"You'll keep this to yourself, won't you?" asked Daniella, turning back to me. "A lot of the guests are very, very conservative. They wouldn't want this getting out."
That they met by firelight and played dress-up? Yeah, I could see them wanting that kept a secret.
"I won't tell anyone," I assured them.
"Good," said Tatiana. "Now, you should still probably leave before--is that Christian Ozera?" Her eyes had drifted back toward the crowded room.
"Yes," both Adrian and I said.
"He didn't get an invitation," exclaimed Daniella. "Is that your fault too?"
"It's not my fault so much as my genius," said Adrian.
"I doubt anyone will know, so long as he behaves himself," said Tatiana with a sigh. "And I'm sure he'd take any opportunity he can to talk to Vasilisa."
"Oh," I said, without thinking. "That's not Lissa." Lissa had actually turned her back toward Christian and was speaking to someone else while casting anxious looks out the door at me.
"Who is it?" asked Tatiana.
Crap. "That's, um, Mia Rinaldi. She's a friend of ours from St. Vladimir's." I'd almost considered lying and giving her a royal name. Some families were so big that it was impossible to keep track of everyone.
"Rinaldi." Tatiana frowned. "I think I know a servant with that name." I was actually pretty impressed that she knew the people who worked for her. Yet again, my opinion of her shifted.
"A servant?" asked Daniella, giving her son a warning look. "Is there anyone else I should know about?"
"No. If I'd had more time, I probably could have got Eddie here. Hell, maybe even Jailbait."
Daniella looked scandalized. "Did you just say Jailbait?"
"It's just a joke," I said hastily, not wanting to make this situation worse. I was afraid of how Adrian might answer. "It's what we sometimes call our friend Jill Mastrano."
Neither Tatiana nor Daniella seemed to think that was a joke at all.
"Well, no one seems to realize they don't belong," said Daniella, nodding toward Christian and Mia. "Though the gossips here will no doubt be running wild with how Rose interrupted this event."
"Sorry," I said, feeling bad that I might have gotten her in trouble.
"Nothing to be done for it now," said Tatiana wearily. "You should leave now so that everyone thinks you were severely chastised. Adrian, you come back with us and make sure your other 'guests' don't raise any attention. And do not do something like this again."
"I won't," he said, almost convincingly.
The three began to turn away, leaving me to skulk off, but Tatiana paused and glanced back. "Wrong or not, don't forget what you saw here. We really do need guardians."
I nodded, a flush of pride running through me at her acknowledgment. Then she and the others returned to the room. I watched them wistfully, hating that everyone in there thought I'd been kicked out in disgrace. Considering it could have gone a lot worse for me, I decided to count my blessings. I removed the mask, having nothing more to hide, and made the trek back upstairs and outdoors.
I hadn't gotten very far when someone stepped out in front of me. It was a sign of my preoccupation that I nearly leapt ten feet in the air.
"Mikhail," I exclaimed. "You scared me half to death. What are you doing out here?"
"Actually, I've been looking for you." There was an anxious, nervous look about him. "I went by your building earlier, but you weren't around."
"Yeah, I was at the Masquerade of the Damned."
He stared at me blankly.
"Never mind. What's up?"
"I think we might have a chance."