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domino which she had laughingly discarded when
the clock chimed and her cheeks were flushed from the
warmth of the room. Tristan was so enthralled he nearly
missed Giles’s toast.
    “Here’s to our prospects of love in the upcoming year and
to the return of Tristan. Our circle is complete again.” Giles
turned to Tristan, his voice booming amid the hubbub. “My
old friend, we are glad you’re home safely!” Giles raised his
glass in salute to Tristan, who smiled humbly in the wake of
his friend’s enthusiasm.
    Tonight, with all of them together again, Tristan could
almost believe he’d never been away. His friends had
embraced him with their usual warmth and they’d easily fallen into the camaraderie they’d shared in the past. A small
smile touched his lips as he recalled how he’d met the four
people that surrounded him now.

    The four of them had grown up together on neighboring
Lake District estates. When the three boys went off to Eton
together, Tristan joined the group then through the fortune
of being Alain’s roommate. They had taken him in, joking
that Alain needed someone with a decidedly English pedigree to balance out Alain’s unfortunate moniker bestowed on
him by his overzealous French mother. They’d immediately
decided that nothing could be more English sounding than
“Gresham” The bond between him and Alain had been
sealed.
    “I have long thought that masquerades became dull dogs
once everyone unmasked. What’s the fun of realizing you’ve
just spent an evening with the same people you spend every
evening?” Chatham remarked, using his height to scan the
ballroom. “People are much more fun when they’re someone else.” Of them all, Chatham was the tallest, and the
darkest, with coal black hair and keen near obsidian-colored
eyes that missed nothing. Tristan long thought Chatham
would have made an excellent reconnaissance officer.
    Giles cleared his throat. “I knew you would say that. So,
to preempt your impending boredom, I have arranged for
something special. If you will all follow me?” He cocked a
challenging blond eyebrow at the group, daring them to dispute his latest game.
    Chatham groaned. “Whatever you have in mind, we’ll
have to do it here. It’s positively a crush in here and I doubt
there are any other rooms unoccupied at this point.” He gave
Giles and Alain a wicked wink. “Who knows what kind of
decadence we may uncover if we go opening closed doors.”
    “Never fear, I’ve planned for that contingency as well.
The only private place I could secure was the verandah.”
With his trademark efficiency, Giles ushered the group
towards the row of French doors leading out onto the wide
verandah overlooking the now dark gardens. There would be nothing to see out there tonight in the dead of an English
winter. No one would bother them. They would have their
privacy.

    Tristan hung back, finding himself reluctant to engage in
whatever scheme Giles had concocted. A tug on his arm
indicated that Giles would not let him slip away. Giles had
maneuvered back through the crowd to usher him along.
“Come on, Tristan. I’ve planned this bit of fun especially for
you. Alain says you’re determined to find a wife.” Giles
winked at him and managed to deftly relieve a passing footman of two champagne bottles. Giles’s deft antics made him
laugh and Tristan found himself capitulating to his friend’s
well intended contrivances.
    Once on the verandah, Tristan watched Giles settle them
all on the wide stone steps, and pour everyone another glass.
    “Let’s get on with it, Giles. It’s freezing out here!” Chatham
griped, blowing in his hands and rubbing them together.
    “Drink your champagne and stop carping,” Giles scolded.
“Besides, after the heat of the ballroom the cold is welcome.”
Then he got down to the business at hand, the surprise. “In
honor of Valentine’s Day, I have invited the lovely Irina