The Masked Heart - By Karla Darcy Page 0,4

had led her niece to such a dramatic pass.

"No time for dark thoughts, child," Haydie said, swallowing a lump in her own throat. "Now is the time for planning."

"Naturally no one must know of your plans. It would be social disaster for both you and the children. You are too young to appreciate the scandal that would erupt if word of this became known. I cannot stress this enough and hope you will be discreet about your background when you arrive in London."

Blaine's eyes darkened at the thought of such a deception but she was wise enough to take her aunt's words to heart. "I will be careful, ma'am. But what about the children and the neighborhood?"

"It seems to me," Lady Yates continued, "that we shall have to put it about that you have gone to London to care for an aged, and no doubt crotchety, relative. Perhaps a cousin of your father's. The Meriweathers never did anything with any great success, except breed. Always whelped with the steady frequency of rabbits."

At this latest outrageous comment, Blaine fell into whoops of laughter. The amusement did much to encourage her for the coming adventure. Although part of her still feared the unknown, there was a core of excitement that she could not gainsay. There was an air of fantasy to the plan, almost as if she were going to a masquerade ball. She would hold to that thought and then she would not feel so shattered at the thought of parting from her family and all she held dear.

Chapter One -1813

"La Solitaire! La Solitaire!" The enthusiastic chant of the audience rose in a mighty roar as Blaine dropped into a deep curtsy. The flowers raining around her gave the appearance of snow until they fell to the stage in a profusion of color. With a graceful sweep of her arm, she shared the applause with the other players and ignored the tokens of affection thrown by the dandies in the pit. As if they expected no less, the cheers increased.

In the rising tide of approval, a single white rose fell at her feet. Blaine raised her eyes to the private box of Lord Andrew Farrington. Even at a distance, she was able to see the sparkle of his green eyes as he raised his quizzing glass and kissed the rim in a sardonic salute. Her eyes swept him coolly, before returning to the audience and she favored them with a smile of warmth which she denied her single admirer. Again, she dropped into a graceful curtsy, holding the pose for a moment and then rising to move away from "the rose", the bright spot of clustered footlights. She turned her back slightly, to indicate that the play was continuing, and the audience, used to this gesture by the popular actress, immediately quieted.

Blaine was enjoying the performance since it was the last one of this production. The pantomime was entitled "Love's Peril or the Wicked Captain of the Guard" and her part was Theodosia, Princess of Egypt, the frequently kidnapped heroine of the piece. The story was full of breathtaking escapes, sword fights, jugglers and, most fascinating of all, a performer who walked a rope that was suspended above the stage.

The audience always appreciated the light antics of the pantomimes after a tragedy. "Hamlet" had been the early bill and, since the Green Mews Theatre had no license for spoken drama, a chorus had warbled incongruously throughout the play much to everyone's amusement.

As the green liveried stage attendants moved furniture on the stage for the final scene, Blaine found her eyes drawn to the private boxes at the side of the theatre. Lord Farrington's box was the closest to the Proscenium Arch but she suspected the man would be equally as visible were he in the upper gallery. There was no question that Andrew Farrington was an exceedingly handsome man with his wavy brown hair and flashing green eyes. Keeping well in the shadows of the side curtains, she stared up at him, wondering why she should find him so fascinating.

For the past three months, the infuriating man had been waging a campaign to gain an introduction. She had heard that he had kept various opera dancers as his mistresses and she suspected his intentions toward her were along the same lines. The mere fact that he would assume she was open to such an arrangement incensed her. Despite the fact that his approach to her had been respectful, she was hard