"Wait. Who is that? That guy just walking in?"
Roxanne followed Jessica's gaze to rest on the tall man entering the ballroom. He was wearing a white, high collared shirt, a burgundy velvet waistcoat, black silk pants and cape, and over-the-knee black boots. His thick, chestnut brown hair was pulled into a ponytail at the nape of his neck, and hung to the middle of his back. A narrow, black satin mask was tied around his head.
He carried himself like a nobleman.
"Don't have a clue," Roxanne uttered. "Despite my vast popularity, I don't know everyone on the list, you know. But it looks like he's headed this way. I'm outta here."
"Rox!" Jessica whispered urgently, but her panic was wasted on Roxanne's retreating bustle. The man meandered, but was definitely making his way toward the empty corner where Jessica stood.
As he passed the dining table closest to her, he leaned across it and plucked a small, deep red rose from the arrangement and brought it to her. Coming close, he offered her the bloom with a slight bow.
Speechless, Jessica took the rose and unconsciously held it to her nose. The man held out his hand, and she gave up hers; he brought it to his lips with great ceremony.
It was as if a spell had been cast. Despite the dim lighting, and the mesmerizing aura that surrounded him, Jessica was suddenly aware that his appearance was, in part, a deception. The green eyes that fixed on hers from behind the mask could not be disguised.
"Dance?" he asked softly, still holding her hand in question.
Wordlessly she allowed him to guide her to the dance floor, the rose still held delicately in her hand as she slipped her arm around his neck. Pulling her firmly against him, his hand sliding across her back was comforting and, most certainly, welcome.
"I didn't recognize you at first," Jessica told him, her smile filled with relief and amusement.
"Well, that's the whole point, isn't it? The essence of a masquerade? I'm not him, you're not her, we can each be someone else for a couple of hours. Live different lives, be people we'd rather be? but just for a couple of hours."
"Okay," she replied, closing her eyes and relishing the feel of the contact between her forehead and Dane's cheek. She could almost slip away? dance her way into a fairy tale and never come back.
)
