Page 70 of Three Weeks with a Princess
Cautiously, she got up and tiptoed to the door, then peered through the keyhole. Seeing nothing, she turned the key and cracked the door open, peeking out but ready to slam it at the first sign of trouble. Fortunately, the shadowed hall was disturbed only by the sound of music echoing faintly from the distant ballroom.
She hurried out of the room, untying the long sash at her waist as she went. Wrapping it over her head and across her chest, she tucked the ends into her bodice. Her priority was no longer to flaunt her plumage to attract a male but to disguise herself as much as possible.
When she came to the main corridor, she stopped to peer around the corner. A few guests strolled outside the ballroom or headed toward the terrace, and footmen bearing trays rushed hither and yon. Fortunately, the viscount and his drunken friends were not in sight.
Unfortunately, there was no Barbara in sight either.
Lia was beginning to think she’d have to brave the street and hire a hackney because forging through the mob in the ballroom in search of her friends was a daunting prospect. It had never occurred to her that there would be so many vexing details to confront when attending a Cyprians’ ball. Clearly, she needed to pay more attention to the practical aspects of her future career.
While she pondered her next move, she heard the patter of hurried footsteps. She spun around to see Barbara rushing toward her, wide skirts bunched up in her hands. Breathing out a sigh, Lia sagged against the wall, feeling weak with relief.
“There you are,” she said as Barbara skidded to a halt. “I was beginning to—”
The girl grabbed her arm. “Where have you been? I’ve been searching everywhere.”
Lia blinked, disconcerted by her sharp tone. “I had to hide from some very persistent gentlemen. One was convinced he knew me from somewhere.”
Barbara grimaced. “Did he?”
“Yes, but he was too drunk to puzzle it out and I was able to escape before he got close.”
“Thank God.” She started to drag Lia back the way she’d come. “We’d have been in an awful mess if he’d recognized you.”
“Barbara, what’s wrong? Why are we going to the back of the house?”
“Because Amy’s in trouble.” Her voice was thin with anxiety. “She and Prudhoe got into a fight and he hit her. Hard.”
Lia stumbled. “What? Why?”
Barbara urged her on. “Because he’s a bastard, that’s why. She wouldn’t do something he wanted her to do.”
“What did he want her to do?”
Her friend threw her a grim look. “Nothing you need to know, love. Trust me on that.”
That sounded awful. “Where are they?”
“There’s an orangery at the back of the house. When you didn’t show, my gentleman and I took a short stroll and that’s where we ended up. Prudhoe and Amy were already there and we heard them fighting.”
“Did you go in?”
“Of course I did. He was shaking poor Amy like a rattle, the bastard. I yelled at him to stop, but he told me he’d give it to me next if I didn’t watch out. I tried to get my gentleman to help, but he tore out of there like his arse was lit with a rocket. That’s when I decided to look for you. Maybe the two of us can get her away from him.”
“Should we try to get a footman to help?” Lia asked.
Barbara grimly shook her head. “They won’t want to help neither. Not against a lord.”
They rounded another corner and halted in front of a set of doors that led into the glass-fronted observatory. Barbara reached for the door, but Lia stopped her. “Barbara, listen. I’ll try to talk some sense into Prudhoe and get Amy out of there. But I want you to return to the ballroom to see if you can find my friend, Sinclair. He’s a very good man and he’ll come to our aid.”
The girl’s eyes went wide. “I can’t leave you alone with that pig. Your ma will kill me if she finds out.”
“It’s fine, I promise. I can manage it.” If worse came to worse, she’d take off her mask and threaten Prudhoe with the wrath of Sir Dominic Hunter. It would expose her to scandal, but it was a risk she had to take.
She gave Barbara a little shove. “Now run.”
Her friend lifted her up Elizabethan skirts and took off down the hall.
Lia sucked in a calming breath, ordering her pounding heart to slow down. Then she threw back her shoulders, opened the door, and strode into the room.
