what? Could it be that…?
His gaze traveled to her bowed head. “Is there no one who would share this burden?” he asked. “Your parents? Or your cousin? A friend perhaps?”
Her head rose and she sighed before she turned to look at him. “My parents have…other aspirations. They would not understand.” Her gaze narrowed in a way suggesting that she could not believe she was telling him this. “In truth, I cannot be certain…whom to trust with this. It is too great a risk. What if…?” Her voice trailed off, and he could see the fear of failure in her eyes, of disappointing all those who counted on her, of disappointing herself.
“But you share this with your lady’s maid,” Pierce replied, determined to chase away the loneliness that lingered in her voice. “Her, you confide in.”
Her jaw dropped ever so slightly. “How…?” Then she nodded. “You saw us that day outside the orphanage. Of course.”
“I did,” Pierce confirmed. “However, it was the look of confidence between the two of you that betrayed the depth of your connection.” He held her gaze. “You trust her. She’s not merely your lady’s maid, is she? She’s your friend.”
His little mouse swallowed, then drew in a shuddering breath, her eyes widening in alarm as she moved a step back.
“You’re so used to not being seen,” Pierce continued, once more closing the distance between them, “that you cannot imagine anyone’s gaze would linger on you for more than a second.”
Her jaw quivered as she looked up at him and her eyes slowly filled with tears behind those thick spectacles.
“I see you,” Pierce whispered as he peeked over the rim of her lenses and sought her gaze. “I see your courage and your determination. I see your selflessness and your compassion. I see all that you are; an extraordinary woman in a world full of…blind fools.” He smiled at her then, wanting nothing more than to lighten her mood.
Blinking back tears, his little mouse chuckled and her gaze dropped from his as she turned away, dabbing at her eyes. For a rare moment, she removed her spectacles, the shackles that kept her hidden in the shadows, and Pierce wanted nothing more than to snatch them from her fingers and toss them far away.
“You’re very observant,” she remarked. She returned the spectacles to the bridge of her nose before turning back to face him. “And yet, I cannot help but notice that you, my lord, shroud yourself in mystery as well. Is that not also a way of hiding from the world? From those around you?”
Pierce smiled. “You’ve noticed.”
“None other has so many rumors circulating about himself than the Black Baron,” she teased, humor and no small measure of curiosity tinging her voice. “People whisper, and yet, you do not seem to mind. Never do you seek to confirm or contradict them. You allow them this guessing game. Why?”
Pierce shrugged. “Because I know who I am, and I do not care what they think. Why should I satisfy their curiosity? They mean nothing to me.” He angled his head as he looked at her more closely. “Do you not do the same?”
His little mouse snorted. “No one speculates about me. No one whispers.”
“Because they think they know the answers,” Pierce pointed out, his gaze moving to the French doors behind which London’s elite danced and laughed, chatted and socialized, oblivious to the young woman who fought every day to make this world a better place. Fools, the lot of them!
Smiling at him, she shrugged. “I find that their disinterest benefits me,” she replied with a hint of triumph in her voice. Still, the look in her eyes spoke of a lonely existence. “They don’t see me, allowing me to move almost freely among them, granting me glimpses of secrets they’d otherwise guard with the utmost care.”
Pierce’s gaze narrowed as she chuckled. “You know things ladies are usually not told, do you not?”
Her grin widened. “Not because I was told, no.” She shrugged. “People simply don’t notice me lingering nearby. You wouldn’t believe what I’ve overheard simply by being invisible.” She shook her head as though she still couldn’t believe it. Nevertheless, the fact that no one saw her, noticed her brought a hint of regret to those blue eyes Pierce had come to search for at every event he attended.
“Have you ever considered stepping out from behind that mask?” Pierce asked, remembering the sparkle of her blue eyes in the dim light of the carriage and the way