Page 5 of The Marquess’ Disguised Heiress (Love and Secrets of the Ton #13)

Alexander slipped the mask over his face, knowing fully well that the mask covered him in a way where no one would be able to recognize him at the masquerade.

As he stood at the gates of what was now the Russel Estate, he knew there would be no better time than right now to go about his investigation. He simply needed to find Lara, and a part of him was certain she was going to be in the kitchen.

The only problem was, dressed as a noble lord, he would not be able to slip into the kitchen unnoticed, but he would have to take the risk.

“Let’s do it,” he whispered to himself, ignoring the front entrance to the house, which everyone used to enter the ball, and moving towards the back.

He already knew where the back gate was located in the gardens since the servant girl, Beth, had led him to the kitchen through it.

A part of him hoped to find her in the kitchen as well, his heart already wishing to see her again. Even though they had just met yesterday, he enjoyed her company immensely and wanted to do nothing but get to know her better. Although yesterday, he had almost been scared of Lara’s sudden interest in him.

For a second, he felt as if Lara knew or recognized him.

However, now, he would have to go ahead and tell her himself. Only disclosing his identity to her would make her reveal the truth about Eliza once she realized that George was actually Alexander and had come with good intentions. He moved towards the back door, thankful that the place almost appeared empty through the windows in the garden.

All the servants must have been occupied somewhere throughout the house.

Where are you, Lara?

He hastened forward, raking his gaze over the almost empty kitchen, when he suddenly saw a familiar face. Lara stood just by the large sink, her eyes on the plates she was washing, and Alexander felt as if he had done the right thing. Although, he would still need to pull Lara outside, away from all the other servants.

He had no other choice but to call her attention towards him. Alexander stood there, concealed in the shadows, waiting for a few servants to be at some distance before he finally called her out through the open window.

“Lara,” he whispered loudly in the night air, but Lara’s gaze did not once turn towards him.

He tapped lightly on the windowsill, which finally got her attention, and she turned towards Alexander at last. Her eyes widened as she saw him, the furrowed expression turning to worry. He could see she was confused about the whole thing.

“Come here,” he whispered, making a come-hither motion with his hand, which Lara must have understood.

She wiped her hands on a cloth by the sink, looking around to see if anyone was focused on her but thankfully, each servant in the house was too occupied to consider what the old maid was doing.

Alexander moved away from the window, not wanting anyone else to see him, and quietly made his way into the shadows of the gardens. He turned around at last, finding Lara standing right behind him, her face still turned up into a scowl.

“Who are you?” Her question was bold and unhesitating, and Alexander could see she was not afraid of him.

He had no desire to prolong things, simply taking off his mask and watching how her scowl turned to confusion. He could not blame her.

He was playing a dangerous game.

“George?” She eyed him from head to toe, registering the black evening coat and breeches fitting snugly over his tall frame, making him appear nothing short of a noble lord. Just yesterday, he had been in her kitchen, pretending to be a stable hand, but now, everything was different.

“My name is not George,” he sighed. “I am Alexander. Alexander Blackwood, the Marquess of Lennox.”

“Alexander,” Lara whispered as recognition finally dawned in her eyes. A huge smile appeared on her face as she stared at him, and Alexander could sense she remembered everything about him. Lara had been excellent throughout the time he had known her, and his parents had been extremely kind to her as well.

Moreover, on several occasions, she had accompanied Alexander and Eliza when the two of them went on their daily adventures. Besides their parents, she was the one who knew their friendship intimately and always appreciated the way Alexander treated Eliza with love and kindness.”

“I gather you remember me?” He smiled charmingly, Lara nodding.

“Of course, My Lord,” she said with a laugh. “When I met you yesterday as George, something about you felt familiar, but I could not place my finger on it. That was why I was so rigorous with my questioning, but now I finally understand what it was that had been so familiar. My goodness, you are all grown up!”

“And I am here to find Eliza.”

“Lady Eliza,” Lara breathed, her happy laughter turning into a sad smile.

“Yes, Lara,” Alexander nodded, putting his mask back on in case anywhere wandered into the gardens. “My mother feels guilty about not remaining in contact with her, and I miss my friend, but when I came to London, I simply could not find her anywhere. Both the country house and the London Estate have been taken over by the Russel family, and no one could find any traces of Eliza. Where is she? I must know.”

“You have already met her, My Lord.”

Alexander’s heartbeat fastened as he realized what Lara was saying. It couldn’t be true. The mere thought of it was too cruel for him to bear.

“What do you mean?”

“It’s Beth. Lady Eliza has been forced to turn into Beth.”

Alexander felt as if his world was crashing down. He had felt something about her was too familiar, and here was the truth right in front of his eyes.

He had not been wrong about Beth’s placement of beauty marks being exactly like that of Eliza. Her hair, eyes, and ever her laughter and her smile had all been familiar. The immediate familiarity he had felt towards her was because they had known each other for too long, a little too long ago.

Beth was Eliza.

His Eliza.

And he was going to make sure that all her miseries came to an end. No matter what lengths he had to go for it.

***

Eliza quickly made her way to the back of the estate, feeling flushed with all the work she had been doing since early in the morning.

She had never been more exhausted, and she still had the entire masquerade to suffer through. She knew it would go on till early morning, at least, which only meant she wouldn’t get any sleep at all.

Although, she had no choice.

She needed to push through. She made her way inside the kitchen through the back entrance, making sure all the refreshments had been sent out since the guests were beginning to arrive, and it would only be a short time before the entire ballroom was packed with the London nobility.

“Beth!” Amelia called out to her, and Eliza turned to look at her friend, who appeared much fresher.

She had not been as occupied as Eliza and had gone to her room in the servants’ quarter to catch some moments of sleep in the afternoon. It was important as well since she needed to be in front of the guests, her duty being to make sure the punchbowls were filled.

On the other hand, Eliza had been staunchly advised to stay as far away from the guests as possible, and no one cared about how she looked.

“Is everything alright, Amelia?”

“Everything’s a’right by me.” Amelia smiled. “Just refilling the punchbowls since it is already half eight. The guests must have arrived parched because the ball is not even in full swing yet.”

Eliza laughed. “You must rush. I will see to things here.”

Amelia waved at Eliza before leaving, who was satisfied after seeing that everything in the kitchen was organized. If more refreshments were needed out there, the kitchen counters would already be filled with trays, and the servants would just have to carry them out.

The dinner was also fully prepared and ready to be moved to the dining room when the dinner would be announced. She breathed in deeply, feeling all the strength leave her body.

She needed fresh air.

Without wasting another second, she opened the small back gate of the kitchen and stepped outside, her gaze falling on the broken flower pots just by the door.

“The cats,” she whispered to herself, blaming the several cats that visited the estate for the mishap. She had half a mind to clean up the mess, but she was too tired to care much about it at the moment and decided to leave it for later or for someone else.

Surely, she was not the only servant in the house and not the only one who needed to attend to anything and everything.

“I must find a place to sit down for a few moments.”

She strolled out into the darkness of the gardens, already feeling a little bit at peace after escaping the hustle of the house where all the servants were running about for anything and everything the nobility might require to have a good time at the masquerade.

Both Uncle Edgar and Aunty Beatrice had been on edge since the morning now, having reputations to maintain in front of the ton.

As she walked further, she suddenly heard the crunching of a leaf coming from the shadows behind the large tree and wondered if someone was there. Unhesitatingly, Eliza stepped forward when a hand reached out to her from the dark, grabbing her towards him.

She shouted, unsure of what was happening as someone pushed her against the tree, his heady scent of cinnamon and spice invading Eliza’s nostrils.

As she looked up, she realized it was a tall man dressed elaborately in a dark jacket, his smooth dark hair all slicked back away from his face as if caught in a handsome ponytail. His face was hidden behind the mask he wore, and Eliza immediately knew it was a guest from the masquerade.

But what was he doing here? And why had he pulled Eliza towards him?

His gloved hand shot up to her mouth, stopping her from shouting or even uttering a word as the two of them stared at one another. Once she had stopped shouting, he finally removed his hand from her mouth slowly, and Eliza could finally breathe again.

“Who are you?” she asked, not struggling to pull away. She might simply be acting na?ve, but he did not really scare her, his presence almost comforting.

“A guest at the masquerade.”

“I already gathered that.” Eliza rolled her eyes, hoping he had not seen it in the dark, but the chuckle that escaped his lips was enough to tell her he had. His voice was velvety and rich, too heavy and masculine. It sent tingles down her spine, making her feel things she had not imagined one could feel.

“So let me ask you, who are you?”

“A maid at the house,” she replied quickly, trying to push him away and duck from underneath his arm, but he was standing much too close, and Eliza felt as if escape was impossible. “We must not be here together. It is not right.”

“Who said so?”

“Rules of propriety. Let me go at once.”

To Eliza’s surprise, he moved away without saying another word, giving her room to move, but Eliza stayed standing by the tree. Now that he was further away, the scent of cinnamon and spice that had invaded her nostrils became faint, and a part of her missed it.

What had the man done to her? And why was she not moving even though he was no longer pinning her to the tree trunk?

“You haven’t moved.” He smiled, noticing what she had noticed, and Eliza blushed scarlet.

Her only consolation was that he would not be able to see her face in the darkness of the night, hiding her reaction from him. The mystery man backed away even further, and Eliza finally moved, beginning to leave.

“You must head back to the ballroom.”

“And where will you go?”

“Certainly not in the ballroom.” She smiled at him, even though her heart was filled with sadness.

“Why not? Someone as beautiful as you deserves to be in a beautiful gown dancing with a Prince Charming at the ball. Don’t you think?”

“And who will be my Prince Charming? You?”

“I am afraid I am not dressed in white, but I did come here on a horse. I can be your knight in shining armour, My Lady.”

Eliza chuckled.

“I am no lady. Perhaps you can find one inside the masquerade and propose to be her knight in shining armour.”

“I believe you are more of a lady than you are willing to accept or believe or reveal.”

For a second, Eliza felt her heart stop beating at his words as if somehow he could see inside her soul and listen to all her secrets. As if he could see her heart beating and read everything that went through her mind. She suddenly felt exposed and much too vulnerable in front of his masked existence, yet she still did not feel scared.

“You must leave now, My Lord,” Eliza said, feeling an urge to escape from his dark eyes, which were steadily trained on her face. “I am sure someone inside the ballroom must be looking for you. And someone behind the ballroom must be looking for me. Have a good evening.”

Eliza curtsied briefly, turning around when he blocked her path with quick steps. She stopped, not wanting to run into him.

“May I know your name before you leave?”

“My name is of no importance to you.”

“I still wish to find out.”

“You did not tell me your name; thus, I cannot tell you mine. These are rules of a masquerade, after all. Maintain your air of mystery and let others maintain theirs.”

“But you are not even wearing a mask, My Lady.”

“Yet I hide more secrets in my heart than you could ever imagine even knowing, much less hiding.” Eliza smiled, the light from the house falling on her. She knew he could see her. “Please let me go now.”

“I already know your name.”

Eliza looked up at him sharply, unsure of what he was trying to say or do to her. Something about him just felt wrong, yet another part of her kept whispering that everything was alright.

“Truly?”

“Truly.” He smiled, his lips still visible despite the mask.

“What might it be then?”

“Meet me again inside the house, and I will tell you. Good evening, My Lady.”

Without another word, he turned around and made his way towards the house, leaving Eliza dumbfounded behind him. She did not know what that interaction meant at all or who the man was, but he left her intrigued. She did indeed wish to see him again.

Who was he?