“Then what about this one, Miss Winfield?” Violet said dreamily as she reached up to take down a gown in a rich plum shade. “It really is beautiful.”
“I have always thought it a little dark for me, given that my hair is so very dark. So I have never worn it.”
“Your hair is dark, but your skin is very pale, Miss Winfield. I think it would look very dramatic indeed, especially with the golden mask and your hair done up in curls. Add white gloves to it, and I think you would look a real sensation.” Violet was getting excited again.
“Yes, curls,” Ella said with equal excitement. “If you gave me a full head of curls, my own mother would not recognize me. I usually wear it up and curl only what frames my face. But to have curls everywhere would be wonderful. I would feel that my disguise was complete, and it would give me such confidence.”
“Then is it settled, Miss Winfield? This beautiful dark gown with your hair in curls and your golden mask?”
“Yes, Violet, it is settled,” Ella said and reached down to pick up the mask that Violet had procured for her.
It was very pretty indeed, and quite birdlike in its appearance. But it was also very full, covering a good deal of her face, leaving only her eyes, mouth, and chin exposed. To satisfy herself once more that it was, indeed, a good enough disguise, she lifted it to her face and looked at her reflection in the mirror.
She imagined her hair all done up in curls, and she thought that, as long as she did not find herself in company with her family at all, they would have no reason to suspect that the young lady in the golden bird mask was somebody they knew, and certainly not Ella herself.
For a moment, she was overcome with a little nervousness at the idea of being caught. If the Earl found out that she was there, Ella could hardly begin to imagine the sort of trouble she would be in.
And then she thought of how casually she had been dismissed, not only by Ronald Belville and his daughters, but by her own mother also.
She was the only one set to stay at home, left alone with little more care than if she had been a servant. Now, the idea was far less frightening and did, instead, seem to lend a certain amount of silly excitement to the whole excursion.
If her life was to be battened down by a stepfather who was afraid she would steal the limelight from his daughters, and a mother who would do anything to appease her new husband, then it was clear that Ella was going to have to carve out some sort of life for herself. And if that meant that she would seek a little adventure here and there, then that was what she was determined to do.
Feeling suddenly very brave, like a pirate or something, she turned to Violet, full of excitement, and pulled her to her, hugging her tightly.
“What on earth would I do without you, Violet?” she said enthusiastically.
“Oh, Miss Winfield, you will make me cry,” Violet squeaked, her voice tiny like a child.
“I do hope I do not get caught tonight,” Ella said and leaned back, looking at her maid with a comical look of fear on her face.
Violet laughed helplessly, and Ella joined her. It was such a wonderful feeling to laugh again, and she could hardly think that she had laughed so openly and so guardedly since before her dear father had died.
She knew that without Violet, life at Dandridge Hall would have been so much more dreadful. And certainly, her little plan would have come to naught because there was no way she could have made it to Hillington Hall that night on her own. She had needed help, and she had been offered it immediately.
“Can you imagine what the Earl will do to me if he ever finds out?”
“Then we must see to it that he never finds out, Miss Winfield,” Violet said firmly. “You just must be sure that you leave the ball before everybody else. However much fun you are having, you must not stay. And you must keep your eye on the Earl and Countess at all times, for they cannot leave before you.”
“Quite so, or they might discover that I am not here at all.”
“And you must take care to stay away from them all night. You must not study them so closely that they realize you are looking, or they might recognize something about you, even if it is just the way you walk or stand. You really will have to keep your wits about you for the whole evening.”
“Yes, and I ought to be afraid of it all. But really, Violet, the more you say, the more excited I feel.”
“Oh, Miss Winfield.” Violet placed a little hand on either side of her own face. “But you must be careful, whatever happens, you must be careful.”
“I will, I promise.”
“And you really must return to William long before the ball is over, for I could not bear to think that either one of you might be discovered.”
“I promise, Violet. Now stop worrying.” Ella smiled broadly at her maid and determined that she would be very careful and do everything that Violet had suggested.
With her heart beginning to beat just a little faster, she sat down at her dressing table as Violet began to make her straight, dark hair a head full of curls.
Chapter 7
As Ella crept through the great estate of Hillington, careful to not make a single sound, she could hardly breathe properly for the excitement. But it was not the ordinary excitement that she had come into contact with in her life, but rather a dreadful, overpowering excitement that was tinged with fear.
Nonetheless, it was strangely invigorating, making her feel alive for the first time since her father had passed away and her life had taken a turn for the worse.
When she reached the edge of the woodland, she peered out towards the front of the great Hall itself. It was a truly magnificent sight, a mansion so large it made Dandridge Hall look like nothing more than a worker’s cottage. She had never been to the home of a Duke in all her life and had hardly imagined that such places existed.
The great gravel apron in front of the immense doors and stone steps at the front of the hall was well lit with numerous great torches, whose flames bobbed and weaved inside their glass cages. There were so many that the hall could be seen so clearly on that dark night, and she could easily make out the great height of the building, not to mention so many windows that it almost took her breath away.
There were carriages pulling up here and there all over the gravel apron, and there was much movement and excitement. Ella immediately realized that this would work in her favour, certainly in terms of keeping her illicit entrance secret. She would simply sneak right into the middle of all the commotion and follow in on a wave of guests, silently sneaking past their host as everybody present clamoured for his attention.
And, when the time came, Ella was surprised to find that it really was as easy as she had imagined. She attached herself to a great swathe of people, all of whom seemed almost to be in competition to get to the stone steps first.
But it was that sort of genteel competition that was common amongst the upper classes, the sort of competition that was made very plain by dint of the fact that everybody taking part tried to appear not to be. It was comical in its own way.
Comical, and very useful. Without even seeing the Duke at all, not even to catch a glimpse of him, Ella was able to make her way through the entrance hall with ease. She handed her hooded cloak to a waiting footman and carefully watched where he hung it so that she could take it back for herself when she made her illicit exit later that evening.
She smiled to herself, pleased that she was already paying a good deal of attention to detail. She would not let Violet down, nor William, she was most determined.
Ella was relieved to note that the ballroom was full to capacity when she entered. She made her way immediately to a table where fruit punch was being served and gratefully accepted a cup from a smiling, handsome young footman.
She looked all around the room, keen to speedily discover the whereabouts of her mother and the Earl and his daughters. She knew she needed to locate them quickly so that she could keep her eye on them all night. She could not slacken in that, for she needed to
know their every move. After all, their every move would likely dictate her own.
As she stared around, grateful for the anonymity that such a fulsome mask provided, she made a good study of many of the other guests. The masks were the usual sort of small and pretty eye covering that did not disguise a young lady completely. No doubt her step-sisters were wearing something similar.
It seemed to her that young ladies everywhere were on their guard, as taut as it was possible to be as they looked surreptitiously this way and that for any sign that the Duke was nearby. They were no doubt waiting impatiently for him to finish greeting the last of his guests, all of them hoping for their chance of a few minutes with him.
And the families looked equally taut, so aware of their surroundings as they eyed other families and other daughters. It really was a dreadful sight. So many beautiful young ladies all prepared to be bartered away by proud fathers, men who wanted the reflected glory of a wonderful title, not to mention the connections it would afford them.
How glad she was for her own dear father. Even though Winston Winfield had passed, that wonderful old Baron had never thought for a moment to push his daughter into such a thing. Even though Ariadne had badgered him for years, determined that he should go out of his way to find a suitable match for Ella, he had never done so. All he wanted in the world was for his daughter to be happy in the choice that she made, and he was determined that the choice was hers.
Even though she had lost him so very early, Ella realized how grateful she was to ever have had him at all. Although he had been in her life but twenty years, he was the most important, wonderful influence that a young woman could ever hope for. He had taught her to have self-respect, to value herself more highly than she might otherwise have done.
He was the one who had taught her that she was not just a pretty face, not just a suitable hanger for a beautiful gown. She was a person with likes and dislikes, with humour and humility, with intelligence and poise. And, as long as she lived, she would never forget that.
At that moment, her eyes fell upon the Earl of Dandridge, and her heart almost stopped beating. For a dreadful moment, she felt as if their eyes had met, and she wondered if he had recognized her instantly. She felt rooted to the spot, not needing to fight the urge to run away because her legs would not move even if she had made that demand of them. She was suddenly terrified.
And then, just as quickly as he had looked at her, he looked away again. He was smiling and nodding at an acquaintance and quickly fell into conversation, despite the fact that he remained extraordinarily vigilant, probably waiting for the Duke as much as every other ambitious father in the room.
Ella decided to keep moving, choosing not to linger in any one place lest anybody tried to strike up conversation with her. The more she moved, the less people would realize that she was a woman alone, a thing most unlikely at any event, and certainly a ball.
All the while, she kept her eyes on the family she so despised.
When an elderly gentleman whose mask showed that he had put in very little effort at all approached the Earl, Ella studied him with interest. Not just because of the way he had approached her stepfather, but because he had approached with a younger man. The man wore such a full mask that he could hardly be made out at all. But he was tall and broad, that much she could tell, and his hair was as black as coal and gleamed under the light of the chandeliers.
She knew, without a doubt, that he must be the Duke of Hillington. Even though she had not spied him at all when she had made her illicit way in through the great entrance hall, she could tell by the way that her family suddenly reacted that he must surely be the man himself.
Ronald Bellville, ordinarily such a pompous man who held himself straight-backed and aloof, seemed stooped, albeit just a little. It was a deferential stoop, one which spoke volumes about the difference in the relative statuses of the two men. It was certainly a sight that Ella had never imagined seeing, and she had to stifle a laugh as she watched from afar.
Patience and Georgiana, by contrast, had become even more puffed up and preening than ever. As the little group talked, both young women continually tossed their heads and pushed out their ample busts in a most obvious manner. And, every so often, they passed each other frustrated, appraising little looks.
How funny the little competition looked, especially when they had identical blonde hair, and their masks hid any tiny differences between them. It was a ridiculous competition, and one that was still so very distasteful to Ella. And yet, as distasteful as it was, it really was so amusing.
For a moment, she wished she knew what they were all saying, and had to content herself with imagining it all. No doubt Ronald would be at his charming best, hiding the worst of his nature quite successfully beneath an endless stream of platitudes.
But the girls would be unable to contain themselves, with Patience undoubtedly inserting into the conversation that she was the oldest, so she must come first. Perhaps she would even say that she ought to be married before her sister, Georgiana.
Oh, how wonderful it would be to have such a disguise that she could stand right next to them without them knowing. What fun she would have to stand so close and hear exactly how it was they conducted themselves in such a situation.
The older man with the grey hair and the small eye mask seemed to do a good deal of the talking, spending more time with the Earl than the Duke himself did. For his part, the Duke did not seem particularly animated, but rather bored.
Every so often, he looked around as if searching for some escape and, once again, Ella found herself almost laughing. What a peculiar set of people they were. The Duke seemed so uncomfortable that she would have felt sorry for him, had she not already found his mode of finding a wife to be so at odds with everything she thought was right.
And yet, there was something in the way he stood. Something in the way he turned his head now and again. And his mask was so incredibly full, it was as if he did not want to be known. But he was being introduced as the Duke of Hillington, she had no doubt. How curious he was.
After some minutes, the Duke excused himself and set off across the ballroom to make some conversation with somebody else altogether.
The grey-haired man, however, continued to converse with Ronald, who looked pleased with himself as if everything had gone very well.
He was straight-backed once more, and Ella thought it amazing how his pompous character could be cast off and thrown on again like a cloak. How very duplicitous people in society really were!
She watched them for a while longer, continuing to move around the place as she did so. She made her way back to the table for another glass of fruit punch and stood at its far end watching for a while.
“Are you enjoying the punch, My Lady?” A very deep and rich voice startled her out of her single-minded surveillance of her family.
Ella turned to look and almost gasped when she saw the full and somewhat long-beaked mask of the Duke of Hillington.
“Yes, very well indeed, sir,” she said, keen to not give away her hand and let him know that she realized immediately who he was. After all, it was a masquerade ball, and she would do well to feign ignorance of his identity. “I am extraordinarily fond of fruit punch,” she said and then laughed at the ridiculousness of her assertion.
“Well, then so am I,” he said and laughed also. “Tell me, are you enjoying the masquerade ball?”
“Yes, I am enjoying it very well. There is something very freeing about a mask, is there not?” she said and began to enjoy herself a little.
Ella realized that she could speak quite freely with a man whom, ordinarily, she would be expected to be in awe of. But if she could claim ignorance of his identity, then she could continue to have a little adventure and come out of the thing unscathed.
After all, the two of them had never met, and so there was no chance of him recognizing her. And, after the evening was finished, she would run off into the night, and he would never be any the
wiser that the young lady who had spoken to him so boldly was not a fine lady, but simply the Honorable Ella Winfield, daughter of the late Baron Winfield.
“I think there is too, My Lady, but I should like to hear your reasons for saying so.”
“And why would you like to hear my reasons for saying so?” She was fighting against all reason, the very core of her being willing her to caution, even though she would not heed it.
“To see if it matches with mine, why else?” He laughed, and it was so deep that she could almost feel it in her chest.
“Well, since I am a firm believer that such frankness should be rewarded, I will tell you the truth,” she said in a mock haughty tone.
“Please do,” he said with interest.
“My main reason for enjoying a mask, a very good mask it has to be said, is that it allows one to stare freely around the room without drawing attention. I am able to observe my fellow revelers without them realizing it. Do you not think that is strange that people do not see you sometimes, just because you have covered your face?”
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