Read The Masquerade for Free Online

shocking and very bold experiences; Anna in some rapture, Georgie rather disapproving, and Lizzie wondering if she would ever be kissed, even once, before she became an old maid.
    Lizzie looked at the emerald-green velvet gown on her bed that was her costume. It was a beautiful but simple dress, with long bell sleeves and a square, modest neckline. Still, it clung to her figure rather provocatively. Lizzie sat down beside it. She pulled a freshly laundered linen handkerchief from her bodice and stared at the boldly embroidered initials on it: TDW . Gripping the kerchief, she closed her eyes, wishing she could redo their encounter of the day before. But no amount of wishing would change anything, she thought dismally. She had been given a single chance to impress Tyrell de Warenne and she did not need any experience at all to know she had not succeeded.
    Anna returned to the bedroom with Georgie. Dressed as a woman from Norman times, Georgie wore a long purple tunic with a gold sash, her hair in a single braid. She faced Lizzie, her stare direct and searching. “Anna says you are behaving oddly. But then, you have been acting strangely since you came back from St. Mary’s yesterday. What is it? I do not believe you are ill!”
    Lizzie slipped the kerchief back into her bodice. “He rescued me yesterday outside of St. Mary’s,” she whispered.
    “Who rescued you?” Georgie demanded. “And from what?”
    Anna sat down beside her as Lizzie spoke. “I was almost run down by a coach. Tyrell de Warenne rescued me,” she said.
    Both sisters gaped.
    Georgie cried, “And you are telling us this now? ”
    Anna was as stunned. “Tyrell de Warenne rescued you? ”
    Lizzie nodded. “He rescued me—and he was so kind! He swore he’d chase those scoundrels down and give them his mind. He wanted to see me home. ” Lizzie looked up at her incredulous siblings. “I acted like a child. I told him he was kind, heroic and handsome!”
    Georgie seemed amazed, and Anna remained quite disbelieving. Georgie finally said, carefully, “So what, exactly, is wrong? Haven’t you been waiting for a genuine encounter with him your entire life?”
    “Didn’t you hear what I said?” Lizzie cried. “He must know exactly how I feel!”
    “Well, you could have been more discreet,” Georgie agreed sensibly.
    Anna stood with a little laugh. “Men love to be told that they are strong and brave and handsome. I can’t believe he rescued you. Lizzie, you must tell us everything! ”
    “You could tell a gentleman that the sky is falling on his head and he would swear you are right.” Lizzie refuted. “You could tell a man that his pockmarks are adorable and I feel certain he would get down on one knee! I am sure I did not flatter Tyrell de Warenne in a sophisticated manner. In fact, I saw him start to laugh at me. I acted like a child.”
    “He laughed at you?” Anna asked. Then, “He must have realized you are only sixteen!”
    Georgie came to the rescue. She sat down on Lizzie’s other side and put her arm around her. “I am sure you are grossly exaggerating, Lizzie. I am sure he did not mind being told that he was handsome. As Anna has said, men love to be admired. Just think of it! He rescued you—why, that is the stuff of the novels you read!”
    Lizzie moaned. “I have yet to tell you the worst part! I was a muddy mess, Georgie. I had mud all over my dress and even in my hair.” She did not add the very worst part—that she had been thinking about being in his arms and that she suspected he had guessed. “He is a gentleman and he played the role perfectly, but I feel certain he does not think highly of me at all.”
    “No gentleman would fault a woman for her appearance, not in such a circumstance, Lizzie,” Georgie said calmly.
    Lizzie looked at her. “I was as foolish as Mama, prattling on. Maybe I am a foolish woman—after all, I am her daughter.”
    “Liz! You are nothing like Mama,” Georgie said with some small