldn't buy the things she wanted.
    With only minutes to spare before she went to meet Milton, she took a last critical look in the mirror. She felt like a soldier in dress regimentals. The ivory silk was complemented by a cutaway emerald-green overdress with a quilted hem that matched her quilted pochette. Her satin gloves, which reached above her elbows, and her mask and shoes were also in emerald green. Her only jewelry was a pair of silver combs that had once belonged to her mother.
    So far, so good. Now all she need do was think herself into the part of the dazzling, mysterious Madame Aurora. She'd done it before; she could do it again.
    There was one last ritual before she left Ellie Hill behind. She sent a little prayer to Mama's brother, Uncle Ted, thanking him for passing on to her his vast store of knowledge about gaming and gamesters.

    When she slipped out of her room, she stopped to look and listen. There were a few candles in wall sconces to give her light, but she had no wish to meet anyone on the stairs. Not that anyone would recognize her in her getup, but they might start asking questions if they saw her using the key to let herself out. After midnight, the doors were all locked, and only the porter had the key to admit guests. He wouldn't allow Aurora, a stranger, to pass in or out. She wouldn't let that stand in her way. Clutched in her hand was the spare key she had “borrowed” from the manager's office.
    Not a soul was in sight. Hurrying now, she descended the stairs and made for the side door. The key made a grating sound as she turned it, then she was through the door and into the chill night air.
    Milton was right where he'd promised to be. She whispered, “It was harder to open than I thought it would be.”
    Without a word, in his gentlemanly way, he took the key from her and locked the door. When he handed it back to her, she dropped it in her pochette and smiled up at him. He really had the nicest manners.
    He was Robbie's best friend and, like Robbie, a student at Oxford. Unlike Robbie, however, it was fine for him to take a jaunt to Paris between terms. He was bookish. Things came to him easily. Ellie had never heard of
him
failing an examination.
    Milton offered her his arm. “No one saw you leave?”
    She smiled. “No one. Don't worry, Milton. If anyone had seen me, I would have turned around and gone back to my room. All they would think is that the porter had let me in. You worry too much.”
    “Yes. I know.”
    He was standing there, staring at her as though he'd never seen her before. She'd told him what she would be wearing, but his look of surprise told her that he