behind the soft smile lingering on Charlaine’s lips. “He looks furious,” he observed. “I assume you did not introduce yourself last night.”
Charlaine frowned at him. “Of course not, it was a masquerade.”
“And yet, he holds it against you.”
Her head bobbed up and down. “It would seem he does,” she stated matter-of-factly. Still, a second later, the seriousness vanished from her eyes and a large, dreamlike smile claimed her face.
Pierce frowned. “What, exactly, happened between you two?”
Turning back to look at him, Charlaine batted her eyelids innocently, her smile deepening.
Pierce scoffed. “Do I need to be worried?” Stepping closer, he held her gaze, a slightly teasing tone to his voice as he asked, “Do I need to call him out?”
Charlaine laughed, and her eyes glowed with utter exuberance. “You’re sweet to worry about me,” she told him, “but you need not. Mr. Caswell is a truly honorable man, and I assure you it took all of my ingenuity to breach those defenses of his and see him forget his troubled past.” She sighed. “If only for a moment.”
Pierce regarded her curiously. “I assume you have plans of your own for the evening as well as the weeks beyond tonight, am I right?” Charlaine put on an all too innocent smile that told Pierce all he needed to know. “He doesn’t know yet, does he?”
Charlaine laughed. “Oh, dear goodness, of course not. The poor man would no doubt have an apoplexy.”
“And yet, you’re undeterred,” Pierce chuckled, shaking his head at her.
Her gaze sobered as her brown eyes looked into his. “We must always fight for what we believe in,” she told him imploringly before her gaze drifted past him toward the entrance hall. “I do believe your own chance for happiness has just arrived.” An appreciative smile tickled her lips. “And it would seem she’s already made a decision of her own.”
With a quick squeeze of his hand, Charlaine darted away in pursuit of her own plans. Pierce hoped with all his heart that after all the losses she’d suffered, happiness would not make her chase it for too long.
Then he turned around…and his heart stilled.
Flanked by her parents, Caroline stood under the arched doorway leading into the ballroom. Her golden-brown hair had been swept up on top of her head, revealing her graceful neck. Pearls glistened in its dark curls, reminding Pierce of the night before. Her gown, however, shone in a soft pink, perfectly complementing the warm tones of her hair as well as the deep blue of her eyes. She looked radiant, breathtaking, magnificent…
…and yet, that which had caught Pierce’s attention, which he’d noticed first and foremost, which made his blood sing and his heart dance with joy, was the fact that she wore no spectacles.
Her blue eyes shone free and unencumbered, her gaze clear and focused and meeting his own in a way that Pierce thought he’d strayed into a dream. Was this truly happening?
Hushed whispers went through the crowd around him as more and more people noticed her, their eyes widening in surprise and confusion alike. He dimly heard whispered questions as people wondered who she was, finally concluding that it had to be Miss Caroline Hawkins.
Not because they’d recognized her, but simply because they’d recognized her parents at her side. Otherwise, no one would have known who she was. No one but him, and Pierce felt the pulsing need to right that wrong. No longer would he allow her to hide from the world, and the thought that she, too, had made that very decision on this very night meant that they were, indeed, perfect for each other. Did it not?
A deep breath shuddered past his lips as Pierce stared at her, still feeling as though he’d been caught in a dream, unable to move, barely aware of his surroundings. He no longer noticed the whispers around him or paid any attention to the rising music drifting over from the corner where the orchestra was playing. He barely took note of the crowd moving around him, pressing closer to see. He felt an arm bump against his own, heard a mumbled apology, but could not bring himself to turn his head.
All he saw was her.
*
Like a beehive, the voices of the assembled guests buzzed in Caroline’s ears. She felt their stares, their surprise, their shock like pinpricks on her skin and, for a moment, she wanted to bolt, wishing she hadn’t done this, wishing she could hide behind her large spectacles and her mouse-grey dresses and