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"Uh, yeah."
"See you there!" Cicely said gaily. "Great dress, by the way!" she added admiringly. "My mom said it's definitely vintage Chanel."
So that was it. Sometimes it seemed to Schuyler that high school was so silly. If you dressed a certain way, or looked a certain way, or had the "right" things--like a designer handbag, or the newest cell phone, or an expensive watch--your life was much easier. Schuyler never had any of those things. Cordelia had been strict with her allowance, and she had always been the kid in secondhand sweaters and items from last year's clearance bin.
But the dress, and the fact that it was from a respected and expensive design house, had changed Cicely's perception of her. For the evening, at least.
"Home, Miss Schuyler?"
She had promised to call Oliver the minute she left the party. She had told him that she was only going to stay for a few minutes and depart soon after dinner, but it was already eleven thirty. He would be jet-lagged, Schuyler thought. He's probably passed out in front of the television by now.
The text message must be for the party downtown that other kids at the ball were talking about--the buzz about Mimi Force hosting some kind of bacchanal that evening. Should she go? What could it hurt? Besides, if Mimi was there, that meant Jack would be there too. She thought of how handsome he'd looked in his coattails, and the way he'd stared at her when she'd entered the party, his green eyes boring into hers. Not too long ago, he had been the one who was hell-bent to find out the truth about the Silver Bloods, but he had backed off all of a sudden. But maybe there was still a chance she could convince him to join her in her fight. Since her grandfather had refused to help, she was now adrift. But with Jack at her side...She made up her mind.
"Let's go home, Julius, but just for a minute," Schuyler decided. "I just need to pick up something. A souvenir from Venice. Then we're going downtown."
New York Herald
Archives
NOVEMBER 24, 1871
ENGAGEMENT ANNOUNCEMENT FOLLOWS DISAPPEARANCE OF FORMER FIANCEE
English Lord to Marry Vanderbilt Heiress
The formal announcement of the engagement of Caroline Vanderbilt, the daughter of Admiral and Elizabeth Vanderbilt of 800 Fifth Avenue, to Alfred, Lord Burlington, of London and Devonshire, is the sequel to the mysterious disappearance of Lord Burlington's former fianc?e, Maggie Stanford, the daughter of Tiberius and Dorothea Stanford of Newport.
Maggie Stanford mysteriously disappeared on the night of the Patrician Ball held at Admiral and Elizabeth Vanderbilt's home over a year ago upon the announcement of her engagement to Lord Burlington. The engagement was broken eight months ago while Maggie Stanford was still missing.
As yet, the wedding day of the couple has not been set.
Like many of the guests, when Bliss arrived at the after-party, she gasped in delight. The abandoned synagogue was lit by a thousand tea light candles, casting long and gloomy shadows on the walls. Mimi was right, it looked like a beautiful ruin, and there was something spooky and romantic about dancing only in firelight.
The masks lent the evening an eerie glamour, since all the guests were still in their ball finery. The boys were so handsome in their tailcoats, and the girls gorgeous in their couture ball gowns, and everyone looked a little bit wicked with all those masks.
Bliss fixed the feathered and jeweled mask on her face. It was a little hard to see everyone from behind it. She noticed Schuyler arrive. Good. Bliss had forwarded the message to Schuyler without Mimi knowing.
The DJ was spinning Bauhaus, a dark, violent tune, "Burning from the inside..." A boy in white tie and tails walked up to Bliss, his face hidden underneath a sad Pierrot mask.
He motioned toward the dance floor.
Bliss nodded and followed him. He held out his hands and she stepped into his embrace.
"So you have survived," he whispered, his mouth close to her ear, so that she could feel his breath blow softly.
"Excuse me?"
"I would have hated to let you drown." He chuckled.
"You..."
He put a finger to his lips, or rather to the lips of the Pierrot mask.
"I missed you..." Bliss said. Dylan. It had to be him. He had found her again. How clever to show up at a mas- querade party, where he could appear without causing a fuss.
"I haven't been gone for long," he said earnestly.
