Her mother would push, Celestine would push back, and in the end these men would come to realize that Celestine was a bad bet not worth taking.
A most sad state of affairs, but the best I can hope for.
“Fine,” she sighed. “Just tell me what I need to do.”
“Tomorrow night.” Her mother sat up. “There is a masquerade ball at Lord Amberhall’s estate. Half the ton will be there, as will you, I might add. I am not saying that you must find courtship immediately, Celestine. But please, for me, attend and be seen so the ton knows that you are not broken.”
Celestine had stopped listening.
A masquerade ball? Half the ton? But that meant…
“N – no,” she stammered and sat up. “I cannot go to that, Mother.”
“And why not?”
Celestine looked pleadingly at her. “Because Ed –” She grimaced. “His Grace will be there. His niece is sure to attend, and he will not let her go without him.”
Her body started to tremble with fear. Alone in her room all week, she had worked so hard to convince herself that what hadhappened was for the best. And while she did not believe it, she believed that a few more weeks of this might just see her through to the other side in one piece.
But if she was to see Edward in the flesh… if their eyes were to meet… if she saw how well he was getting on without her, and how easy it was for him… it would break her such that she might never recover.
“Oh…” Her mother blinked and then waved her away. “Good, I hope he is there.”
“Mother –”
“You did nothing wrong, Celestine,” she cut her off. “And the ton knows it. Let him see you. Let everyone see how he has no power over you. And let him see other men fall to their knees for your attention.” She laughed. “Yes, let him know what he is missing.”
If only it was that easy.
There was nothing Celestine could do, as her mother had the bit between her teeth and would not be letting go any time soon. She would attend this ball tomorrow evening, she would see the duke, and then…I truly have no idea.
What Celestine did know, and this was without question, was that it was sure to be a painful, long evening. Just as it was sure to make her feel worse than she already did. No easy feat, but nothing about this had been easy so far.
Chapter Thirteen
Thank God for masks…
Edward swept his gaze across the bustling ballroom, searching out the guests in attendance while trying hard not to focus on any one in particular. There were scores of them, spread far and wide, all engaged in socializing as they drank and laughed and chattered among themselves while moving to and fro; never stopping, always on the move because events like this were intend for meeting as many people as one could do to remind that that you existed and ought to be remembered.
Most importantly, while the women wore colorful gowns and the men wore smart suits, every single person at the ball had their face covered by a mask.
“Oh, it is so exciting!” Millicent literally shook as Edward led her through the busy ballroom. She had been a ball of excited energy all day, and it had only gotten worse since they arrived. “Look at it, Edward. It is so beautiful.”
“Yes, it is nice,” he said stiffly as his eyes swept the room.
“It is better than nice,” she snapped playfully. “Although, I do wonder how I am supposed to catch the eye of a suitor? It is not as if he can see my face.”
“Trust me, that will not be a problem.”
“How come?”
“We have our ways,” Edward said vaguely, still looking this way and that. “You forget that this town is not so large. You might be new here, but it takes more than a mask to hide who is beneath it.”
“Oh,” Millicent said as she considered this. “So, they will see you and know who I am?”
“Something like that.”
“You better not go far then,” Millicent giggled. “I do enjoy the masks, but they make it hard to see. But they look wonderful, don’t they? I wonder where Sandra is? She did not tell me what mask she was going to wear…” Millicent spoke quickly, more to herself than to Edward, a natural consequence of her nervousness.
