Her gaze moved to the decorated column before returning to him. “What are you hiding from? I assure you, there are no Gauls attending this fête.”
Gauls? It took him a moment before he understood, which only baffled him the more, for how would she know about the Roman and Gaul wars? Now he was truly intrigued. “And what do you know of the ancient Gauls?”
She tapped two fingers against her chin as she thought, then a sly smile lifted her lips. “Only what I’ve read.”
He laughed at her clever reply. She was obviously being purposely mysterious, and he was never one to let a mystery go unsolved. About to reply, he halted as the last shepherdess passed directly behind his mystery woman. His confidence in finding the right woman wavered. If the lady before him was the shepherdess he sought, she would have needed to change costumes before dinner. Would she go to such lengths to remain unknown?
“You appear confused, my lord.”
At her statement, he took a risk. “I am. Do you know the name of the lady in the shepherdess costume who is entering the floor to dance?”
His mystery woman leaned to the right to look behind him. “I do. But if I told you her name, then her disguise would be for naught.”
Though he knew he may be wrong about the mystery woman, helet the shepherdess’s identity remain unknown for now. His gut told him the one he sought stood before him. “That’s true. Just as I don’t know your name either.”
“No, you do not. But I know you as Lord Tamworth, younger brother to Lord Sommerset. You are visiting for the holidays, after which, you will return to mentor great younger minds at Oxford.”
She was well informed, and he had no doubt the information was obtained from Lady Rose, a close family friend. “It appears you know much more about me than I know about you. Could you perhaps give me a name by which I might address you for this night? In my mind, I can only think of you as ‘mystery woman,’ but there are, indeed, so many mystery women in attendance.”
“I do see your dilemma and wouldn’t wish to cause you any head pains on my behalf. So, you may call me Rosalind, but be aware it is not my true name.”
“Lady Rosalind. It is my utmost pleasure to make your acquaintance. May I ask if you have any similar characteristics to the strong-willed, brave, and very wise Rosalind from Shakespeare’sAs You Like It, who takes control of her own destiny by dressing as a shepherd?”
Her chin lifted, but as he could only see her mouth, which did appear to have very soft lips, he could not be sure if she was surprised or insulted by his reference.
“I do indeed. How astute of you.”
From her behavior so far, he was not surprised, but there was still doubt in his mind. Would such a witty woman have run from him at his unexpected kiss? Would she not yell or at the very least stomp on his foot? It was the timidity in the lady he’d kissed that didn’t fit with what he knew of the character Rosalind. For the second time, he was stymied. Should he leave off and pursue the final shepherdess?
“I can see that your mind is greatly occupied, so I won’t keep you any longer.”
As she turned in a swirl of black cape, his heart jumped. “No, wait.Perhaps you can aid me in my quest.”
She looked back at him over her shoulder. “You are on a quest?”
He’d often found talking a problem aloud helped him to solve it, so perhaps he could talk to her. It could serve him twofold. “I am indeed, and you may be of great aid.”
Rosalind hesitated, but finally faced him. “What do you seek, my lord?”
Relieved, he chose his words carefully. “I’m searching for a woman, whom I wish to apologize to.”
“Apologize? What wrong could you have done her?”
“I fear I mistook her for someone else.”
“At a masquerade?” Rosalind waved her hand. “That cannot be an offense that warrants an apology, for isn’t the enjoyment of a masquerade to remain unknown? Surely the lady preened at having so completely duped you.”
He grimaced at the memory of the fair shepherdess’s rounded eyes before she spun and ran away. “I fear that was the opposite of her reaction. She was properly horrified, and I wish to profusely and humbly apologize.” If Rosalind was not said lady, he didn’t wish to reveal too much. “The lady I thought she was would have been excited to see me. Unfortunately, this lady was not. I have to admit, I wish to know this lady better, as I very much enjoyed my time with her.”
Rosalind’s eyes rounded in the exact same way that his shepherdess’s had. Shemustbe the one. He wanted her to be the one.
“I’m rather confused. How could you enjoy the company of a lady who looks at you in horror?”
He blinked, not sure how to answer without revealing all.
“Is it perhaps a case of your feelings not being returned?”
“No. I’m quite certain that it is not that, as we don’t know each other. However, I would very much like to remedy that.”
